August Recap – Season change, 35mm fun, Dawn Valley

Recap

Hi there, fellow kids! I hope you’re all doing well after what has been a very moist month of September. I’ve been focusing on my mental and physical health a lot, making some changes, generally working a little less but seeing more real humans. Everything is falling into place for what will be a very busy end of year. It’s time to pick up the pace a bit!

I talked about my upcoming sketch/art book last month and it’s coming along very nicely. I scanned and cleaned all the sketches, about 70 different ones in total and put together a nice cover. For the first time, my sketchbook is gonna have a title! It’s gonna be called “Inky Fingers” because I make an absolute mess of my hands each time I pick up a pen. Here are a few examples of what’s gonna be in the book.

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This month, I spent a lot of time out and about, taking pictures with the ol’ Olympus and the new (old) Ricoh point-and-shoot I got from the good folks over at Club Photo 35. Biking on a nice afternoon with a camera around my neck is honestly the activity I enjoy the most. Not even drawing manages to put me in such a focused, quiet headspace. I was dropping one film after the other at the lab this month; it’s tough on the wallet but nice on the soul. I post my best photos on Instagram!

Back before the pandemic, Axelle and I worked on a comic pitch aimed at the United States market. Long story short, it blew up in scope and size and we decided to pull the plug after making nine full-colour pages. I’ve been posting sketches and character designs on Patreon and if you’re contributing, you’ll get to see the whole pages in the next two weeks! 

Announcements

The Hiver Nucléaire collected edition is coming out October 24th in stores! I got my hands on a copy and holy shit you guys… it looks so good. The all-white cover came out great. The new paper, the remastered colors and the new font make a world of difference from the original printed versions. I hope it will please new and old readers alike! Still no date for the launch party, but I’ll keep you posted!

Remember that Craig drawing I did last month? Well, I made a print of it after all. Not only that but I got a fresh batch printed and ready to be hung in your living room/darkest closet. Check it out!

One last thing: I decided to do OC-Tober, a self-absorbed version of Inktober during which I’ll draw most of my original characters from different eras. I’ll post one every day on Instagram and Twitter if you follow me on there!

That’s it for September, guys! I’m gonna eat squash soup for every meal until I turn orange. Until then, take care!

Reading: 

• I just finished Jade City by Fonda Lee and I LOVED IT. Imagine a classic Hong Kong gangster movie but everyone wears magical jade stones and are really good at punching. I can’t wait to read the second volume!
• Trashed by Derf Backderf. Part documentary, part journal comic on trash collection and our fucked up relationship with our garbage. I swear I could smell the truck through the pages.

On the small screen:

• Shameless was a huge inspiration for Utown and since day one, Lip Gallagher was my favorite character. When I saw that Jeremy Allen White held the main role in The Bear, I was immediately piqued. And man, that show did not disappoint. Not only is it wonderfully well written, but the editing and the choice of shots (hands doing things, a straight shot of a piece of background, fast cuts of Chicago streets, etc) made it feel very comic-like. One of my favorite series of the year!
• I fell back into Taskmaster because I’m a sucker for problem-solving. I wonder how well I’d do on that show?

In my ears:

• Wilderness of Mirrors by the Black Angels. It’s the fuzzy soundtrack to a gang of very-cool looking villains (possibly with dark magical powers).
• Warpaint’s Radiate like This goes down like the smoothest, mellowest cold beverage. It’s perfect “at home” kinda music.

Music related: People are ditching Spotify to save their love of music. I think it’s totally okay to casually use Spotify to listen to cool playlists but discovering new music requires time and a bit of dedication. My friend’s recommendations rarely disappoint (they know me!) and result in purchases more often than not. I hope to achieve the same here, ‘cause sharing is caring!

Cool artists of the month:

• Violaine Briat makes a comic about a couple who encounters the weirdest/sweetest neighbour ever created in comics in my opinion. I read through the entire archive of Rodney R. Rodney in the middle of the night this week and I’m still thinking about how clever it is.
• I discovered Yonil’s work through the latest True Grit’s brush set. I love the lo-fi, nervous line work he does.Good stuff!