Happy new year to one and all
We did it. Another year. Still here.
And now we move on. Forward. Onward. Upward.
On New Years Eve I discussed what would be this new year’s theme with my partner. For her, the word was stability. For me, I chose keep going, with the advanced theme of to the moon in 2025.
(We’ll see if this new crypto bull market materializes in the way people are saying. If it does, you’ll be thankful you bought some of that fake digital money….)
2023 was a difficult year for me. Many many ups and downs, mostly in my personal life. But the year ended on a high note with a string of signings and con appearances celebrating the release of BK Vol 2. I am in a better position now, more than ever before, both emotionally as well as spiritually. Whatever that means. All I know is that I’m excited for this new year. A new beginning. An opportunity to keep going and moving forward.
This year will bring a lot of endings to current projects, mainly BIRDKING. My first script of the year will be the final volume of this epic tale. It will climax at 500 pages, by far my longest work to date and what I hope is my most memorable and heart breaking. Even though it won’t be out until the end of 2025, it is coming. And Volume 3 will be released later this year as long as we can finish it on time. Fingers crossed on that front.
This year will also mark the beginning of multiple new projects. Including Robert Sammelin and I’s follow up to Kali. There will be a lot more info on that soon. I’m thinking of starting a design works journal tracking the project from inception, designs, process and execution. If you’re a fan of Robert’s work and/or Kali, stick around for more info on that soon. You will not want to miss it. What were planning is much larger than Kali. A whole new world. A new religion. A new blood soaked quest into the dark heart of man…
“Top Five” of 2023
All year I felt like cinema had died, and yet, when I look at my end of year list, there were many good movies this year. Not sure any of them were truly great, but many good ones. I do wonder if we’ll ever get a year as good as 2019 again or if things truly did irrevoably change after the pandemic. I do harbor concerns about the future of the medium but we’ll skip that for now. I didn’t get a chance to see everything yet but my personal top picks of what I did see are below. (Also including previous years for fun)
Best of 2023
Killers of the Flower Moon
Asteroid City
Godzilla Minus One
Boy and the Heron
Oppenheimer
Beau is Afraid (I hated this movie but I cannot deny its brilliance and technical achievements even if I never want to watch it again. The first 45 mins are master class filmmaking)
TV
The Bear
Murder at the End of the World
Reservation Dogs
Best of 2022
Athena
This Place Rules
Barbarian
RRR
Moonage Daydream
TV
The Bear
The Rehearsal
House of the Dragon
Best of 2021
The French Dispatch
The Last Duel
The Card Counter
Q: into the storm
Best of 2020
The Painter and The Thief
Possessor
Best of 2019
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Uncut Gems
Ad Astra
Parasite
Loro
Daniel Isn’t Real
Come to Daddy
Standoff at Sparrow Creek
Dragged Across Concrete
Best of 2018
Mandy
Roma
Suspiria
The House that Jack Built
2017 Top Films
Dunkirk
First Reformed
Wonder Woman
Good Time
Florida Project
Disaster Artist
Brawl in Cell Block 99
2016 Top Films
20th Centruy Woman
Wiener Dog
Green Room
Bad Batch
Everybody Wants Some
Hateful 8
BOOKS (the best thing on earth, other than food)
Since the pandemic, I shifted my focus from film to literature and comics. Reading has proven to be a much more nutritious, rewarding and entertaining experience for me. Film and TV not so much. Never has it been harder for a film to break through my stony exterior and leave a mark, let alone a deep wound. How I long to be a kid again, where every movie had impact, grace and power. So much lost, so much never to return. But I digress. Here’s a list, in no order, of what I read in 2023:
White by Bret Easton Ellis
Kampus by James E Gunn
The Green Brain by Frank Herbert
A Flame of Byzantium by Chelsea Quinn Yarbo
A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
True Names by Vernor Vinge
Night Flyers by G.R.R.M
Dues Irea by Philip K Dick
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Neuromancer by William Gibson (3rd time)
Servant of the Bones by Anne Rice
The Darkness that Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker
You Are What the Watch by Walt Hickey
The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom
Moonray by Brandon Graham
Rain like Hammers by Brandon Graham
Monica by Daniel Clowes
Blood of the Virgin by Sammy Harkham
Harrower by Justin Jordan and Graham Revel
Ambassadors by Mark Millar and Company
Gospel by Will Morris
Doctor Strange Fall Sunrise by Tradd Moore
Cla$$war by Rob Williams and Trevor Hairsine
Frontiersman by Kindlon and Ferrari
Night Club by Mark Millar and Juanan Ramirez
Phantom Road Vol 1 by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Walta
Past Tense by Jason McNamara and Alberto Massaggia
Lovesick by Luana Vecchio
Love Kills by Danilo Beyruth
The Forged Vol 1 by Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann
The Road Ahead
My aim is to increase the frequency and quality of this newsletter in 24’. Last year was my first year running one of these and I believe I can do better and more. I’m normally quite reserved and share very little of my work before its done, (Kali took seven years and no one saw a thing before it was done), but I’m trying to be more vulnerable and open to sharing myself on here so we’ll see how the year goes. I definitely want to include you in the full development process of Robert and I’s new project. Robert is a brilliant designer by trade and seeing the process unfold is exhilarating and stimulating and I’d be happy and proud to reveal more of that.
Until then…
Oooo, I have Harrower and Past Tense, can't wait to read both!
What did you think of Bakker's The Darkness That Came Before? I've read all of the OG trilogy, but not the second quartet yet.