March 2022: The power of Excel(lence)

Clearing your mind with geeky spreadsheets (and other news)

March has been the most imbalanced month for me this year. At first, it felt like I could afford a leisurely pace when it came to working. But by the end of the month, I had a lot of surprises (most of the good variety!) that kept me busy. Some of them I can even announce in this month’s update!

I would also like to try and sprinkle in more tidbits of advice amidst all these fun announcements and work updates. Like bookends, I’d love to provide some advice in the intros and conclusions of my newsletters. So, I wanted to share the power of Excel when it comes to compartmentalizing your workload.

For me at least, I find making spreadsheets oddly relaxing. And considering I’m simultaneously working on dozens of projects at a time, it’s a huge help to break down each month week by week using a spreadsheet to mark when certain projects are due (or how much progress I’d like to get done by the end of each week). Writing things out like this has made things a lot less overwhelming for me. Plus, writing out all the geeky projects I’m working on makes me more excited for the month. If you’re someone who doesn’t find spreadsheets tedious or frustrating, I highly recommend it!

But now that said (hopefully) helpful advice has been shared, onto some geeky announcements!

What I’m Editing

Scout Comics

Scout’s debut of the geeky magazine Sartorial Geek kicked off the month of March. This features a collection of articles bridging the actually non-existent gap between fashion and geek culture. The premiere issue also has an interview with the amazingly talented comic book and television writer Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel, Bitch Planet). My job as Scout editor was made all the easier by the two overseeing creators and editors of the magazine, Jordan Ellis and Elizabeth Crowder. Be sure to check out their website as well to see where it all started!

The final issue of the first Impossible Jones arc brawls its way into comic book stores. The all-star team of Karl Kesel (King Shark, Harley Quinn) and David Hahn (Batman '66) finish the story with Impossible Jones fighting against Homewrecker to save her man.

The month of March ended with the very first collection of By the Horns hitting comic book stores. The Voracious comic book team of Markisan Naso and Jason Muhr top off their epic story with this eight-issue collection of fantastical unicorn hunting goodness. I was lucky enough that despite coming on as an editor starting with issue 5 of this series, I was able to go back and suggest edits for issues 1-4. (Not many considering how eagle-eyed the creators are already!)

Tapas Media

The steamy finale of Thirst Season 2 came out on Tapas. The third season has already been announced, so get ready for some even more action between half-vampire and acting star Ethan Blackwell and rising star Tristan Monroe.

Current Kickstarters

Two comics that I edited issues for launched via Kickstarter on the same day at the end of March. Make sure to show your love to both White Ash Deluxe Edition and Sacrifice #1-3.

A fantasy series about Elves and Dwarves secretly living in Pennsylvania, the latest White Ash Kickstarter includes an all-new 64-page issue! I’ve been editing everything from the second season of White Ash. This series is well-known for its amazing Kickstarter performance; it has already raised over $41,000 and at the time of writing this it still has 25 days to go and plenty more stretch goals to unlock.

In Sacrifice, monsters run wild as the host of the devil, Damien, and his team comprised of an archangel, vampire, demon hunter, and fledgling witch take on an evil cult with plans tied to Lucifer. As a fledgling editor on the series, I started my editing duties on Sacrifice with issue 3, which features the first appearance of Sin, a personal favorite character of mine from this comic.

Past Kickstarters

I also wanted to give a huge shout-out to Bloom Pretty, a mature fantasy one-shot that I had a hand in editing! The Kickstarter for it raised over $40,000. I highly recommend following the writer, Lisa Moore, for more updates as the project progresses. You may find some project updates in my upcoming newsletters as well!

Dimensional

Released on Amazon, Dimensional marks the second time I’ve worked with Pasquale Marco Veltri. Having previously edited a few issues of his Painting My Life, I’ve joined Marco once again, this time for a sci-fi series about a mathematical equation that can save the universe from total annihilation. If scientist Rebecca Harmony can make it in time!

What I’m Writing

Kunoichi: Kate Bryant

I’ve been writing the Kunoichi: Kate Bryant mini-series based on characters in the Karl Vincent: Vampire Hunter series. The second issue has dropped on KRG Productions’ website, which is also having a sale where each digital comic is a dollar each. Please consider checking it out.

Screen Rant

Meanwhile, over on Screen Rant, seven of my comic book news stories were published throughout March 2022. I mostly focused on indie titles, although in my overall highlights from the month, I would include the following:

• Deadpool Fans Need New Horror Comedy The Dark Room In Their Lives: An Image Comics graphic novel, The Dark Room is written by Deadpool writer Gerry Duggan and features a skeleton carrying around a boombox. What more could you ask for from a horror-comedy?

• Dream Detectives Hunt Nightmares in Image Comics' Slumber (Exclusive): I got to cover the exclusive preview from Slumber, which I’ve covered previously, from the writer of the Child’s Play reboot. The artist even stated in an exclusive quote that “in the dreams you could face anything from zombie Beatles to David Bowie from Labyrinth trying to choke you in a huge library.” Which readers will get to experience first-hand when they check out the preview.

• Hulk, Venom & More Battle Fortnite Heroes in Official Crossover Art: It’s kind of amazing how well Fortnite crossing over with the likes of Batman and Wolverine has gone over so well, and these covers are just promotional materials throughout May to build the hype around the next upcoming limited series featuring the likes of Spider-Man and Iron Man getting dropped on Fortnite Island.

Interviews

Kickstart the Week by Visiting Everywhere from Neverland to the Great Beyond

My series “Kickstart the Week” featured three new Kickstarter campaigns in the month of March. Journey to the fantastical world of Neverland during a pandemic, enjoy a meal at Deadless Chicken, and receive messages from the future.

Kickstart the Week with The Neverland Issue 1

I spoke with Caleb Thusat about his dark fairy tale comic The Neverland, a sequel to the original Peter Pan story. What makes this interpretation unique is that it takes place during the pandemic with a son whose mother gets sick, causing him to escape into the Neverland of his childhood that’s grown much darker than he remembered. The Neverland #1 Kickstarter reached its goal and is still available for pre-order. The second issue will be launching this summer.

Kickstart the Week(end) with Death of a Necromancer

A necromancer moves into a small English town and opens up the Deadless Chicken restaurant, raising the dead by sacrificing chickens. But is there more to the gift of life than meets the eye? Of course there is in this graphic novel, which I got more of an in-depth look at from writer Nick Bryan. The Death of a Necromancer Kickstarter is still in the process of being funded and will end on April 14, 2022.

Kickstart the Week(end) with Acausal #1-2 – Grounded sci-fi crime thriller

Compared to Quantum Leap and Criminal, Acausal emphasizes the crime thriller aspects with elements of science-fiction. Inspired by John Ward’s recurring nightmare, the story featured a ragtag group of misfits who get messages from the future.

Here Comes the Sun

As the world continues to open up more and more, I hope that in addition to taking part in these geeky projects, I can get outside every once in a while to remember what the sun is like. I recommend others do the same (safely, of course) in these wild times.

My commitment to self-care was a bit of a tussle in March. So, I’m already setting up some time to take some breaks intermittently in April and then actually planning to enjoy a sort-of week off in May. Which I’ve already reflected on my latest Excel spreadsheet to help take some of the edge off from April since it’s already pretty packed!

Thanks for sharing another month with me, and if you’d like to see what I’m up to next month, be sure to subscribe to this newsletter. Also, share your thoughts in the comments below.