If you prefer you can download the pdf here.
My unending gratitude to Matt and John Yuan (deputy publishers of 1First Comics) who volunteered way back on issue 1 to proofread (off the back of a plaintive twitter plea) and ending up both being great proofreaders and even better editors - constantly encouraging and giving little notes that never alter the fabric of the story but always help.
Stories this issue:
Notifications, Memories of War, Cold Caller, The Civil War, The Monster, Sign Unseen, Ghosts.
A4 Issue Four Notes!
Gah, two stories with War in the title. So annoying. Hadn't spotted it until now, but there it is. It will be my eternal shame.
There were two things drilled in to me from English lessons in secondary school (which I did rather enjoy, I loved writing, and was told to apply for O-Levels early, so I did, and then I didn't do any work because I was fundamentally lazy - so failed it) anyway, the two things: never use the word got/gotten (I think this was my teachers personal bugbear, with teenagers writing "I got given a book then got a clip round the there and got out of there, before he got me" even I'm uncomfortable seeing the word "got" in anything I write) and never repeat a word if you can help it (obvious "I", "and" and so on are all fine). So two wars. Not good. Am annoyed. (Should point out, this is entirely a quirk of my own making!)
From hereon in there will likely be spoilers!
I had planned on a halloween all horror special - or at least as best as I'm able, but of course, I couldn't quite come up with every single story as a horror, so let's start with the least horror like story:
Notifcations
I suppose this and Ghosts share a very common through line, rejection and knowing the person who rejected you never even thinks of you. For a full exploration of this idea, watch the amazing "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".
Memories of War
There's a lot going on in the world, and much of it can be traced back so far that you'll never find the beginning point (hello from Northern Ireland!) - and the question is, if everyone lost their memories would those wars still continue. (this story optimistically says we'd all stop, I have a horrible feeling we wouldn't)
Cold Caller
Phew! Lighter fair! Actually there's a different story that uses the same sort of idea (the no-hawkers caveat that many people have at their door) I've been sitting noodling as a short comic for a few years (how many? oh man, it's embarrassing to tell - but let's say I first thought of it pre-pandemic) it would be far too long to do as one of these stories, so this slightly different version of it popped in to my head.
I am pretty proud of that title though, it came late - after I'd written a bunch of the stories and I was thinking "gah, now i need a title" and ping! there it was!
I did want to do stuff that was just a smidge lighter than last issue, because I've been told some of this stuff is DARK. I think of it all in the abstract, words on paper rather than real monsters. But we're haunted by the real and the imaginary, I suppose.
The Civil War
I saw a writer (a good writer; it'll be a good book) talking their new Zombie book and it got me thinking, that zombie stories tend to be the ultimate "yeah of course I was the assehole prepping for the end of the world, and look, I WAS RIGHT" and I thought "what if instead of it being zombies, it's that everyone was just really really nice to each other ... oh... those asseholes wouldn't change..."
The Monster
I'll be honest, andI bet readers can tell, I shoehorned frankenstien in too this (because I wanted monsters, dammit)
Here's my orginal story idea from the apple notes app:
He had fragmented himself, Pumping his entire written and audio corpus through AI Large Language Models, and created an army of bots, one for each of the balkanised social media platforms. And he was finally free. Free to get on with work.
Is it better? it might be.
Sight Unseen
This could be policitical satire, I suppose. In the hands of a better writer. Instead it's simply a piece of fiction.
Ghosts
Gotta be honest, I just loved the shape and sound of the story. I love that it works on a couple of levels. It pretty much came out fully formed, and so short. Honestly this is the joy of these shorts, there's not an ounce of fat on the idea, there's no point trying to extend it, and there's a sort of poetic quality to it. Anyway, might be one of my favs.
Hope you enjoy it, I would love to know what you think - you can fire me off an email to pjholden at gmail dot com if you like!
Oops. I forgot to blog today. In my defence I was working largely what I think I’ve taken to calling “undrawing” when you look at a piece of art you’ve finished and say “i can do this better” and then you’ve undrawn half a page.
Anyway. It does, as expected, look better.
Sent off an email today. Let’s see.
Oh new Dredd from me and Rob Williams and Ned Hartley coming soon. Big explody adventure.
When we moved in to this house a few years ago now – this was the house my parents had from about 1989 until I bought it off them (I mean it’s stupidly complex, I bought it in ’89 and they moved in and paid the mortgage and I ended up selling it back to them in ’03 so I could buy a house) anyway… we did a few things to it.
We have a small back garden. Not massive but certainly more exterior space than we ever had in our flat – but we also had a freakily useless large drive way at the side of the building that leads to a garage.
