Queer Fantasy and Weird Tales for the People
If there is danger, it’s right outside her door.
Not knowing about it doesn’t make her safe.
At long last, the latest episode of The Well Below the Valley is now available on Patreon. The sinister town of Whitmoor is preparing for some momentous occasion, putting our intrepid investigators in danger. This episode will be available for free reading next week, but if you’d like to support an independent creator, my Patreon is only $3 a month.
Renee Christine, “The Bomb”
Good morning! Milwaukee is somewhat underwater right now, so I hope you’re safe. My basement is leaking, but the drains didn’t back up, so I am thankful that it wasn’t much worse.
In case you missed it, the first page of Last Watch Before Dawn is live right here. You can also access it on Patreon as a free or paid member. Paid members also get bonus art!
This week, I’ll be starting the next page, as well as finishing the latest episode of The Well Below the Valley. I’m hoping to get the latter up this week, though I don’t know if it will be on my usual Wednesday. One day, I will manage my time well enough to get ahead on my work, but that isn’t today.
On Sunday (the 17th), I’ll be at What the Hex: Arbor and Alchemy! Doors will be open from noon until 5 at Dresden Castle on Underwood, Cudahy, WI. I’ll be joining an eclectic collection of magical artists and craftspeople, including my best friend and business partner Brooke (of the Figuratively Speaking Tarot). Admission is only $3 (free for kids under 12), and there are three free classes you can join throughout the day. What the Hex is a delight every time, and I hope to see you there!
A couple of petitions:
Via Win Without War: Restrict the first use of nuclear weapons
Via No Business with Genocide: Strengthen the arms embargo on Sudan
Via Demand Progress: Stop supplying weapons to fuel Israel’s atrocities in Gaza
That’s all I’ve got for you today. I’ll be back later this week. Thanks for stopping by!
So it begins!
To avoid gumming up your scrolling with a huge image, I’ll put it below the cut:
Continue reading “Last Watch Before Dawn: Volume 1, Page 1”Buffalo Nichols, “Belly of the Beast”
Good morning!
I am writing to you from inside the smoke cloud moving off the Canada wildfires. I hope you’re safe today.
I’m working on Episode 11 of The Well Below the Valley and the first proper page of Last Watch Before Dawn. I should be able to finish the latter in the next day or two, so that should be up soon! I’m planning on putting the comic pages both here and on Patreon for free, image size allowing, and bonus art will be available for Patreon subscribers. Here’s the link if you’d like to become a free or paid member ($3/month).
This month, I’ll be heading to What the Hex: Arbor and Alchemy on Sunday, August 17! I’m excited to be back at What the Hex and to rejoin Brooke for our first table-sharing event since…February? I’ll have more details for you as we get closer to the event.
A couple of petitions from the depths of my inbox:
Via CARE Action: No one should die from hunger
Via Win Without War: Defund the GHF and restore a UN-led humanitarian response in Gaza
Via No Business with Genocide: Pass the Uyghur Policy Act
That’s all for today. I should have new content for you soon! Thanks for stopping by.
Dramatis Personae
(in order of appearance)
KURT Cross, actor, private investigator, and former skeptic. Male, early 30s, New York accent.
Inspector ISKANDAR Meshkia, Metropolitan police detective and raging caffeine addict. Male, late 30s, strong Turkish accent.
Dr. ERNEST Wilde, skeptic enough for the whole group. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent.
Eloise “ELLIE: Westmont, returned home at last. Female, mid 20s, posh British accent.
JASMINE Indrani, haunted by the ghost of her mentor. Female, late 20s, could have a British or Indian Accented English accent.
A Whitmoor FARMER, unwelcoming to outsiders and unphased by recent events. Male, middle aged, Northern English accent.
Constable Ben COREY, who learned not to ask questions. Male, mid 20s, Northern English accent.
MARIE Campbell, post office attendant and dreamer. Female, early 20s, Northern English accent.
Robert SANGFORD, telegraph operator and de facto postmaster. Male, early 40s, Northern English accent.
