project updates, 2024w31

Since it's the final weeks of summer break, I'm still in that "three months of Saturdays" mode, creatively, and haven't gotten as far as I'd've liked with anything, really, but did manage to send off the first story in a collab with my best hermano from music school which he dug. Looking forward to hearing what genius sounds he concocts from my drabbled-out words.

While I'd intended to return to multiple projects left behind, only one of them still sung to me (mostly because I found my way back to it being fun to work with it again), so I want to power through it while I let seeds take root for the next stories in the collab. If nothing else, a solid excuse to fiddle about (again, still) with zines and attendant zinery.

Still hoping to move on to what I perceive as the next phase of my creative practice before year's end – though I do want to get the project mentioned above into the world first, a clearing of the decks from the before to the now.

And, finally, after four years of mucking about with fountain pens, I've returned to my favorite pen, that great workhorse among great workhorses, the Papermate Flair.

THE MYSTERIES (Watterson / Kascht, 2023)

Strange, magical, mystical, beautiful: to reveal too much about it here is to take away the joy of discovery; it deserves the benefit of your unprepared eyes.

Of note: Even though it's the best discussion of collaboration I've seen, I wish (somewhat), in retrospect, that I hadn't watched the (amazing) behind the scenes video beforehand: what can I say, getting to hear Watterson speak was too tempting. That being said, that my that my eyes were not unprepared doesn't change how much I love the fruits of their collaboration.

Truly something special; I can only imagine what discoveries and layers await upon repeated re-reads.

"we were trying to make pictures that didn't show things for a story that didn't say things”

This might be the best discussion of collaboration I’ve ever seen / heard, from two geniuses – Bill Watterson and John Kascht – unaccustomed to collaborating. The fruits of that collaboration, THE MYSTERIES, should arrive tomorrow; can't wait to dive in. Welcome back, Mr. Watterson.