Now I Know What A TV Dinner Feels Like
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Hello my lambs!
Apologies for the dark week here on the ol’ Substack. I had a small writing summit I had to do last week, lots of script deadlines, plus I got my Covid booster shot, which put me on my ass pretty hard. But we’re back, baby!
This is our usual weekly post (more like bi-weekly?), but we’re gonna start with a big general update before we move on to the more traditional “contents page” stuff.
We’re locking down letters on our first big chunk of BLACK CLOAK and I am SO EXCITED about it. It’s coming together really nicely and I cannot wait to share it with you.
I really wanted to start releasing BLACK CLOAK pages next week, but after a lot of thought and some fairly serious existential “looking inward” stuff, it’s just not possible. It will simply put too much stress on the team to start next week. And we’re likely to end up with “skip weeks” after we get started where you’re not getting pages consistently every week, which I think is something we should try our best to avoid. Once the comics start I don’t ever want them to stop - weekly comic drops - REGULAR AND CONSISTENT AS HELL - I want that to be our unofficialy and highly unsexy motto.
People say consistency is boring, I say, MORE PLEASE.
Additionally, though I really wanted pages to start up before the end of the year, I do have some concerns that with all the holiday chaos (we’ve all got a lot on our plates these days) the debut might get a bit lost, which would be sort of heartbreaking.
So we’re gonna start pages in January - BIG FRESH FUN COMICS START TO 2022!
We’re also going to have a pretty great announcement about something here in…February I think? I know that sounds far away but you and I both know we’re gonna blink and it’s New Years, so it won’t feel terribly long and I promise it’ll be worth the wait.
So I hope you guys are okay with all of that and it makes sense to you. I AM planning to finish up the rest of the sketch covers this month - and I will show them off when I have them finished. And sometimes in the new year we’ll have the drawing for those of you that were in the first 100 backers (annual and above subscription levels).
To avoid having all of you emailing me at once to check to see if you were within the first 100 backers - at the Annual $70/year subscription level or higher - there’s a pretty easy way to check for yourself if you’re wondering.
Anyone that backed at the $70/year or higher level in the month of September 2021 made the cut! Yay!
And ONE person that backed in the early hours of October 1st (around 6am) also made the cut - if you think that might be you, feel free to send an email or leave a comment and I can check for you.
One of the biggest headaches in all of this physical rewards stuff is reaching out to all of you to get addresses for shipping and I’m working on what the best and most efficient way to do that might be — I’m also watching my very successful Substack colleagues who are doing this too and I’m hoping to cheat off their papers to benefit us all.
The good news/bad news on the incentive contests (which you may remember from our very first post!) is that we haven’t met our minimums for the second two drawing tiers (250 and 500 at the annual and above sub level). So the good news is that if you have NOT yet subscribed that means that subscribing to annual level or higher now will STILL get you a ticket for entry on those last two contests.
But the bad news is that it’s hard to close those contests for those of you who entered a while back, when we’re not yet at our maximum number limits. So I’m trying to figure out our best work around there so that everyone can get what they were promised in a reasonably timely fashion.
But I also just want to take a moment to say that you guys have all been incredibly kind and patient and supportive. And it is SUPREMELY appreciated, especially as my workload with my Marvel work and all of the stuff we’re preparing here for Substack has been pretty overwhelming. So thank you for your kindness and patience. <3
Okay. So that’s the big updates out of the way…let’s get to that crazy contents page!
This Week!
Sneak Peeks!
Upcoming Releases!
CATS!
THIS WEEK
Due to the ongoing labor shortages, paper shortage, and general shipping delays, I have nothing new releasing this week. Though a very big deal issue (CAPTAIN MARVEL #34) released last week - so check that out if you haven’t already! And if you haven’t read that yet but intend to, I’d recommend skipping the sneak peek section!
Oh! This doesn’t RELEASE this week, but I did discover it this week, and I think you JeffHeads out there will want to know…there’s a Deadpool and Jeff Heroclix figure!
I think the release later this month? I pre-ordered mine on Ebay…so as you will! And a hat tip to Dan Slott that alerted me to this! Thanks, Dan!
But just because I don’t have anything coming out, doesn’t mean there isn’t great stuff to check out. I don’t have time to do tons of recommendations today, but my friends Matt Rosenberg and Tyler Boss recently debuted their incredible Image book WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE last month, and now issue #2 is already here! Make sure to pick it up, it’s excellent work from the whole team.
SNEAK PEEKS
As mentioned these are a bit tough right now, lots of spoiler stuff to avoid, but I’m here for you, we’re doing it!
From CAPTAIN MARVEL #35:
And here’s a badass Phyla-themed peek, also from CAPTAIN MARVEL #35:
From BLACK WIDOW #13:
UPCOMING RELEASES
This section is still a big ol’ mess I’m afraid. So I’m just doing my best. Below are the dates as I understand them and I haven’t heard of any more delays, but I’d still say to take these dates with a grain of salt.
CAPTAIN MARVEL #35 - 1/5/22
BLACK WIDOW #13 - 1/5/22
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: BEYOND VOLUME 1 - 1/19/22 (first trade - I have about 45 pages in here I believe?)
CAPTAIN MARVEL #36 - 2/5/22
BLACK WIDOW #14 - 2/16/22
CAPTAIN MARVEL #37 - 3/16/22
BLACK WIDOW #15 - 3/30/22 (?)
I also have a couple AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: BEYOND issues coming (looks like March?) but those covers haven’t been released yet and I feel unsure about the dates, so leaving those off for now.
CATS
All right. This was a lot of information (and we’ve got MORE posts coming this week), so I’m gonna wrap up with some cats. As always, please shout out below with thoughts and feelings, comments and questions, etc. Please wear your masks, wash your hands, and get your shots. Love you guys. And Monarch and Clive love you too! <3
~Kelly
*obviously secret cool points to any of you who recognized the quote from our title. ;D
This all looks so exciting Kelly! I can't wait for the next few releases (and beyond!) Now if we're not sure about where we fall on the various cutoffs, is there any way to know?
I am SO excited for the January releases! It's perfect really, because post winter holidays is the doldrums of the entire year and we need a little cheer. What better to do on a cold winter day than curl up with an awesome comic and a warm beverage? Between your new books and Black Widow returning plus Saga being back, it's going to make me much less likely to want to totally hibernate. 😜
Also I finally got on Marvel Unlimited and have now feasted upon the goodness of all the "It's Jeff" stories. He is the best best boy and I love him!