2022: Road Trip to Publication (and Self-Care)

Remaining productive while practicing self-care

Looking back at my plans for 2022 that I contemplated in last year’s wrap-up, I do think I started implementing more self-care into my routine this year (exercise, joining a DND group to stay social, better eating when my sweet cravings don’t win out, etc.). I’ve also been working toward cutting back on several behind-the-scenes jobs (mostly non-comic related) while saying “yes” to select opportunities that I’m excited to share with everyone in 2023.

But for now, let’s take a trip down 2022’s memory lane. Here are some highlights from the year as well as what I’m looking forward to in the future (and I hope you’re looking forward to it too!):

Writing Highlights

Road Trip to Hell

Among my many spectacular summer announcements, I was extremely excited to announce that Road Trip to Hell got picked up by Scout Comics. You have plenty of options now for how to pick up your copy, including ordering it through Previewsworld, Lunar, or the Scout Comics official website.

Also, and this is diving slightly into 2023, the first two issues have already been released in comic book stores. Though for discerning readers, please note that there were unfortunately printer problems with issue two, so check that your copy didn’t print out of order! While disappointing, I’m trying to stay as positive as possible since somebody did suggest to me that it could become a collector’s item of sorts.

I want to thank everyone again who has supported Road Trip to Hell in any way; whether you bought a copy and/or shouted out the book, I really appreciate all of your support and encouragement. I also really appreciate Scout going above and beyond to get the series out there.

Kunoichi: Kate Bryant

The second issue of the four-issue mini-series of Kunoichi: Kate Bryant which I penned for creator Kevin Given through KRG Publishing came out this year as well. This issue continues Kate’s John Wick-like journey in Japan, this time tackling Mt. Fuji! Both issues are available on IndyPlanet.

Screen Rant

Like with Comic Book Resources before them, I stopped writing for Screen Rant (though a couple of my lists have since been updated by another Screen Rant writer, Amanda Bruce). Before stopping in June, over the course of 2022, I wrote 30 articles for them. I’ve listed three of my favorites below:

• Star Wars Reveals the Jedi Officially Have Their Own Bake Off (Really)

• Dream Detectives Hunt Nightmares in Image Comics' Slumber (Exclusive)

• Death of Elvira Is Killing the Horror Icon for Her 40th Anniversary

Editing Highlights

Scout Comics

All of the series I highlighted last year from Scout Comics have since started releasing (with more in the works), including:

• By the Horns: From the Voracious creative team of Markisan Naso and Jason Muhr, By the Horns is a critically-acclaimed fantasy series. The first part (six issues) of the follow-up arc, Dark Earth, explores the consequences of the team’s first adventure.

• Cult of Ikarus: All four issues came out this year from the creative team of Jenna Lyn Wright and Karl Slominski. Think punk rock meets found family and vampires.

• Impossible Jones: From the all-star creative team Karl Kesel (Harley Quinn) and David Hahn (Batman '66), Impossible Jones is a thief turned superhero who isn’t looking to trade in her past as a thief anytime soon. All four issues of the first arc are now out, and there’s even a super special holiday special!

• Sartorial Geek: Helmed by Sartorial Geek co-founders Jordan Ellis and Elizabeth Crowder Serota, the first three issues of this geeky magazine featuring a variety of talented writers and artists came out, along with excerpts from Scout’s other series, Stake.

• She Bites: This three-issue mini-series by Hedwig Hale follows the supernatural escapades of Elsie Baker, a 134-year-old vampire in the body of a 9-year-old girl, who gets a new babysitter (which doesn’t stop her from getting into plenty of trouble). There’s plenty of mature humor to be enjoyed here.

I’m also still working as Scout’s Director of Digital to help eventually get all of their titles on digital platforms like Comic Plus, comiXology, and Hoopla. Plus, I’ve been working on getting their books input onto Simon & Schuster for distribution!

