Just announced from Graphic Mundi, wherein Yazan Al-Saadi's dispatches are illustrated by an impressive lineup of comix-makers including one short illustrated by me, originally for the now sadly defunct The Nib. Titled Cairo Under the Crackdown, here's an excerpt.
You know you're stressed when all your rules concerning carb intake are out the window.
Good morning.
I'm sure I will regret this 11:00pm coffee, but I need to push to get this chapter in the can.
It's true what they say, the last 10% of any project is always the hardest. No idea who “they” are, but I'm pretty sure it's a thing.
Inking with a Q-tip to get them fat cap feels. Always a challenge to recreate the look of one medium using another, but I think it turned out alright.
“Why are you so tired, daddy?”
Well, Mr. Moony, I was working all day today, and the work is still not finished, and I have so much more work to do still.
“Are you gonna work while I sleep?”
Probably.
“Why do old people die, daddy?”
Well... because they've been alive for so long, their body's been working so long, and after so many years of their body working, everything gets real tired; their heart gets tired, their chest gets tired, their tummies get tired, their legs get tired, and their eyes get tired, and their heads too. Everything gets so tired to the point where it's ready to say, All done, bye now.
Laughter, and then: “Are we gonna die soon?”, asked with a smile and a trail of laughter still.
Hopefully not you, Moony, because you're still very young.
“But you're gonna die soon.” The voice of conclusion, not a question.
Sooner than most, I think, but hopefully not too soon.
He then nodded in silence and after a beat or two changed the subject before drifting off to sleep.
How American Purity Culture Led to a Shocking Affair — Mikita Brottman for Crimereads on her new book GUILTY CREATURES.
H.G. Well's THE TIME MACHINE audio drama from the BBC circa 2009.
“Alan Moore is a writer and magician from Northhampton. He's a stranger to hairdressers.” — That's one way to introduce Alan Moore. From the documentary DON'T GET ME STARTED by Stewart Lee, which makes a case for blasphemy, or anti-censorship rather. Inspired by protests against a play he had written, the documentary highlights various measures taken in the UK to curb creative freedoms. It would be interesting to see a follow up of sorts done today, given how “Freedom of Expression” seems to have become an argument for some to be openly racist, at least in America. It's either that or what some are calling “Woke culture”, which in my opinion is a bad term for what you might describe as a culture of disingenuous virtue-signaling. It's messy out here in these ununited states.
Sharks on Cocaine — National Geographic.
10 Van Gogh Paintings You've Probably Never Seen —All stunning, discovered via Keith Perkins' blog.
“I could taste the air on my way to work this morning” —Mario Villalobos blogs from Montana where wildfires are presently ablaze, thanks in no small part to a scorching heatwave.
Bill Gates is building a “new type of nuclear power plant” in Wyoming apparently, due to operate in 2030.
Promised myself I wouldn't travel until the entire TSG is in the can, but this chapter has genuinely sapped the lifeforce out of me and I think a recharge is very much in order. Considering fucking off for a few days as soon as its wrapped. Either Mexico City or NYC, can't decide. Mexico City is closer, more my vibe, and kinder on the wallet. I do know more people in New York though, some of whom I haven't seen in a couple years.
Another day of surviving on a mere three hours sleep after awaking at 3:00am for no good reason. Orders dropped off at post office though, and a quick visit to the lab for bloodwork checked off (I'm rather particular about my health and try to get tested fairly regularly). These are now the very last remaining copies of THE SOLAR GRID #1 in existence:
Cover for the print edition of #9 underway today.
“There are interesting correlations between myths across different traditions, links forged between Wales and Ireland in particular, but also persistent tropes shared by numerous cultures, including “tripleism”, which plays a key role not only in Welsh myth, but also in Macbeth’s trio of witches and old nursery rhymes. Threeness is 'an endemic part of British and European Iron Age and Roman provincial symbolism'.” — Otherworld Wales at TLS, discovered via Warren Ellis.
Relatedly: “During the Old Kingdom, the Sun god used to appear in three forms: at dawn called khepri (Ḫpr), at mid-day called Re (R‹) and at the sun setting called Atum ™...”
Let me just interject here by saying that this is clearly the basis for what we now know to be the three-act structure in storytelling.
“By the Middle Kingdom, trinity developed by merging three divinities together such as god Ptah-Soker-Osiris (Ptḥ-Sḳr-Wsir), who was regarded as single divinity in some texts by stating a single pronoun (di.f) or by stating plural pronoun (di.sn). The ancient Egyptians merged these three gods because they represented three stages; creation, death and afterlife, as god Ptah formed the creation, god Soker represented the necropolis and god Osiris represented the afterlife. Furthermore, during the New Kingdom in the Book of the Dead in chapter seventeen, the idea of the trinity was expressed by mentioning “Osiris (Wsir) was yesterday, current day is Hours (Ḥr) and tomorrow is Re (Ra)”.” — The Significance of the Number Three in the Ancient Egyptian Religion by May Ahmed Housny and Kholoud Ahmed Emara. Not the best written paper tbh (chalk it up to ESL), but some great information there. Like this bit of madness:
“The ancient Egyptians believed that the human identity was divided into two main elements: materialistic and spiritual. Our main concern will be directed to the spiritual elements as it comprises three main elements which were: Ka (k3): It is the sole companion which is born with the creation of the human being, Ba (b3): It is the spiritual entity that can move between worlds of living and death, Akh (Aḫ): it is the illuminated spirit in which the deceased wished to be resurrected in.”