I turned 45 this week. Do I feel like I'm 45? No. More and more often I get a sense that once you hit your 40's, 50's, 60's, and maybe even beyond, you never feel your age. Your body tells you otherwise. This birthday seems heavier than I feel like it should be. People make a big deal about turning 40, and an even bigger deal about 50. 45 is just a pit-stop on the road to the big five-oh. I think that heaviness come less from turning 45 and more from the year that it is-2024. Cue Galadriel's opening monologue from Lord of the Rings:
The world is changed.
I feel it in the water.
I feel it in the earth.
I smell it in the air.
Much that once was is lost...
Instead of the world being changed, it feels like I'm in the midst of a world that is changing-present tense. Much like Galadriel, I can see it happening in all facets of life.
We're growing increasingly disenchanted with social media and parts of the internet. The cell phone promised a world where we could be more connected and more free at the same time. No more cords tied us to home. We could now talk to each other, conduct business, go to the bank, attend meetings, book vacations all from a touch of a screen. Now that we've adjusted to its convenience the device has now become a weight we cannot escape; a tether, a chain.
In the U.S., politics has divided us into a people who are more concerned with winning than governing; being truculent instead of being reasonable or fair.
The seeming omnipresence of A.I. has creators running in fear which hinders their abilities to come up with new ways to rise above the threat. Instead they point at the impending doom and carry signs that the end is near. A flock of Chicken Littles crying that the sky is falling.
And here I am, forty five feeling insignificant, overwhelmed, overstimulated and unimpressed. If only there was one ring that ruled them all, we could destroy it and save the world.
Okay then...Let's do a quick pivot away from the realities of life and get back to the things that distract me from it-comics!
After taking a week off from drawing them, I've got a new autobio comic this week. As well as a quick timelapse of me penciling and inking the panel from last week's newsletter.
Furiosa
Although I feel like my fan art illustrations can't compete with all the other artists in a comic convention's artist alley, I still have fun creating them. Even though I don't make them a focus of mine like I did a year or so ago, I still get a kick out of them when the inspiration strikes. This past week, Rhea and I finally found time to go back to the movies (it's been a while for us) to see Furiosa A Mad Max Saga. And although I hear it doesn't quit hit the heights that Fury Road did back in 2015, Furiosa still delivered some solid action pieces, and provided even more time spent the post-apocalyptic desert world. Confession: I've never seen any Mad Max films-not even Fury Road, but seeing this film inspires me to amend that past mistake. It wasn't just the movie that inspired the fan art. The latest piece by Eduardo Vieira-illustrator and character designer, who was also creating a piece inspired by Furiosa-made me ask myself what would she look like in my style? And so, I grabbed a piece of paper and started drawing.
What's Making Me Happy This Week
Okay so, undoubtedly I'm going to mention Furiosa a Mad Max Saga. Rhea and I saw that this past week and I honestly enjoyed it more that I expected. It's one of those movies that I kept thinking about long after I had seen it. And not because it had something poignant to say or that it had some emotional core-nope! It was just awesome. Only later did I learn that the director, George Miller-who has directed all of the Mad Max films, also co-wrote the other films as well. As a creator myself, who has been building a long form story line over the past few years, I have a special place in my heart for someone who keeps telling stories from a world they create. It's one of the reasons I'm a fan of Star Wars. I just love being in that world and the world of Furiosa fits that same bill.
Since I've been feeling all bummed and old and midlife crisis-y, I've been looking for words of hope and encouragement to keep me going. Here's a few people I turn to that give that to me. In this quick blog post, Seth Werkheiser talks about how artists should be using their creativity not just to produce work, but to show how they produce their work. Although I don't 100% prescribe to this idea (I sort of reject the idea of love the artist before loving the art-I think the two can exist separately majority of the time, with exceptions) I still dig Seth's work, what he says, and digging into his ideas.
I follow Austin Kleon on Substack and in a recent post he recommended Richard McGuire's graphic novel Here, which director Robert Zemekis has released the trailer for his movie that's based on the book. But the book is more an art piece and less a graphic novel and I encourage you to take a look at McGuire's work more here. It's fascinating.
Alright team that's all I've got for you today. Now go out there and make it a great day! I hope you have a great week ahead and as always thanks so much for reading. I'll see you next time.
~b