Tapas Media

There were plenty of season finales among the series I’ve been editing on the webcomic site Tapas Media. This marked the end of my work on some series and the production of the next season for others. Plus I joined a few more teams on the site. The series I have shared and talked about before include:

• Comedown Machine: This ongoing romance series continues to bring the drama with every episode. The Season 1 finale as well as part of season 2 premiered in 2022 along with a Spanish version of the series!

• Chinatop: The first season of this romance webcomic in which two strangers became friends (and potentially something more) in a fantastical world ended along with my editing tenure on it in early 2022.

• Thirst: The romance between superstars Tristan Monroe and Ethan Blackwell continues leading to bloodshed in this vampiric tale with the second season coming to a close in 2022. Production on season 3 is still in progress and is expected to premiere sometime in 2023.

• Flawless: Set in the year 2072, this science-fiction romance explores the divide between perfects and humans. My role on the series grew as it progressed, beginning as a proofreader, then as assistant editor, until finally, I was a full-blown editor before the series came to its natural conclusion in 2022 with episode 50.

• The Fox in My Bed: This love story between college student Kyouji and the foxy Nagisa combines drama, fantasy, and romance! I joined the series as an editor on season three, specifically starting with episode 56 (“Parents”). Stay tuned for the finale in 2023.

Band of Bards

I know, I know, I said I was cutting back on work. But when I started working with the wonderfully talented Elyse Russell, who introduced me to the awesome Tim Stolinski, I found my way into working with Band of Bards on a variety of projects (most of which I still can’t announce). The only one that was released in 2022 is the light novel by the aforementioned wonderful Elyse Russell, Sentience. Though I would also like to tease Band of Bards’ upcoming manga release as well, Reluctant Hero, written and drawn by Alexandra McCarthy.

J-Novel

Throughout 2022, one of my more consistent projects, the light novel series Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, continued. This China-inspired fantasy with food and love triangles saw the English release of Volumes 5-8 in 2022. At this rate, the 11-book series should be wrapping up in 2023.

The other project added to my roster and completed in 2022 was Inquisition, a 25-chapter webcomic. Join two Inqisuitors in a fantasy setting who are hunting down heretics with special abilities from another mysterious world… our own! Enjoy some meta-humor and action-packed heretic-hunting.

Independent Projects

I’ve continued working with a variety of independent publishers and creators this year, editing stories featuring everything from battle pandas to plant people. Here’s a brief glimpse at each of the series/issues I worked on below:

• The Game #2-3: Think Quantum Leap with the main character hopping into the body of Duncan MacLeod in Highlander and you get The Game. I was able to work on the second and third chapters of this Charlie Stickney (White Ash) title, which were combined into one oversized issue.

• Less Traveled: Enjoy some short horror stories by Shawn Gabborin (Puppet Master). This was my first time editing a short story collection, and I’m happy to be able to do it in my favorite genre (and for an awesome writer).

• Bloom Pretty - A Fantasy Comic for a Mature Audience: Another project I’ve worked on from Last Ember Press, this fantasy comic features romance, murder, and plant-people.

• Battle Panda #1: Big Trouble in Panda City: Kai, a panda warrior, dreams of becoming a hero. He may just have his chance in this new series where he takes on the wolves who are blocking the pandas’ water supply! And could there also be something more sinister happening in this animal kingdom?

• Ruination #1-6: If you’re looking for a classic fantasy adventure, Ruination offers all that and more as it follows soldiers looking to save their loved ones (if they can stop themselves from killing each other first). Not only did the first story arc wrap up, but a spin-off series also premiered called Tales of Ruination, which features everyone’s favorite Fallen assassin, Keila.

• Salty Roos, #4 All You Can Eat Buffet: The adventures of three anthropomorphic kangaroos who love extreme sports continue with this story about a quiet Cape Cod community terrorized by a fanged, bloodsucking tentacle monster!

• Dimensional: This sci-fi series is about a mathematical equation that can save the universe from total annihilation.

• Retribution Chapter Two: The Retribution series continues, featuring the return of R, brought back from the dead to avenge his lost love. Think the likes of Spawn, Crossed, and The Crow, while exploring important topics like mental health, suicide, and trauma.

