My printed letters of comment – Usagi Yojimbo #73

This letter is my most recent; my other letters were all around the same time, about 8, 9 years ago (damn, I feel old …). That was my concentrated letter-writing time, where I was writing pretty regularly to comic books. I don't think I was a hack – I didn't write more than around twenty letters all told – although I did, subconciously, write with the intent of getting my letter published, rather than just saying nice things about the book. I tended to write to comics with smaller readerships, I tried to write something positive and thoughtful, and I was fairly regular when I did write.

My letter-writing days didn't last too long, what with the increased emergence of the internet, especially interactive forums, for that feedback we crave. So, I haven't written a letter since that heady time. Except for this one last year. Again, I cheated a little bit, aiming for a book that doesn't have huge numbers, despite it being brilliant, and used the classic hack technique of asking a question that might need to be answered, in this case about the selling of original artwork.

I was particularly pleased to have my letter printed in Usagi Yojimbo for several reasons: it is one of my favourite comic books, and I am now part of its long history; it has many letters from the brilliant and most erudite of regular letter writers, Charles J Sperling (I wish he wrote a blog), which gives me undeserved recognition; I only wrote two letters to Usagi, with one getting published, which is a pretty good average; and because I mentioned my girlfriend and her love of Usagi in it as well – she is a complete Usagi fiend, and I have to stop her buying all the trades, despite having all the singles, everytime we go comic book shopping.

And now, I have this blog, where I can write whatever the hell I want about anything I want, which is just as good, if still not quite as cool as seeing your name and thoughts printed in the back of a comic book you love.

My printed letters of comment – Transmetropolitan #7

(Apologies for the two images – the letter was printed over two pages, and my limited Photoshop skills couldn’t seamlessly blend them together again, even with help from all the King’s horses AND all the King’s men, useless bastards.)





Having a letter printed in a comic book is great, in my opinion. So, all my letters printed are special to me. But I think that this one edges out by an angstrom unit in its specialness.

There’s the fact that it’s in a Warren Ellis comic, compounded by the fact that it’s Transmetropolitan, Warren’s best work. He has created many great comics, from Planetary to Authority to Fell to Desolation Jones, but this is his masterpiece. Spider Jerusalem was the perfect conduit for all the ways in which Ellis is a great writer, and Darick Robertson was brilliant throughout the entire series. And I got a letter in it. Also, it was in reaction to the first issue, so it got in on the ground floor, so to speak.

There were also other bonuses. This letter got an immediate email reply from Stuart Moore, the editor (or whorehopper), saying how it reminded him of the way he felt about New York. That was pretty cool, in my limited world experience. Also, in another letter I wrote (but didn’t get published, I’m not greedy), I think it might have been about issue 6, I made mention of how Darick’s art didn’t look as good as normal. I got a reply from Darick thanking me for noticing how all his hard work had been muddied by the inker. That was also pretty cool.

Finally, there was just the visceral response of the emotion in the letter. Tranmet #1 was a cracking book, and I just poured out my reactions, barely any editing, and this immediacy found its way into the very book it was praising. This connection to the books we read is one of the many great aspects about the world of comic books, and this one gives me a sense of time and place, kept forever in series I adore. All in all, that’s a good feeling.

My printed letters of comment – XERØ #9

Another letter in a comic book, another comic book by Priest. XERØ was a wonderful series that was criminally cut short due to poor sales and woeful treatment by the power people at DC – for a personal reflection on the many travesties poured on this book, read this piece written by Priest, which is depressing but fascinating.

Trane Walker, a black man, was the top spy in an agency who dressed as a white guy for his jobs. That summary does the series no justice, as it was wonderfully complex in that fantastic Priest way, mixing real-world politics, family tensions (his brother was his handler at the agency), pro basketball and action (or what Trane called, 'the cowboy thing'). It just happened to star a black man.

Although race was a part of the book, it was not the sole and defining aspect, and it was a great read with some great CrissCross art. It was a unique book that deserved so much more, and I was so proud to have a letter printed in it, especially after finding out what went on behind the scenes. A recent meme, picked up by JB, was Five Comics You Were Sad To See Go Away; in my list, which would include the JB-nominated Chase, XERØ would be top.

My printed letters of comment – Quantum & Woody #9

Quantum & Woody was THE most enjoyable thing to come out of Acclaim. Priest wrote some hilarious stuff, MD Bright drew up a storm, and much fun was had by them and the readers, unfortunately not that many. I enjoyed it so much, I bought the trades as well as the singles, which is the highest award I can give a book.

Getting a letter printed here was, therefore, rather special, even if I was being used as a token Brit, not that I gave a monkey's. I stand by all that I wrote in the above, and will eulogise it for a long time to come. Priest is another writer I admire, and this is one of his best works. It was a crying shame that Acclaim stopped publishing, as I wanted this to go on forever.

The coolest by-product of this letter was receiving a preview copy of Concrete Jungle: Legend of the Black Lion, also by Priest, that was sort-of spinning out of Q&W. Never having received a preview before (or since), this was particularly gratifying. It was made even more singular by the fact that it was never published, due to the previously mentioned Acclaim meltdown. That Priest is so unlucky … It was an interesting looking book, which would have been more Priest goodness in the world, but it was not to be.

My printed letters of comment – Stormwatch v2 #2

Here is a scan of my letter about the end of Stormwatch series 1:


If you have read some of this blog, you'll know that I'm a big fan of Warren Ellis, so I was quite chuffed to get a letter printed in a comic written by him. I don't have much of a life.

This feeling was taken down by the fact that they printed my email signature, which was to do with work (I've erased it from the scan), and by the reply from the editor, which I think completely failed to see the point of my letter; I wasn't slagging anyone off, and love the work of the people I mentioned, I was just praising Ellis in particular for the way he ends a story.

Who cares? I got a letter printed in a comic I was enjoying. In the words of The Fast Show, 'Brilliantttttttttttt!!!!'

My printed letters of comment – Challengers of the Unknown #9

After all the light negativity of my Trimming the Collection posts, I thought I would let some of my old positivity take centre stage for a bit.

Here is a scan of my printed letter in The Challengers of the Unknown of the late '90s. (Click to enlarge.)

As a fan of comics, getting a letter printed was brilliant, and I'm still happy about it to this day. However, looking back over this, I did go a bit overboard in my discussion of the book. They must not have been getting many letters at the time, if they printed that one. Still, it doesn't diminish my feeling of being connected to history, having my name in the back of a comic book. A small thing, the grand scheme of things, but a nice one nonetheless.

I enjoyed the incarnation of the team, helped by the wonderfully moody art of John Paul Leon, and was sad to see it end at #18. It was fun while it lasted, though, as my letter hopefully shows.