Father John WHITNEY, Whitmoor parish priest. Male, early 50s, Northern English accent.
Scene 1: Int. Westmont estate, third floor – Day
MUSIC: OPENING THEME.
KURT wakes, shaking off a dream; to represent the dream lingering, the sounds of a drone, a steady drip of water into a metal sink, and the rattle of an old radiator fade in after the music and fade out as he narrates.
Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley, Episode 10: All Who Have Ears to Hear”Nathan Evans Fox, “Hillbilly Hymn (Okra and Cigarettes)”
Hello! It’s Monday again.
Thank you to everyone who braved the heat to come out to the Kenosha Book Festival! I’ll be heading back out there in September for the last one of the year. I’m hoping it will be a pleasant fall day.
The newsletter will be going out on Thursday (the 31st). If you’re not signed up and would like to be, put your email in the box at this link, and then check your inbox for a confirmation. If you signed up at the festival, I’ll put your information in today, so you don’t need to do anything else.
I’ll be working on the first proper page of the comic this week, as well as the next episode of The Well Below the Valley. Last week’s episode will be up here on Wednesday for free reading. I appreciate your patience as I continue to try to get on a regular schedule. I don’t know if that will be happening anytime soon, but please believe that I’m trying.
A couple of petitions:
Via Demand Progress: Stop ICE’s human trafficking to foreign prisons
Via Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid: Demand that Congress and the White House act to deliver food to starving Palestinians
Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon!
Here’s a little snippet. You can see the entire image on Patreon! As a bonus art, this is available to paid subscribers, but the comic will be available for free and paid members.
I’m about to start working on the first page, so stay tuned! I should have it out sometime next week.
With all due respect, Inspector, I don’t want your help.
You’re too close to the professor. You’re drawing me back into his nonsense, whether you mean to or not.
I left Oxford, and then I left London. Ragnarsson pursued me even here, even after he died.
I think I’ll never be free of him.
Episode 10: All Who Have Ears to Hear
As promised, the shiny new episode of The Well Below the Valley is now available on Patreon. After experiencing some uniquely eldritch nightmares, our investigators split up in order to gather some more information about the town of Whitmoor, while in the background something darker looms.
I’ve also made the first episode free to access on Patreon (you can find it here), though it is already free to access here via the Stories tab above (under the Menu if you’re on mobile).
Seth Staton Watkins, “Óró Sé Do Bheatha Abhaile” (traditional)
Good morning!
I have a shiny new episode of The Well Below the Valley for you, and it will go up on Patreon on Wednesday. All this week, I’ll be working on some comic pages. My plan is to make the comic available both here and on Patreon for free, but keep bonus art behind the Patreon paywall, which is only $3 a month. The bonus art will also be available in the print version, whenever that is ready. If you’re interested, you can sign up for Patreon as either a free or a paid member.
On Sunday, I’ll be at the Kenosha Book Festival! Here’s the Facebook event, and here’s the website. I would love to see you there and talk about books, comics, or whatever. The event takes place from 10 to 3 in the parking lot across from Studio Moonfall (5031 7th Ave., Kenosha, WI), and there will be at least one food truck. The food in past iterations has been excellent. In addition to local and indie authors, there will be great deals on secondhand books, and the first 100 guests will get a goody bag (so be sure to come early!).
A couple of petitions for this week:
Via Demand Progress: End violent ICE raids
Via Amnesty International: Demand “Alligator Alcatraz” be shut down
Via The Intercept: No American gulags
That’s all for now. I’ll be back with some art, and I hope to see you on Sunday!
Hi!
Episode 10 of The Well Below the Valley is just finished, but I think I want to stick to the Wednesday schedule for the time being. It will go up on Patreon next Wednesday and here the following Wednesday. This will give me a little more time to work on the comic. My baby has had the worst time napping 4/5 days so far this week, and I didn’t have the time to work that I thought I would. As I type, she is asleep on my chest, because she will scream if I try to put her down.
Thanks for your patience. I’ll have new stuff for both Patrons and blog readers soon.
Space Whales Press 