• Stake Presents: Jessamy #2-3: This three-issue spin-off of Stake follows the exploits of the vampire Jessamy in 18th-century America when she investigates mysterious rumors surrounding a plantation.

• Sacrifice #3: Sacrifice features a ragtag team consisting of the devil, Damien, alongside an archangel, vampire, demon hunter, and fledgling witch.

• Turner Family Terrors/Concrete Arcanum: The Turner family bumble through a comedy horror story together that’s described as The Simpsons meets Hellboy with another issue added to the main series as well as a new story in the supernatural and modern fantasy anthology Concrete Arcanum.

• TERRITORY #2-3: This post-apocalyptic kaiju epic continues to give off Godzilla and Horizon Zero Dawn vibes.

Interview Highlights

Kickstart the Week

While I have been cutting back on my “Kickstart the Week” interviews, I do still try to interview indie creators about their crowdfunding campaigns on Comic Frontline. In 2022, I posted 18 interviews, including for the first time ever Zoop campaigns in addition to Kickstarter projects. Here’s three highlights from the year:

• Kickstart the Week(end) with A Hunter’s Tale: A Comics Poem: Ryan Claytor combined his artistic talents to create a comic book version out of his late grandfather’s poetry. A Hunter’s Tale is the result of this emotionally-charged creation.

• Kickstart the Week with KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER 50TH ANNIVERSARY Graphic Novel: The comic book anthology KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER 50TH ANNIVERSARY spans numerous decades, featuring ten original comic book stories from the talented minds of R.C. Matheson, Nancy Collins, Peter David, and many more.

• Zoop into the Week with Dead Dreams: The Lucid Chronicles #1: This second “Zoop into the Week” spotlights Brittany Matter’s debut on Zoop with the first issue of her science-fiction series Dead Dreams: The Lucid Chronicles. Find out more about dream drugs, doppelgängers, and preferred parallel worlds when I talk with both the series’ creator as well as the artist.

Being Interviewed/Appearances

For the first time since the pandemic started, I attended my first in-person event, selling some of my comics during the Halloween Comic Fest celebrated by the comic shop Comic Fusion.

I was also interviewed a couple of times in 2022, both about my own work Road Trip to Hell as well as another interview alongside the rest of the By the Horns creative team:

• Talkin' Shop with Ms Jen! Comic Creator Interviewed About Their Latest Work!: “Every Monday, Ms. Jen sits down with a comic creator to get an inside look at a book hitting shelves on Wednesday! Let Ms. Jen bring you behind the scenes of the comic book world. No VIP badge required!”

• Blake's Buzz Live - A Stay In Solothus: “This special episode of Blake's Buzz Live is an all you can eat monster head soup buffet! Markisan Naso, Jason Muhr, Steve Canon, and Nicole D'Andria are grabbing the live stream By The Horns!”

My Newsletter

Marking the first full year of updates, 2022 saw this newsletter updated on a monthly/bi-monthly basis. Most likely, to continue my “cutting back” strategy, I’ll be changing this to a bi-monthly (one post every two months) newsletter. I’m always updating my socials though, so if you want to see what I’m up to, please check out my Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and my website. And if you’d like to see all of my previous newsletter posts, check out the archive here.

Plans for 2023

While writing this update, I discovered the concept of “hurry sickness,” which fits me to a T, constantly feeling as if I’m trapped in a time crunch and inadvertently hurrying my way through life (and projects). I’ve already been implementing some of the “treatments” for it too, as evidenced by my previous posts.

Most likely, my 2023 plans are going to mirror 2022, continuing (if not bettering) my self-care while paring down some of my other behind-the-scenes work. As well as continuing to do my best and appreciate the work I do have the opportunity to do, saying yes to select opportunities that are worth my extra time and attention. Plus writing the scripts for the next arc of Road Trip to Hell!

Thanks for continuing on this journey with me, and hopefully getting something out of it along the way! Please consider subscribing to this newsletter to keep up with my bi-monthly updates.