Update #20 - December 2020

Before I start, thank you to everyone who has continued to support me, and thank you to my newest patrons: Maryrose, Maz, Tundrakatiebean, Shawn, and Liam!

Thank you all so much; it really means a lot to me to have your support!!

LOOKING BACK ON 2020...

This year, as I had the four years before it, I made lots of diary comics! Even though this is a huge part of both my life and my online presence I… don’t think there’s too much to say about them. If you’re reading this, you’re familiar with them, I’m sure.

I’ve been rollerskating almost every day. I skated for 200 days this year (just a bit nonconsecutively, but who besides me is counting?) I’ve made a bunch of new skate buddies through the local CIB chapter, and I also got my partner, Aidan, and our housemate, Zannah, into it. They've both acquired their own skates, and it's been very fun skating together! Most often, I skate in my basement, but I also enjoy going to the skatepark or the tennis courts when the weather permits.

I’ve been regularly attending two online D&D campaigns this year. One is with Aidan’s family (which Aidan DMs) where I play a human paladin with no inside voice named Lamantations Jones, and one is with a group of friends (which Aidan also sometimes DMs) where I play a kenku rogue on the run for Circus Crimes named Yawn.

Remember my caterpillars? They’re still in the basement, in their chrysalises. They seem to be successfully overwintering! If all goes according to plan, in the spring once the weather has warmed up, they'll turn into butterflies and I'll release them.

In October, I participated in Kloktober, a 31-day Metalocalypse-themed drawing challenge! I had a lot of fun and I'm very proud of the drawings I made. (I did not participate in the 12 Days of Dethmas, even though I badly wanted to.) I'm very thankful for the friends I've made in the Metalocalypse fandom; they've been a big part of getting me through this year.

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2021...

I will continue to make diary comics! This isn’t really a goal so much as a given, but I still figured I’d put it here.

As for my Official Goals For 2021... here they are.

Goal 1: Format a diary comic anthology for print

I’ve been asked for a long time if I’m ever going to make my diary comics into a book. I put it off, saying that I needed to have enough strips.

By now, I have more than enough strips.

In the future I would like to take this formatted book and see how much it would cost to print it, and how would be best to sell those printed books (can you tell I definitely know what I’m doing?) but we’ll check back on that… later…

Goal 2: Complete Untitled Jesus + Judas Short Comic 

Yes, I started this back in September and had hoped to finish it quickly. That did not happen. I then thought maybe I’d finish it by the end of the year. That didn’t happen either. But I’m going to aim high and make finishing this short comic my second goal of the year.

Currently, out of the ten total pages, about six (ok, five pages and two panels) have been completed up through the lineart stage. I need to finish sketching and lining the last four pages according to the rough draft, and then I need to color the entire comic. I might even make a cover page, if I’m really feeling like going above and beyond.

Even though this comic is only ten pages long, I’ve managed to introduce continuity errors, such as seat belts appearing and disappearing, and visual errors, such as the snow being drawn incorrectly. I hope I can correct these problems in the coloring stage. If I can’t, I hope they are not too glaring.

Goal 3: Complete the first draft of Gay Vampire Beach Romance 

Honestly the real title of this goal is “complete the first draft of ANY long-form comic script” but Gay Vampire Beach Romance (working title) is the most complete long-form comic script I have. 

The first draft is about 50% done; the second half of the plot is roughly outlined with a couple thin patches.

WHAT HAVE I BEEN CONSUMING?

Openly Straight and Honestly Ben - Bill Konigsberg

I picked up Openly Straight on a whim after I saw it while dusting the YA section in the library, read it in a day, discovered it had a sequel, got the ebook on Libby, and finished that by the end of the next day. I’ve drifted away from YA fiction lately and I forgot how nice it is to have a book that is interesting and competently written, but still fun and easy enough to fly through in just a few sittings.

Something I appreciated about this book is that it didn’t try to tackle too much. It largely concerned itself with exploring a narrow set of questions thoroughly. Labels vs no labels. Hypervisibility vs invisibility. Going ‘stealth’ as a gay person: can you? If you can, should you? Is it a privilege to be able to stay in the closet? Is it a privilege to be able to come out? Is it a privilege to be able to choose? 

After spotting the word ‘transgendered’ early on in the first book, I had braced myself for trans issues to either go largely unmentioned or to be somehow mishandled, but I was pleasantly surprised by the second book, in which one of the supporting characters came out as genderqueer. It was handled very well, and I adore the character in question.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

This novel really does feel like a long poem. The plot does not progress in chronological order; rather, a series vignettes will follow a thread of thought, or two scenes will be laid out in counterpoint. The imagery was incredible: visceral and vibrant.

It was hard to listen to in places, not because of the form, but because of the subject matter. There was a scene involving a macaque that was almost too much for me. But because the scene was so difficult to get through, it stuck in my head, and I noticed every time afterward when a monkey appeared in a scene, such as a later passage where a monkey keychain was noted in the surroundings. There were many such motifs that ran through the whole book.

Hartford isn't very far from where I live now, and I was surprised to recognize many of the place names, though I have no personal experience with most of them.

I listened to the entire last part of the novel on the morning after a huge snow storm hit. I played the audiobook during the drive to work and while shoveling snow. It was the rare experience where your surroundings complement the media you're consuming perfectly.

THIS MONTH’S MUSICAL JAMS

I now have basically a full playlist of Bruce Springsteen Songs I Like. 

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW!

If you have any questions or stuff you've wanted to talk to me about, do leave a comment below!

Hope you're doing well!

<3,

Dave