The Good Words
BY THE HORNS receives a RINGO Award Nomination, Creating Dark Earth #7, New Kickstarter Going Strong and Other Fabulous Fraxxing News
It's been a while since I've written a newsletter, but I had to end the long Substack radio silence to share some recent, massive news. My comic book series, BY THE HORNS, received a prestigious RINGO Award nomination for Best Single Issue or Story!
Getting a RINGO nom is a high honor in the comic book industry. It’s like being nominated for a Golden Globe in the film industry. So, needless to say, the whole BTH team (Jason Muhr, Steve Canon, Nicole D’Andria and me) is over the moon about receiving this unexpected but phenomenal recognition, especially for this particular issue.
There’s a big awards ceremony happening at the Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend to reveal the winners and I’ll be there with my wife, Tracy, and one of my best friends in the world, Dan, who is flying in from North Carolina just to come and celebrate the nomination with me. I won’t have a table at the con, but Dan and I will be wandering the floor on Saturday to talk to friends, check out artist alley and buy some back issues before attending the Ringo Awards ceremony at night.
As you can see above, BY THE HORNS is up against some very heavy hitters in our category. Somna just won an Eisner for Best New Series. Star Trek: Day of Blood—Shax’s Best Day was nominated for a Best Single Issue/One-Shot Eisner. Animal Pound #1 and Rare Flavours #1 have been on all the “Best of” lists. And Etheres is an indie darling with a lot of support.
But, you know, it would be really cool to see our unique little fantasy book pull off the upset.
If you’re curious about the issue we’re nominated for, I’ve made BY THE HORNS: Dark Earth #7 available to read for FREE at the link below. It’s a self-contained issue. You don’t need to read any other issues to understand what’s going on. But if you do read what came before, this issue will absolutely enrich the world and the characters for you.
Here are a few nice things people have said about it.
Behind the Comic
BY THE HORNS: Dark Earth #7, titled “The Good Words,” is unlike any other comic we’ve done in the run. BTH artist Jason Muhr always has fun ideas for environments or scenes he wants to illustrate and he often messages me stuff like, “I want to draw a gigantic angry forest golem,” or “I want to draw foul and grungy fantasy pirates.” Whenever he sends me a thought like that, I jot it down and then try to figure a way to incorporate it into a future issue. It doesn’t always happen right away because I always want to weave Jason’s ideas into a script naturally; they have to make sense within the story to work for me.
To date, I’ve figured out how to use every single concept Jason’s ever presented to me, but the idea he wanted to try for BY THE HORNS: Dark Earth 7 was probably the biggest challenge.
The initial concept Jason sent me was fun. He wanted to draw an issue of splash pages as the team traveled across the continent of Yalastra, introduced in BY THE HORNS: Dark Earth #6. His thought was that it would give him a way to illustrate some of the creatures and situations he had stuck in his brain for a while. Since the team was traveling into an unknown area, it made sense that they might encounter weirder environments and adversaries that might not otherwise fit into the overall narrative. The idea intrigued me right away. I liked that it would make for a different issue visually and it was also a really good way to showcase Yalastra, a new magical land full of danger and wonder.
The only problem was that a bunch of cool pinups doesn’t make a story.
After mulling it over for a few hours, I realized that this concept gave me an opportunity to write a backstory for Evelyn, a floating eyeball who was a slave to the evil wizard, Futen, for many years. He told her she was ripped out of the head of a frost giant and given sentience through magic to serve him. From the moment she’s introduced in BTH #2, we discover that she has been isolated and abused by Futen. The impact of that abuse was something I knew I had to explore and Jason’s travel issue gave me the perfect opportunity, by having Evelyn chronicle her life through journal entries. She unexpectedly found a family who cares deeply for her and by BY THE HORNS: Dark Earth 7 she’s in a better place where she can reflect on the physical and psychological trauma she experienced.
What I didn’t expect is how deep into her darkness I would go with her story. When I dreamed up the character years ago, much of what she went through was influenced by my friends who suffer from depression and anxiety, and who struggle to overcome intense trauma from the past. But over the last couple years I’ve also seen some of those struggles turn into real heartbreak. When I sat down to write this issue, two people I knew had just died unexpectedly and tragically, and their deaths had a significant impact on how I approached this story. Evelyn’s past was something I knew was terrible and physically brutal, but writing about the emotional devastation she suffered was harder than I imagined.
I kept visualizing how difficult and how lonely it must have been for my friends who made the choice to leave this world. I ended up writing the issue six times. I cried even more.
The outcome of Evelyn’s story is what I wished happened for all the people who fell into the dark. It’s a tale of taking one more chance on life for anyone out there who struggles to turn in that direction. Although BY THE HORNS is set in a magical realm, there is no potion or spell that can just make Evelyn’s dark thoughts disappear. She can’t undo what was done to her or change how her experiences affected her emotionally. Her life is an ongoing battle to recognize her self-worth, her value, and her importance to the world and to the people who love her. In the real world that fight continues for many people I know. For many people YOU know. Hug them tight and offer help in any way you can. Let them know they aren’t alone.
For anyone out there facing mental health struggles or emotional distress, please talk to someone you know, or dial 988 to talk to a caring counselor. You can also visit the 988 Lifeline website at https://988lifeline.org for help.
