SR 1 PAGE NINETY-FIVE

I Why does it say “needle. drop.”? Seems like more of a “record. scratch.” moment than a needle drop. But that wouldn’t fit with the image of an actual needle there. I dunno. Just fun words, I guess!

It’s probably blindingly obvious, but I’ve never actually seen anyone doing needle drugs (or even snortin’ drugs). Despite spending five years in art school and countless weekend nights at goth/industrial/punk shows, I somehow missed even a glimpse of any of that. Maybe I give off strong narc vibes? That would explain why people were always quickly stuffing things under tables when I walked by. And the near-constant toilet flushing in the background. That really kills the vibe at shows! (Except at Rancid Toilet Flushers shows. Then you don’t notice.) 

Back in the late 90’s/early 00’s, people would sometimes throw the “straight edge” label at me. It didn’t really fit, though. I was never much into the hardcore punk scene, and some of those guys with the “x” tape on their hands seemed a little… intense? Sometimes violent? Bordering on fashy, even? I didn’t want to do drugs, but I also didn’t want to base my whole personality on what I DON’T do. Especially if it involved throwing punches and whatnot.

I try not to be too judgmental about people who fall into hard drugs anymore, but I’m still definitely on Sera’s side in this scene. If you see a potential co-worker shooting up during a business interview, mayyyybe keep your options open. (I will not fall into that trap again!) And if they say “I LIKE little girls”? RUN.

SR 1 PAGE NINETY-SIX

I’m not sure this point ever quite landed, so let me clear something up after two decades: Skarsdayle is distinctly NOT the evil mastermind behind the curtain in this story. She didn’t give Stiletta the drugs. She didn’t plan a vampire attack. She genuinely has no idea how Sera’s sketchbook wound up on her desk. Skarsdayle is just another jagged knife in the hand of the real villain: Stiletta. Who’s right there on this page, disguised as Skarsdayle’s creepy assistant, Chester.

Is the Chester = Stiletta thing too subtle? I wonder about that, too. These things are always tricky, because there’s a delicate balance between “trusting your audience is smart enough to pick up all the clues” and “trusting you’re smart enough to provide all the necessary clues.” That trickiness is amplified by the fact that I’m telling this story in first person perspective, too. I can’t have, like, Chester standing behind Sera with Stiletta’s tongue slithering out of his mouth, because Sera didn’t see that. It would be cheating!

Apologies for the slur in panel one. I never edited that one out because Skarsdayle sucks and I wanted to show her careful mask of civility dropping for a moment. Gross folks gonna gross folks. Might revisit this if it’s ever re-published.

REF ROUNDUP: “Chase the dragon” is old-timey slang for heroin use. Skarsdayle is applying it to my fake vampire blood drug, “The Curse,” but whatever. Just fun words again! According to the word histories website, “chase the dragon” originated in Hong Kong, translated from the Cantonese “chui lung.” In 1950’s Hong Kong, heroin was more often smoked than injected, and the process involved using a straw to suck the “smoky tail” of liquified heroin as it burned in folded tinfoil. I dunno why it’s a dragon’s tail, specifically, but maybe if I saw it in person it’d be obvious. “Yep! Definitely a dragon’s tail you’re chasing there! Distinctly dragonny!”

BACK TO THE PRESENT!

Oh my God it’s 108° here in Pasadena today. HAPPY SEPTEMBER, EVERYONE!

On the bright side, I’ve been told (by many scientists) that the one sure-fire way to beat the heat is my brand-new spooky book SHOCK CITY. And it’s finally available THIS TUESDAY.

Everywhere! Pretty much anyplace that sells books should have it. Here’s a list to get you started, but check in with your local indie shops if you can. (Also, following that link I just noticed that my publisher put up even more preview pages, so that’s fun!)

The book finally being out there seems extremely unreal… I first sent thw premise to my agent (Highly recommend having one of those. Very bad before!) waaaayyyyy back in the fall of 2020. I spent the better part of 2021 hammering out the story and producing over fifty pages of pencils for the pitch, and through Agent Dan’s hard work and sharp skills we were able to land the book-plane at Viking pretty quickly. I put the finishing touches on Shock City book one in October, 2023, then straight into book two.

So yeah, my life has been pretty much non-stop Shock City for four years now. It makes me so happy that people finally get to see it!

(Oh yeah, and in 2022 we came within one day of making an animated series based on these characters. Stop-motion. Remind me to tell you about that someday.)

Hope you love this book at least 1% as much as I do. Trust me, that’s a dangerous amount of love! And thanks again to everyone who dives into my first solo book since Serenity Rose.

NEXT WEEK: WEE MARY GRISSLE.