I am back with a very delayed update after New York Comic-Con! It was thrilling to return to a convention gathering after such a long time apart.
On Thursday, I got to interview ComiXology Originals Head of Content, Chip Mosher on Instagram Live. And on Friday of the show, I interviewed Jamal Igle but I can’t find the video on ComiXology’s account. Find his work on Instagram and Twitter! He’s great and it was really nice to catch up and chat.
After the interviews, I stopped by V. Gagnon’s booth for our first mask-to-mask meeting!!! V is a supremely talented illustrator who is working with a supremely talented writer on an unannounced graphic novel that I am editing! Sorry to tease you!
I bought this super-gorgeous print of this illustration from V:
You can follow V. on Instagram, Twitter, and their new Patreon!
And hopefully, the comic conventions continue to safely restart because we have a book launch in June 2022 we have to plan for: LIEBESTRASSE!
We are 7 months away from the June 7th release date but you’re going to hear me banging on a drum for pre-orders frequently! Pre-orders are very important for books by “unknowns” like me and we need all the help we can get!
You can pre-order LIEBESTRASSE here: Penguin Random House Catalog Listing
Please support your local bookstore through the IndieBound link, if possible! It will give you listings of local stores to pre-order from. Helping independent booksellers connect with smart readers like you and stay in business in this difficult time is really important.
There will also be pre-order Diamond codes later for your local comic book store! We trying to plan a book store and convention tour, too! I will keep you updated here on all progress!
Tim and I are also putting together a plan to offer a limited amount of signed/sketched/personalized copies directly from us— with bonus features like the original zine and limited edition prints! Updated store links to follow in the next newsletter!
Portrait of an Editor:
I returned to Francis Lombard’s fantastic podcast about comic book editing! You can listen to it below on Spotify or “wherever you listen to podcasts™️”
LINKS TO NEWSLETTERS OF INTEREST
Jami Attenberg has a great newsletter, “Craft Talk,” about the writing process and leads the “#1000wordsofsummer Writing Challenge” which I’ve *attempted* a few times but have yet to successfully complete 😕 BONUS: Her photos always make me want to move to New Orleans!
Fabio Moon has a fabulous newsletter that gives beautiful insights into his creative process. This particular example below, about finding a beat/rhythm, was particularly interesting because it’s a very important part of the creation process in art and I find his writing and art to have such an interesting percussion to them.
Matthew Rosenberg teaches a lot about the business of creator-owned comics in his updates! He has cultivated a great relationship with comic book stores and it’s endlessly useful for me as I work on launches of my own. If you have these aspirations yourself, I highly recommend subscribing to his updates! And reading the wonderful comics he writes!
That is all for now! I will be back in a month for a little year-end wrap-up that will include the books I’m working on as an editor and the promotion Tim and I are planning for LIEBESTRASSE’s print launch and the short story I wrote for the REWRITING EXTINCTION anthology!
Here’s a playlist I’m fiddling with as I work...
Talk to you in a month!
Greg Lockard
Jersey City, New Jersey
11.16.2021