It’s been a big year for Candle Light Press, our thirtieth! I’m currently putting finishing touches on Zoo Force: The Works, a collection of all four ZF volumes, complete with the original puzzles and coloring pages.
We had to omit the fun pages for our We Heart Libraries volume. We’d tried getting the ALA to review the individual ZF volumes and they wouldn’t. I paid a visit to the Chicago office and they told me it’s ALA policy not to review books that invite patrons to write in them. That’s fair.
So the We Heart Libraries edition was born. It got a nice review in Booklist.
But now we’re assembling a new volume, including the brand new Blue Route and Stops Along the Way (new this year!). The Works will also have new coloring and puzzles, an annotated cover gallery, a word or two from C. Cat, and essays by me, Jeremy, and Carter.
I’m also knee-deep in writing The Best of TIRE Classifieds, a 100% new book pretending not to be. It’ll be like all the great cash grab paperbacks of the 70s. It’ll also feature art by more artists than ever before! My original goal was 1000 ads and no art. Now it’s 500 with art.
I treat Tire projects like my own personal production Ironman contest. Each one is a test for me.
I’m also taking another swipe at a Man Is Vox 3 script. I’ve done a couple full scripts over the years and neither landed right. Carter and I have a framework now and we think this one’s gonna go the distance.
I’m also teaching a course on comics at the University of Iowa this Fall. It’s called Building Comics. It’ll focus on learning all the jobs involved in making a comic. It’s for creators and readers alike.
I’m also lettering the second issue of Polenas, a new book I wrote for Will Beard.
This year is absolutely insane, and there’s more to come!
