PRETTY GOOD YEAR
THE BEAUTY gets an airdate, the busiest year of my silly career, and...just...be nice
I’m a lucky man…
The sum of all of the things in a lifetime, both good and bad.
Triumphs and failures.
Right and wrong.
It’s all there.
I sit here, on the day after Christmas, writing and drinking coffee on the front porch.
It’s unseasonably warm and sunny.
There’s no sweater or scarf.
Just a bright, strange, beautiful morning.
And nothing about it feels real at all.
I think, in a lot of ways, that just might be the theme of this year.
Nothing about it feels real at all.
Well, still…pretty good year.
A QUICK THING
I feel like I need to say a thing…
It’s hard for me to talk about the good things when I know others are in pain.
SO MANY have had so much heartbreak and loss in this year.
Loss of jobs, health, family, relationships, belief in systems built to protect us all.
I know we all need to hear about good things— to find excitement and…hell… escape.
So I’ll still tell my silly things about my silly shit— but know— I see the pain out there.
And I care.
Now…ahem…back to my silly shit.
THE BEAUTY SHOW GETS A RELEASE DATE
THE BEAUTY is coming to FX/Hulu on JANUARY 21st!
You know that thing where you get the perfect gift for a loved one sometime in early fall and you have to keep quiet about it until Christmas?
Having a TV show made by one of the most prolific and popular creative minds out there is…pretty much exactly like that.
THE BEAUTY, based on the 2011 comic series co-created my Jason A. Hurley and me is finally ready.
And it’s sexy as hell.
Take a look at the teaser trailer.
Join us in celebrating the release of THE BEAUTY on FX/Hulu JANUARY 21st.
They’re airing the first THREE episodes that night, with weekly episodes to follow.
SO…THE SUBSTANCE
Okay, folks…I want to be absolutely clear about something—
I genuinely, truly, believe that Coralie Fargeat DID NOT steal the concept for the 2024 film THE SUBSTANCE from my 2011 comic series THE BEAUTY.
Sure—THE BEAUTY and THE SUBSTANCE share some elements.
They’re both stories examining society’s pressures on how we look, and, to a degree, the lengths we’d go to in order to attain “perfection”.
When THE SUBSTANCE came out, I had a lot of folks reach about about the similarities.
Did it worry me?
Not at all.
They’re clever takes on a similar theme that go in very VERY different directions.
This isn’t even an ARMAGEDDON / DEEP IMPACT kind of situation or two FRANKENSTEIN flicks coming out practically back to back.
Stuff happens.
Creatives speak to society and speak on the world around us through our particular lens.
Also— I truly loved THE SUBSTANCE.
I think Coralie Fargeat is an absolutely brilliant filmmaker.
Her unflinchingly brutal 2017 flick REVENGE was fantastic and had me cringing my way through my couch.
So yeah— Coralie Fargeat didn’t take the concept from THE BEAUTY for THE SUBSTANCE.
I really appreciate people speaking up for THE BEAUTY comic coming first.
Just…be nice.
HEY KIDS!! COMICS!
As we round out the year, both MURDER PODCAST and THE BEAUTY comics are going full steam from all of us at IGNITION PRESS!
Excited about THE BEAUTY TV series?
Want to join in on the mystery of MURDER PODCAST?
We got you!
MURDER PODCAST #3 and THE BEAUTY #2 are available in your local comic shop NOW!
JUST A FEW LEFT…
Remember the ULTRA RARE SUPER SECRET VARIANT for MURDER PODCAST #1?
The one that was limited to 666 copies?
The one that was signed and hand numbered, with an extra EXTRA limited “BLOOD SPLATTER” remark (on 66 copies) randomly hidden throughout the run?
Remember how you could only get those from me on tour?
WELL…
Along the way, right off the bat, a box of them got lost in shipping on its way to Rose City Comic Con.
I thought those copies were honestly just lost to the wind.
Nearly two months later, THEY. CAME. BACK.
My not having quite as many as planned on the tour has turned into YOUR chance to get your own copy of this rarest edition of MURDER PODCAST.
If you love MURDER PODCAST and couldn’t make it to one of the stops on the tour, the time has come, my friends.
Here you go—
GET YOUR COPY OF THE MURDER PODCAST SECRET VARIANT HERE!
They’re limited. And once they’re gone they’re gone.
Still— I know some of you were bummed that you couldn't make it to a signing on the tour, so I’m glad there’s this opportunity for you to get one.
I’ll leave you today with a shot of me holding the most amazing Christmas gift ever.
My boys got me Conan’s father’s sword from CONAN THE BARBARIAN this year.
I’ve wanted this thing…forever.
I’ll say it again—I’m a lucky man.
There has been so much good to this year.
We officially launched IGNITION PRESS, I went on tour for the big release of MURDER PODCAST, THE BEAUTY comic is back as an all new ongoing series, AND we have the FX TV series just under a month away.
It’s also been so very hard for us all.
As we end this year, I’m going to make you all a promise to keep making things— telling stories— telling you silly stories about my silly shit.
I’m grateful for comics.
Grateful for YOU.
I’ll leave you with this line from Tori Amos song “Pretty Good Year” that’s been pinging around in my head lately.
“They say you were something in those formative years
Hold onto nothing as fast as you can
Well, still, pretty good year
Pretty good”
Until next time—
Cheers!
Congrats on The Beauty. Saw an ad for that on Hulu. Congrats also on the sword. Looks cool. May that inspire you to revisit The Realm in 2026 (or the not too distant future).