Mutant Pizza

Hello there, Cheeses and Sauces–

March is already here! And with it comes the vernal equinox, or first day of spring. And with that comes allergy attacks beyond belief. It’s a fact of life that my body is unable to process the complex proteins in various rags and weeds and pollens, nor the general pollutants in the air. No matter, I come to you with my monthly newsletter, the Monthly Crust! This time, it’s March.

Even though you didn’t ask, here’s what I just finished reading

I recently finished Orbital from Samantha Harvey. A decent slice-of-life story about astronauts aboard the ISS musing on our blue marble and the frustrating paradox that is the human race. While interesting to sink into the headspace of the scientists and engineers aboard as their minds rotate along with the space station, I found the novel lacking in depth; only scratching the surface of the philosophical and forgoing the interesting intricacies of their work. A good portion of the book, especially the final chapters, read like they were lifted directly from Carl Sagan’s cutting room floor. I would’ve loved to know details about the experiments on the mice, for example, or have seen more robust tension between the political standings of the international crew, but alas, those nuances were glossed over to instead describe the same portions of planet Earth popping in and out of view, chapter over chapter, over chapter…over chapter. The book really described the same countries, features, continents, and natural disasters over and over again, ad nauseam. I also found the chapter pacing to not do the book any favors, some being about 30 minutes, others being 8 or 9 minutes with little rhyme or reason as to why.

I also finished East of West, a ten tome comic by Johnathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta. This comic paints an alternate future for North America where various peoples from First Nations, China, Africa, and Europe carved out their own kingdoms and countries on the continent — no United States was formed. All the while, the four horsemen of the apocalypse have tasked themselves with bringing about the end to all mankind. Their plan is thwarted with Death betrays their brethren after marrying and having a child with the Empress of The People’s New Republic of America. The story is gripping and full of future-mythic Abrahamic visuals. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for medium-sized graphic novel experience — Dragotta’s cinematic and stylized art is worth giving it a look on its own, but Hickman’s story and concepts for this type of future provide an amazing setting that breaks the mold of scifi.

Here’s what I just started

Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield is about a couple on the rocks who decides to pick up seasonal work at a sugar beet farm during harvest season. The story opens by putting the reader in the mind, if there were one, of a sugar beet. So far, it’s an intriguing book that I’ve only just started (I’m on chapter 5). This is one of the first books clearly written by a Millennial about Millennials and, as I don’t consider myself to identify with the majority of Millennials, the pop culture references to Tumbler and certain music go way over my head — although there is mention of Fleetwood Mac, which I love.

I’m also reading Room to Dream, the late David Lynch’s biography. It’s a long tome but I’m about a tenth of the way through it, just finishing up his childhood and high school years. I rarely read biographies but David Lynch’s films have influenced my creativity so much that I had to read this. The format is also more interesting than traditional biographies. Lynch cowrote the book with Kristine McKenna; McKenna would research, interview, and write a chapter focusing on a certain period in Lynch’s life, then Lynch would read, review, and write a response. It makes for a great back and forth of Lynch reflecting on his own life through the eyes of those close to him. It’s captivating so far and, even though Lynch’s work has a darkness to it, he was an optimistic person and sociable — everybody loved him! It’s heartwarming to read.

I started playing a new video game called Wanderstop, set in a magical forest with unique plants and people. You make tea for people! It’s an interesting premise about slowing down and figuring out how to not try so hard, or be so intense. This is a lesson I desperately need to learn about my work. I push myself pretty hard to a breaking point where sometimes I mentally or physically collapse. I’m trying to be better and the narrative woven through Wanderstop is as compelling as the various characters in the game that you make tea for. To learn this lesson on slowing down, I’m going to play this game as fast and hard as possible until my soul breaks! (Joke! That was a joke!)

Okay, now here’s what I’m doing with my life

I started a webcomic! It’s called the Oak Tree. It’s about a cat and dog who meet under an oak tree and talk about life and stuff. I started the Oak Tree to work out my illustration muscle more often and get all of these little story ideas out there that I’ve had but never had a home for. Please, when you get a chance, check it out. It’s quick, it’s free, and it’s funny (yes, I’m tooting my own horn: toot toot motherfuckers). The style of the webcomic will change over time and already has as I find a look that I enjoy.

I wrote a piece recently on rediscovering my writing style. When I’m not writing extensive newsletters describing all of the stuff I’ve been reading or games I’ve been playing, I’m plucking away at several short story ideas. So far, I’ve got drafts for four stories. I’m going to write two more, then turn around and edit all of these suckers. My goal this year hasn’t changed: I’m going to submit these stories to as many publications as possible this year, at least fifty.

I brought Color Space back off the shelf, redesigned it extensively, and I’ll likely be heading to board game conventions this year to sell it at indie game markets! I’m proud of what I’ve been working on with Color Space and I’ve started a design journal series about the game. I’ll update y’all as to what conventions I’ll be at in the near future. This game has been my focus in the past few weeks and I’ve gotten it to a good place, but there’s still further for it to go!

All right, that’s March, baby — on to April and those weird, egg-laying rabbits! (And the even weirder people who collect and eat their contents.)