We ended up having to knock down the wall at the side of the driveway and we replaced it with a tall fence, which actually gave us a bit more privacy in the back garden (because the wall allowed anyone to just peer in). I mean we could spend another 15k-I-don’t-have on this house and barely make a dent, but this was one of the first and most sensible things we did.
As a result our drive way effectively became a yard. And it has become the place that houses things that have to go to the dump, especially large things. It’s purgatory for junk.
My wife hates it. Understandably. It takes a small area and makes it unnecessarily messy.
But, weirdly, I actually like it. It takes a small area and makes it feel like the back yards of my childhood. Where a broken chair leg could be repurposed in to a machine gun to kill hordes of Nazi stormtroopers, or a detached broom handle could pull double duty as either a lightsaber or as Monkey’s staff, fighting various demons while it was twirled around you like a maniac.
My wife sees a pile of crap and I see a pile of childhood wonder.
I’d love to convince my wife we should also dry clothes in this area, but she’s resolutely set on never doing that. (Which is a shame, because a backyard full of junk and hanging clothes you can get lost in gives me a sort of warm hug just thinking about it)
So I’ve been constantly kicking the can down the road for when I should tidy it all up. The endless rain has really been on my side on this front.
I’ve been trying to understand arts funding, and let me tell you – it is not easy to understand. I’d much rather walk in a place and talk to someone, explain what I’m trying to do and have them say “this sounds great, lets fund that” – which was how I did things when I worked in IT. In the arts, filled with people, famously allergic to paperwork, you have to go through mountains of paperwork. I’m staggered any one bothers.
I am trying to think of some lateral moves I can make, in NI – to fund doing more Terran Omega. Ulster Scots? Why not? Irish Language? For sure. Just you know… give me some money.
Wife and youngest off to Newcastle today for Sunday for Sammy a charity concert. Son is a massive fan of the 1975, and it was all very last minute. Was out and got a text on Friday “We’re going to Newcastle on Sunday” so I’m trying to take today to finish some stuff, start scripting the next two episodes of Terran Omega (‘The Seed’) and get some invoices out. It’s been a rough week or three for invoicing, and I really need to get on top of that.
And that’s it. Will try and get back to our regularly scheduled programming of Yesterday On Social Media (which I kind of miss) tomorrow…
“You haven’t bought me a Valentine’s Day card have you?”
“Er… no”
“Good. I haven’t got you one either”
And that’s how you know you’re in the “happily ever after” part of life.
Well that turned out to be way more useful than I expected. I was introduced to people by people I knew. At least two solid work related contacts (neither of which directly comics related but certainly drawing adjacent). Hopefully one will turn into some sort of regular thing we’ll see.
My wife is very strongly of the opinion that people locally need to know I exist for them to be able to hire me for things (i maintain living and working in one room away from humanity is the perfect basis for a career). But I can’t deny she’s got a point.
But man my social battery runs down quick. Thankfully I can largely rely on other people to introduce me and that’s been useful
Something like normal service resumes tomorrow. See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya!
Rendr yesterday.
The photo is the queue – in miserable never ending rain. Luckily the rain seems to have decided to take today off, but then we’re headed for sleet and snow.
Yesterday I went to Rendr, and pretty much did everything I set out to do. Met some people I knew would be there, gave out some copies to Terran Omega to those people, and met some people I knew from a few years ago who might be looking for an artist. And chatted to director for animation for Cartoon Saloon.
I mean every one who saw Terran Omega was impressed which was very gratifying.
There’s a few meet and greets today, it’s a weird one because I know really that I’m asking the wrong people for the wrong thing (Step 1. Show someone my comic. Step 2. Ask them how I can get this into animation … step 5 Profit)
Though, really what I’m trying to do is increase my visibility locally, so if someone thinks “I need a comic/storyboard artist” my name is immediately the one that springs to mind.
More of that. Also, man I have so much work to do.
TTFN.
Because I’m a freelancer, and an idiot, I thought Rendr was the weekend, and it is. Sort of, but it kicks off today at 4. What THAT means is I have a lot less time today than I thought. So just a quick note to say, say hello to me if you see me, I look like the photo above.
Here’s where I think I’ll be focusing my attention (and if I can I’ll be everywhere all at once, but this largely is where I’ll be trying to get to!)
Comapred to a comic convention I like that it has a very distinct “Meet and Greet” – feel like that’s something comic cons could benefit from.
Anyway no time, maybe see you there. BYE!
And that’s it, a full comic issue of Terran Omega Complete! Yes, I have the printed comics, and yes, the page was drawn a week ago, but I mean it’s now all free for anyone to read on my patreon
I can’t believe I didn’t blog that the comic came, it came in the post! Uploaded files on the 5th, arrived on the Monday – that’s a two day turnaround! INSANE! and it looks great! (I mean seriously, this looks like a proper lovely comic!)
