Howdy, howdy!
Here we are in February, already the second month of the year. At this point, the end of 2022 just feels like a distant memory. Even for me, who only ended by writing break in earnest on 23 January (following a day when I just had to write in the middle of the month). With January out of the way, weāre in the month of love, whose midpoint we commemorate with loved up couples rubbing their #CoupleGoals in singletonsā faces.
Weāre not here so I can rub my marriage in anyoneās face; weāre simply here so I can talk about me. Sure, I might touch on other bits and pieces throughout this newsletter, but creating a newsletter about oneās writing is its own special form of narcissism. My December-January break from writing was a nice refresh, and jumping back in has shown me how worthwhile itās been. Since Iāve been back, Iāve been relentlessly hammering my keys with vigour.
How much vigour, you (likely donāt) ask? In the eight days I wrote (I still skipped days), I wrote more than I did in either May or December last year, and only a few hundred words less than September. I also spent more time editing than I did in April, May or December, and only 45 minutes less than September. In other words, my eight-day output was equivalent to a slightly shittier month than I had in September.
Having already dropped this newsletterās bar to some tragic lows, letās get into it.
Writings
Despite my reacquainted vigour, Iām surprised by Januaryās output. In total, I wrote 19,393 words, and spent five and a quarter hours editing. I know that no matter what 2023 brings, itāll have months that are less productive. To quantify the month outside of word counts and hours lost to editing, I wrote two blog posts (one sizable, the other brief), eight book reviews and their review summaries. I also edited all the above, as well as the first chapter of Till Death Do Us Party, itself accounting for more than a third of the monthās total editing.
If that three and a half hours as the month drew to a close wasnāt enough to convince meĀ Iām in for a long road of editing ahead, thankfully, my trusty Magic 8-Ball was. Every time I shook it and asked about what lies ahead, it gave me the same answer. No matter what the question was, even if it had nothing to do with my writing or the months ahead, it gave me the same answer.
Batmanās Cheesy Sidekicks
How often do I get through a newsletter without discussing Batman? āNot often enough,ā I hear you say. So I wonāt discuss Batman; Iāll discuss his sidekicks, Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin and Red Hood, featured in the game that isnāt about a certain pointy-eared hero Iām not discussing.
Itās an entertaining game that shares much of the Arkham seriesā DNA, so much so that I donāt understand why itās not a sequel, and I can say with 99% confidence that I think it was originally designed as one. Itās jam packed full of fun moments, and a level of cheese Iām not certain is deliberate. Thereās a great game in there trying to get out, but it lacks polish, and features far too many bugs than it should. It entertains, but WB Games should have invested more time into its development.
And I wonāt mention the masked vigilante, but if youāve ever wanted to see Bruce Wayne dancing in his underwear, todayās your lucky day. Check the video above.
The Ronin Rabbit Returns
Those of you whoāve been following my website and this newsletter for a little while may recall I wrote a couple of pieces on Stan Sakaiās perfect blend of samurai drama and funny animals, Usagi Yojimbo around the middle of last year. While I wasnāt writing in January, I didnāt just play video games; I also took the time to read some more volumes of the series. Naturallyāand because Iāve committed to chronicling the entire runāI had to write about it.
I also broke my publishing exile by a few days to publish my piece about these volumes. So I humbly offer Rediscovering the Ronin Rabbit: The End of an Ear-a for your reading pleasure.
If youāre shaking your head at that pun, please know Iām shaking my head at it in solidarity. But, no. I wonāt apologise for it.
Okay, I Have To Mention Batman*
James Gunn has announced the first ten projects in the new DCU slate, since weāre in a world where everyone needs a public plan like Marvel while pretending to not ape Marvel. Hey, instead of Phases, the DCU has Chapters. Itās innovation.
If youāre a DC fan, itās an eclectic mix: An animated Creature Commandos series; Waller, spinning out from Peakemaker; Superman: Legacy, proving Henry Cavill canāt catch a break, Lanterns, a TV series dropping the āGreen,ā The Authority, because the DCU needs allegories of the characters theyāre wanting to sell you; Paradise Lost, because when HBO isnāt releasing Game of Thrones, it needs to ape Game of Thrones; Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, because this is a young Superman and introducing his younger cousin makes so much sense; Swamp Thing, in an attempt to finally get it right, Booster Gold, because we need a loser; and Brave and the Bold, because Batmanā¦ and Damian, the awesomest Robin!
And for all my sarcasm, Iām a fanboy, so yay.
* But I avoided using him in the picture. Itās progress, I tell you!
Saturday Snippets
You just know that even though I wasnāt writing for most of January, I was still putting together snippets from Till Death Do Us Party, right? With sixteen of them, I didnāt actually share the majority on Twitter on Saturdays, either. So, itās probably safe for me to just call these āSnippets,ā but alliteration is more important than accuracy.
Iāve included one above, but if youād like to see the other fifteen, youāll just have to click the link. You can follow me on Twitter if youād like to see my upcoming snippets, or if youād just like to trawl through my old tweets for them, rather than look at the page. Hell, even if you just want to stalk me, thatās fine.
What Am I Listening To?
Iām currently digging the Moonage Daydream soundtrack. Anyone who knows meāor simply read the November/December edition of this fine newsletterāwould find this entirely unsurprising. Iām a massive Bowie fan, and loved the documentary. The soundtrackās exhaustive; with all the music from the documentary, it clocks in at two hours and nineteen minutes, five minutes longer than the film itself. Itās chock full of remastered and remixed songs, presenting a stunning soundscape.
If I were to recommend just one track? The Jean Genie / Love Me Do remix, featuring Jeff Beck. Hereās a link.
What? No Book Reviews?
Ordinarily, this is the part of the newsletter where I direct you to the monthās book reviews. But since I keep the site quiet over January, I donāt have reviews to direct you to (okay, thereās one, but you can find your own way thereāfor my own ease, I link to a full monthās each newsletter).
So, what am I doing if Iām not directing you to reviews? Iām directing you to the #JanuaReads hashtag I created over on Twitter, highlighting thirty-one awesome authors Iāve reviewed.
If you donāt want to click through, thatās fine. Iāll just tell you to check out books by A.R.K. Horton, Michael James, Gabrielle Cagne-Cyr, K.A. Hough, Keira Lane, Paityn E. Parque, Wren Murphy, Tom Vater, C.A. Doehrmann, Zeb Haradon, Rishi Vohra, T.C. Marti, Dixon Reuel, S.M. McCoy, P.D. Alleva, Jon Renzella, K. Scott, Tim Ruel, J.C. Mastro, Kimber Delaney, Mara Lynn Johnstone, Maria Daversa, Nicholas Ponticello, Elise Carlson, Kevin Klehr, Sarina Langer, Gary Gibson, Dima Tsyptsiura, Christa Wojciechowski, Juliette L. Dunn, and Gopi Bain. They all write awesome stuff.
I Finally Read Luda!
Among the books I read during my writing break, I finally got to Grant Morrison (who also happens to be the creator of the awesomest Robin)ās Luda. Itās a trippy tale about drag queens and magic set against the backdrop of pantomime theatre. So very high concept, and a great introspection of ageing and gender. Highly recommended if youāre in the mood for something well and truly out of the ordinary.
Thatās a Wrap
As I sign off for the month, I sincerely hope youāve had a wonderful start to the year, and the next eleven months are even better. Until next we meet in Marchās digital rantā¦
TTFN,
Was