Upcoming Appearances
Along with Baltimore Comic-Con and the Ringo Awards ceremony, I’ll also be doing two single-day shows in the Chicagoland area this Fall.
New Kickstarter is LIVE and Already FUNDED!
We launched a new Kickstarter for a deluxe edition hardcover of BY THE HORNS: Dark Earth last week and it’s already funded! Not only that, but we’ve also passed our 1st stretch goal.
This new Kickstarter continues our sci-fi/fantasy saga in an 11"x 7.5" oversized hardcover with a sewn binding. It collects 12 issues from our Dark Earth storyline (legacy issues 9-20) in a massive, 300+ page book. It’s really the ultimate reading experience for BY THE HORNS fans and new readers. We have a bunch of other cool items available as well, including a wraparound variant cover drawn by our friend and Eisner nominee Tim Seeley, with paints by his wife Paola Seeley. Volume 1 is also available if you missed our campaign last year.
We’re now driving toward our 2nd stretch goal which will give every physical book backer a FREE 6” sticker by the amazing Ignacio Di Meglio!
We’d love for you to take a look at our campaign. Here’s the link:
Developing Stories
This year I’ve spent a lot of time working on new series pitches with some great artists and writing a bunch of stories for anthologies. Here’s a quick rundown.
Don’t Push the Red Button
The Don’t Push the Red Button Anthology just came out and it features a 9-page fantasy story called “Endless Snow,” written by me with art by Ignacio Di Meglio, colors by Ezequiel Cataldo and letters by Justin Birch.
I think Endless Snow is one of the best stories I’ve written because it tells a complete emotional journey in 9 pages. But it only works because Ignacio Di Meglio brought it to life so beautifully with his kinetic, expressive art. And I can’t say enough about the gorgeous, ice-swept color pallet of Ezequiel or the striking letter work by Justin. Have a look.
The anthology also features 10 more great stories and killer covers by Francesca Fantini and Liana Kangas. Limited copies are available at my online store.
POTS & PANELS: A Comic Cook Book Anthology
Coming soon to Kickstarter is Pots & Panels: A Comic Cook Book Anthology, which features 50 food-themed short stories in a number of genres from some amazing creators. It’s also a cook book with over 50 recipes submitted by the creators in the book. Artist Travis Hymel and I created a 12-page sci-fi story called "Sandwich Space" for this anthology and I’m really enjoying our collaboration. Travis’ pages are just gorgeous. Here’s one of them.
The Kickstarter begins in October. You can sign up for the launch notification by clicking on the image below.
For more detailed information, visit the Pots & Panels website.
Holiday Spirits
I wrote a 10-page horror story called “Blue is the Night” for the anthology Holiday Spirits Volume 3. In the past I referred to it as Project: Yule Beast. It's a spine-tingling tale based on the Icelandic legend of the Yule Cat, drawn by my friend, Greg Miller, who has done animation work for TV shows like The Hospital, Metalocalypse and The Midnight Gospel.
Holiday Spirits 3 features a host of great indie comics creators. The book was funded on Kickstarter and backers should be getting it in the mail very soon. For anyone who missed the Kickstarter, the anthology will also available to order online. I’ll have copies in my store as soon as I get them.
As for new comic book series, they are still in development. There have been a lot of twists and turns in the creation process that have delayed them, but I feel like the projects are turning a corner and I’ll be able to send out pitches by the end of the year. Fingers crossed.
PROJECT: MADRE GRANDE – Bonkers fugitive fight for your life sci-fi with my friend Ignacio Di Meglio.
PROJECT: MUSPELHEIM – Intimate, character-driven mech pilot melancholy.
PROJECT: MERCURY ORGAN – Space metal love soundtrack with stabbing and sass.
PROJECT: DEATH-AID – Spectral horror strangeness war.
Metalheads Podcast Celebrates 10 Years and 150 Episodes
One of the biggest joys in my life was joining the Metalheads Podcast exactly 6 years ago today, after being an avid listener of the show. My first episode was #80 in 2018 as a guest and by the end of the year I was a regular. Now the cast has passed the big 150 mark after 10 years. Not many podcasts last a decade, so this is a proud accomplishment for all the hosts, especially for our Podfather George Washburn, who started the show and brought all of us together. 10 years. 150 episodes. We celebrated those milestones on a special episode in May. You can listen to it by clicking the image below.
Since we’re talking metal, give my Metalheads Podcast August Album of the Month a spin—Anciients “Beyond the Reach of the Sun.” I was gonna write out a description, but this quote on their bandcamp page is perfect:
"Somewhere between sheer, apocalyptic heaviness and precise riffing, lays otherworldly ANCIIENTS—a Vancouver-based rock juggernaut forging crushing heavy metal evocative of veterans High on Fire and contemporary sonic craftsmen, Opeth. ANCIIENTS have combined fuck-off-huge chords with mind-altering riffage that takes you on an unfamiliar trip."
Okay, that’s literally a good note to end this newsletter on. Enjoy your weekend. Maybe I’ll see you in Baltimore.
-Markisan
Win or lose, Reggie’s will always be there for you
Congratulations on the nomination (fingers crossed).