It's New Year's Eve, and it's been a good year for the indie world. The Iron Age arrived, indies in comics are killing it where the Big Two failed, European comics are back on people's radar in North America, Manga rules the roost, and OldPub continues to wither on the vine.
No big rundown this week--and last week I missed due to it being Christmas Eve--but this one I have to post because it just got released and it's a holiday anthology.
Take care, everyone, and I'll be back next week.
New And Coming Soon:
Ironage Media interviewed Cirsova (here) recently. If you prefer video, here you go.
Author Rawle Nyazi appeared to be interviewed on the IronAge Spotlight.
David Stewart had a New Pub Talk stream today.
The Business of Writing had a new episode.
And #20Booksto50K began dumping video archives of their 2022 Vegas convention. More are being added. Playlist below.
There was also a lot of talk about A.I. art and writing algorythms this week, but that deserves a seperate post.
It being the Christmas season, new releases are getting thin on the ground as people take the rest of the year off.
One unexpected present was the release of the 2022 #20BooksTo50K video playlist. Embedded below.
It's months after the fact, so the information will be dated to a degree, yet I would ask that you watch it anyway. This is as close to an annual report on the business as it gets these days, coupled with some sound business and craft instruction for those still on the newer side of things. Many present are veteran indie authors and publishers, who have been there since the space became viable, and so remember when it was OldPub or nothing.
The caveat is that, like indie Western film and TV, it presumes Western OldPub as the only other model; there is little awareness, nevermind comprehension, of how the business works in the East or anywhere else. If you're not working within the Western paradigm of business, #20Books will have lesser utility for you.
This is also where I must complain that "BookTube" is almost worthless. It is filled with Death Cultists and incompetents (but I repeat myself) tearing at greater men of the past and foreign talent of the present that contradict and defy the (Un)Holy Narrative.
I would like to remind such people screeching about "Muh Representation!" that one of the properties they are trying so hard to subvert--Warhammer--has represented them from the start. The Ruinous Powers of Chaos need worshippers to carry out their will, and the Death Cult--a peculiar blend of Nurgle and Slannesh--does so with glee. Furthermore, the specific pattern of Convergence fits the Genestealer Cult motif perfectly. No wonder they hate it so much.
And if you need to relax, David Stewart's streams are always a comfy time.
New/Upcoming Releases:
Notable Videos:
Mercury Falcon continues to deliver good stuff. Grounding Harlock in the decade wherein he emerged, and properly attributed Matsomoto's influence on Space Battleship Yamato, is the sort of attention to detail I wish I would see as commonplace in video essays about media. He has not disappointed me yet.
A few months old, but worth a watch. I commented that Big-O is a reaction to Lang's Metropolis, which a comparison between the two supports as you have the protagonist occupying the same space between Head and Heart in order to resolve the conflict driving the story. His other videos on this show should be worthwhile.
Dave Stewart did another stream today, and you can count on nuggets of wisdom being found therein.
