BIG STUFF POTENTIAL

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Howdy.

I wrote the below on Saturday:

I’m starting this on Saturday night, but will hold off publishing ‘til Monday. (I skipped the usual Friday delivery to wait for the preview to D-Squad #4 to come online. More on that below.)

This past week was devoted, mainly, to two huge pitches — a comics project and a film. If they work out, either would be the biggest thing I’ve done in either medium. So… pressure. A doc for the comic project went out Friday. The feature pitch is Monday. Both projects had their kick-offs this past Monday, so it was a lot of work to put together in a very short span of time. I just finished the visuals deck for the feature pitch and — I won’t lie — I’m pretty tired.

I also locked the manuscript for PROJECT FROST, delivered the final script for Beware the Planet of the Apes, and turned around the lettering draft for Apes Issue 2. Plus, some other stuff. Like I said, tired.

Well, that didn’t age super-well. I’m not getting the newsletter out til today, Tuesday. And towards the end of the day at that.

Let’s dive in:

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS — D-SQUAD

Tomorrow (Wednesday, 12/6) sees the release of the conclusion of Star Wars: Dark Droids — D-Squad. It’s Issue 4, for those counting and puzzle-piece fits directly into Star Wars #38 and Dark Droids #4. Here a preview courtesy of AIPT:

You can buy the issue digitally on Amazon or a physical copy at your local comic shop.

STAR WARS: REVELATIONS II

Speaking of Star Wars, this month will see the publication of this year’s Revelations one-shot previewing what folks can expect from Marvel’s Star Wars comics in 2024. I’ve got a fun short story in this one that scratched a big fanboy itch for me.

Star Wars Editorial Emperor Mark Paniccia spoke to SFX magazine about it and I’ve shamelessly copied the interview below.

THE WHATSAPP WARS

From Star Wars to a wars of a different type… I gave a couple of quotes to Peter Keifer of The Ankler for his piece on Israel, Gaza, hypocrisy, and invite-only text chains. It’s unfortunately paywalled for the nonce, but if you’re an Ankler subscriber, you can read below.

Inside Hollywood's WhatsApp Wars

One quote from me:

“I’ve seen on a lot of WhatsApps that I’m on devolve into a feelings-hurt kind of argument among people who are of like minds,” says Marc Guggenheim, showrunner on Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow. “And the reason that happens is that it’s a forum that’s designed to extinguish nuance. But also people don’t realize how just fundamentally angry they are and these chat groups become a convenient outlet for that.”

Lost in this quote, I think, is a pretty salient point: People don’t realize how fundamentally angry they are.

I don’t think it’s a radical notion to state that we’re living in some very, very angry times. This anger is exacerbated by the Covid pandemic — the psychological effects of which we have yet to fully grasp — and fueled by social media, an unrelenting 24/7 news cycle, and a four times indicted candidate for president who has made rage his brand. It’s toxic and that toxicity is slowly killing all of us, starting with our spirits. We need to find a way to carve out some grace for our fellow humans or, I fear, things are going to get much, much worse.

MCLEAN FUNDRAISER

I recently published a special edition of the newsletter to spread the word about David McLean, the Arrow cremember we lost a few months ago. Today, Deadline helped spread the word about the GoFundMe campaign to aid David’s wife and children.

You can read the article here.

And if you haven’t already, please consider donating to the GoFundMe by clicking here.

Thanks.

ANOTHER COMIC BOOK STORE RECOMMENDATION

Dave Wilkins chimed in with a recommendation for a comic store in Marietta, Georgia: Dr. No’s Comics and Games SuperStore (3372 Canton Rd #104, Marietta, GA 30066).

Check it out if you’re in the area!

Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Atwater Village, California

12.5.23