The Substance That Makes You Happy

Out with the old, in with the new

The weather has finally started to cool down here in Texas. It’s the perfect time to hunker down in the studio.

Winter will be a bit different this year as I’m gearing up for a big move. Packing and moving sucks, but I’m very excited to get into the new house. We’re starting with the up stairs portion of our current house, which is where my studio and the majority of my books reside. Getting there! Still a lot more to do but I’m starting to see a little light.

December will be jam-packed with moving duties since everything needs to be moved out by the end of the month. This means that art will break even more. I’m still trying to keep my immediate tools out of boxes until our drop-dead date so that I can work on pages when possible. As I said up top, I really can’t wait to be in the new studio. Once I get nestled in, I think production is going to ramp back up and I’ll feel rejuvenated. The fun part in all of this stuff is that you get to rethink the work setup, get new furniture, design a new layout, etc. Also, the new studio will be a bit bigger than my last, so there’s more room to play with. Maybe I’ll post progress pictures of how that will start looking in a few weeks.

Coming off the poll from a couple weeks ago, it looks like the majority of readers are anti-spoilers in terms of me posting new pages here. Totally understandable and I’m mostly in the same camp! I appreciate your feedback. I’ll find ways to post progress snippets of various pages while avoiding spoilers as much as possible. I definitely still want to give you a general sense of the art that I’m working on. I think it’s shaping up to be very cool.

Shall we change it up a bit?

The poll got me thinking, and as the new year rolls around, I think that it’s a good time to start planning new stuff for the newsletter. For those of you who want to see more in-depth process, completed pages ahead of time, and maybe physical monthly rewards - is this something that you’d be willing to signup for as a monthly subscription? For example, say 5 bucks a month gets you an inside look at completed pages for the week, process details on said pages, and maybe something like a new postcard-sized print mailed to you each month that you’re subscribed. The prints would be various designs, characters, etc… or some months I could even take a subscriber poll to determine the drawing for the month.

I’d for sure still have this free newsletter going. The paid monthly tier would be for those of you who want a deeper dive and support the process at the same time. Still working out the offerings and all, but just wondering if any of you would be interested in this idea. If there is enough interest, I’ll certainly work out the plan and let you know as soon as possible. Let me know your feelings on this in the comments or feel free to email/ direct message me. Or if you’d rather use the polling feature, you can mark your selection below!

Things I’m Watching

The Thanksgiving break gifted me some relaxation time. I was able to wind down with some movie watching.

The Substance

This film blew my freakin’ socks off. It’s a sci-fi concept body horror flick with a pretty resounding message about the preservation of beauty and youth. The Substance introduces you to Elisabeth Sparkle, played by Demi Moore, who is an aging Hollywood star. She wants nothing more than to preserve her youthful beauty to keep up with the pressures of society. And so, she is given THE SUBSTANCE, a formula that will help her achieve the physical appearance that she once had. I'll leave it there to avoid any sort of spoilers, because this movie is best watched with knowing as little as possible. It goes places, and once you think we are done, it keeps freakin’ going. I had my most enjoyable movie watching experience of the year thus far with The Substance. It's fresh, unexpected, wild, and poignant. It will leave you thinking about what you just watched well after the credits roll. Highly recommended. Disclaimer: do not watch if you are squeamish! The French don’t hold back.

X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes

X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes is a 1963 Roger Corman classic that I happened to catch on one of the many movie channels that I have and never use. X is a classic horror tale about a scientist who tries to do something in the name of research, but ends up losing control of the advancement.

The looming surrealness in the film was mesmerizing, and probably something way ahead of its time (especially the ending). X is an amped up Twilight Zone episode, and was a perfect follow up to The Substance. You should be able to catch it on Amazon Prime.

Sometimes I Think About Dying

I think most of us know Daisy Ridley for her role as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. In a complete change of pace, Ridley plays Fran in Sometimes I Think About Dying, a dark comedy about a mundane woman who lives a middle-class life, and when she’s not plugging away on spreadsheets at her way-too-realistic office job, she imagines herself dying in various ways. Things change when she meets her new coworker and begins to develop feelings for him. This is a simple movie, and more comedic than dark in my opinion. Fran is portrayed as an anxious and sad girl. The film does a great job at quantifying Fran's depression for the viewer and also manages to inject beautiful cinematography and an amazing score. If you're in an artsy, deep-thinking mood, definitely check out Sometimes I Think About Dying.

Metroid Dread (Nintendo Switch)

I think that I've mentioned in a previous post that I don't game as much as I once did, but when a game grabs me, it's a perfect getaway mechanism from work and art. Metroid Dread is my latest fascination. I've played Metroid games in the past and enjoyed them, but this installment for the Switch really does it for me. They've injected the sci-fi shooter with a wonderful survival-horror element. The game basically becomes Alien + Aliens + Puzzles. The story is mostly thin, but the gameplay, creature design, and world building is so well imagined. Each new area has its distinct biology - some plant based, some water, some magma, etc. The Alien-y creature stuff really sets it apart for me, especially since the comic that I'm working on is in a same sort of world. It has been a very enjoyable experience bouncing back and forth between the two. Here’s some Samus studies that I did in my sketchbook over the weekend. Such a cool suit!

That’s it for this week. I’m off to pack more boxes and hopefully draw a panel or two. Have a good one. Let me know your thoughts on the potential plan mentioned above. Also, let me know if there are any other things that you’d like to see in the newsletter as we approach the new year!

Thanks for your time,

Nico