So what’s next?
Well, Terran Omega The Ghosts of War is a full 48 page graphic novella. At least as originally conceived, but I’ve had to sit and think about what I would do if I were going to do more Terran Omega. Partly this is in response to the fact that I’m putting together a pitch deck for film and tv and they want to know what happens next, partly in the event that a publisher picks it up they too will want to know what’s next. I had a couple of story ideas, nothing firm, but certainly not some big over arching pitch.
But I do now.
I pretty much know how it ends, and why it ends and how we get there. I have some notion of the spine of it, and where that all leads to (And some of the short stories that will happen along the way)
Will I ever actually get to do any of it? I don’t know. I would say if after the Ghosts of War finish and the next project I do on Patreon is another Terran Omega graphic novella then that’s a positive sign for it. It’ll mean that there’s been enough sniffs of interest that it’s worth pursuing further.
If I go with an entirely new thing (and I have an idea for something – something very different) then it’ll mean that Terran Omega the Ghosts of War was a great fun thing for me to do, but we’re gonna put it away now do something else.
I mean a 5 year plot sounds amazing until you realise you’ve got to do it one page per week when that will turn one year of that plot into 6 years of a weekly plot (so you’re 18 years before you’d ever get to do it! HAH!)
We’ll see.
This weekend, though, I start tackling the second issue of Terran Omega.
A valuable lesson learned: because the issue one page count is 25, when I do a second issue my original 48page graphic novel idea won’t work because I rely on the page turns to do double page spreads and the next issue has to start on a single page. Odd numbers on the right, even numbers on the left. Page 26 – as was if the next page was a graphic novel is on the right, but if it’s a single issue, page 26 becomes page 1 which means my double page spreads are all off by one page. So I’m going to have to inject a new opening page. Which is good, actually! I’ll use that page to just set the scene, something nice and peaceful. You know, just before it all comes crashing down!
Still not enough time to do Yesterday In Social Media, but one thing I will say is go watched Small Prophets, Mackenzie Crook’s new BBC Show. I love the pacing and atmosphere and this should be great!
Rendr is on Friday and Saturday so today is gonna be sit and draw stuff, and then gonna be mad busy trying to network over the next few days, if you’re about wave hello!
-pj
Tuesday two time
look I’m running late. It’s been a day. I mean a good day.
I have no time for much else today but I didn’t want to skip a day on the old blog. Largely I spent it popping in to various comic shops in Belfast to talk to them about Terran Omega. Because at some point id like it in retail. When that is, I’ve no idea. How that is? likewise. But firmly of the opinion that luck is preparation meets opportunity.
I’m getting prepared.
So, last week went a bit loopy, if you recal my original plan was:
Mon – Three Inks (F&McB 6,7,8)
Tue – Two Inks (F&McB 9,10)
Wed – Ink Covers (war story 5 & 6)
Thur – Pencils (F&McB 1,2)
Fri – Pencils (F&McB 3,4)
Sat – Terran Omega Page 25
Sun – Put together pdf of Terran Omega issue 1
Alright, to recap, planned on a lot more paying work last week than I managed. On the other hand I did rapidly bring forward the schedule for printing Terran Omega issue 1 – In fact, I should have 100 copies in my hand later today!
Once I got the invite for the Rendr Festival it became obvious my best way to make use of the opportunity was to have business cards and copies of the comic to hand out, so that’s that what happened. Something of a miracle I got that all done. But it did rather mean putting the hold on paying work for a week.
So, this week it’s back to the grindstone, I’d really like to finish the F&McB part 3 so I can invoice and get those war covers inked. Then pencilling the next lot of invoicable work.
This is life as a comic artist, panic panic panic.
In the speed of putting Terran Omega print together I spotted one typo (just one? yes, for now).
I hate that it exists and will beat myself up forever about it, but it does mean that I’ve got a proper reason to reprint it via a kickstarter (SIGN UP ON MY NEWSLETTER TO BE NOTIFIED! )
On the plus side, I actually think the cover and graphic design and logo all look fantastic and can’t wait to see it in print (hopefully the colour will look good!)
Let me let you in on a secret about the kickstarter – like I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but here goes:
I’ll be setting a target of £300 – this should cover printing 100, plus sundry envelope costs, and the price of the comic will be £6 – which means, best case scenario I can make £300 – assuming costs of each issue is £3 (with packing bits). Now, that means posting 100 comics, and I don’t know how long that will take but I can guarantee it won’t be worth doing for £300.
(And then Kickstarter take 10%)
So, my real target has to be something like £4k – which on the cover price alone is impossible, so I have to figure out various worth while tiers and price points to make it possible.
I just haven’t figured out what they are.
What I’m trying to do is figure out a way to make doing this whole project pay a page rate of £200 per page – which is a a piddly rate for script, pencils, inks, colours and lettering (let alone cover, and graphic design).
At that rate this 25 page comic should cost me about £5k (again, ignoring the cover and sundry bits and bobs)
If I can somehow make £3-£4k on this, and then a similar amount when I eventually do a collected edition, then boom! I’ve made a sustainable way to do creator owned books (for me)
The collection (which is realistically at least a year or two out) I’d love to have all of the art, three versions of the strip, the script and all sorts. A real grab back of how this story was made. But we’ll see. But it will also feature me selling the original art which might be, ultimately, the only way to make it pay.
But maybe this is all wrong think and I should just focus on the end goal which is getting nice looking comic for me in my hands, I mean, on that front it’s already wildly successful!
There’s a brand new muppet show!
I mean, I guess it feels like, past a certain age, it feels like there’s always a brand new muppet show – The Muppets Tonight, The Muppets and The Muppets Now.
Not counting, too, the films (with the 2011 The Muppets movie in particular being the best – 2011! 15 years ago! Holy smokes).
But I guess what’s different about this one is it’s largely a return to basics. Just do the old show as was, with new guests. We watched it and enjoyed it. I mean, not as funny as nostalgia would have you believe and I suspect it could never go as weirdly avant-garde as the original muppet show. Youngest son T watched it after watching the muppet show and I looked in on him, during a bit where a famous (in the 70s/80s) dancer was ballet dancing with a bunch of felt horses, in an abstract slightly hallucinogenic way – asked him what it was like “peaceful”.
Anyway, today Kayleigh Donaldson over on bluesky linked to an article asking who should host the muppet show next, now, as it typical, I went straight to posting without reading the article, so didn’t spot they’d already suggested Alex Horne and Greg Davis, but I had the same idea and wrote an entire synopsis:
Alex Horne. But only as an emissary of Greg Davis who will turn up in the final seconds only for the show to end due to it over running. But the whole thing should be Alex making sure everything will go perfectly due to Greg’s outrageous rider.
Alex should do all of the songs/things that he thinks are rehearsals for Greg, but are actually recorded and meanwhile the muppets (each in turn) back stage should be trying to convince Alex they should be on taskmaster which of course Alex has no power over but they dont know that.
Then when Greg turns up and the show ends Greg of course is furious and the end of the show is pure chaos as each muppet is demonstrating a task while Alex is profusely apologising to Greg who is incandescent with rage while miss piggy quite fancies Greg all while doing the final number.Look just let me write it.
And that’s it. Today writing a pitch deck for the Terran Omega animated series (I mean I might as well throw a coin in a wishing well, but a still it’s a good exercise and by doing it I’ve essentially laid out – at the current pace of drawing – about 9 years of work… so lets hope someone offers to pay me for it and I can do it much much quicker)
Picked my son up from work the other day. Let me tell you about my eldest son, N. He is very smart – three A-stars-at-A-Level smart, on-track-for-a-first-in-Computer-Science-at-Queens smart, wanting-to-do-a-masters-in-philosophy-and-more-than-capable smart. He’s clever. Unsure where he gets it from.
He’s working for a fintech (financial technology) company as part of his computer placement year doing his degree.
Picked him up in the car and says “Dad, someone tried to phish me today and I can’t believe I let them” (phishing is the attempt to gather personal information about you in order to, say, gain control of your bank details by pretending to be from an institution you would use).
“Tell me more, son.”
“They said they were from Boots Opticians and phoned from a Belfast number, and I thought it was ok because I’m due a boots opticians appointment”
“Ok.”
“They set an appointment for me for 4:45 and then said they just wanted to confirm some details, so they asked my date of birth and my address and then they hung up – I CAN’T BELIEVE I JUST TOLD THEM THIS”
“so … wait… maybe it was just boots phoning to confirm an appointment?”
“NO! It was phishing! I can’t believe it, I’m so wary of stuff like this, normally I’d’ve just hung up straight away but because I was expecting a call from boots, I just… ugh!”
“Again, maybe it was actually boots phoning to confirm an appointment?”
“NO! It was phishing – I looked up the number and all the numbers for Boots were english numbers”
“I know Boots will phone you from a local number but if you want to phone them then they’ll have on central number that…”
“PHISHING! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT”
“Well, ok, but it seems like they didn’t get that much information from you?”
“I KNOW, I WAS LUCKY.”
Anyway, the next day I got a text from him:
“By the way, I actually wasn’t phished and I have an appointment at 4:45”
I laughed and laughed and laughed.
And that, ladies and gentlemen is the difference between smart and wisdom.
