Wednesday, June 29, 2016

ODDS, ENDS AND SHEDDING SKIN

The Cosmic Story

Just returned from two weeks off the grid—on a 500 acre retreat, radiant with God’s Presence—where I got to recharge my spiritual batteries, shed the skin of the so-called Real World and reconnect with what’s truly important in my life.  

These times away underscore the fact that this life really is a dream and that the Sacred Reality that underlies the dream manifests most profoundly through our acts of compassion and connection.  This trip also underscored my belief that storytelling, in all its forms, is an act of love, born of imagination, just as Creation Itself is an act of Divine Love, born of Divine Imagination.


So let’s all keep letting our imaginations run free, telling (and living!) our personal stories within the Cosmic Story—and realizing that each is a mirror of the other.  And, above all, let’s keep treating each other with kindness.

Con-tact

I’ve got a few convention appearances coming up in the next few months.  First is Terrificon, in Connecticut (August 19—21), where I’ll be joined by my old buddy Keith Giffen, as well as Dan Slott, Scott Kolins, Paul Levitz, Roger Stern and a host of other comics luminaries.  After that comes the justly-celebrated Baltimore Comic-Con, which takes place on Labor Day weekend.  Giffen will be there, too (I think he’s stalking me!), along with Mike Cavallaro, Neal Adams, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Dan Jurgens, Walt Simonson and dozens more.

  

My final con appearance of 2016 will be November 12th and 13th at Comic-Con India in Bangalore.  I haven’t been to India in eleven years:  to say that I’m excited about going back (and also returning to Meher Baba’s Tomb-Shrine once the convention is done) is the understatement of the year. 


Shameless Plugs

DC’s Scooby Apocalypse #2 is out now, written by yours truly and Mr. Giffen and drawn by the jaw-droppingly talented Howard Porter.  Our first issue made it to #11 out of all comics sold in May and the response has been very enthusiastic.  We’re hoping for a good long run. 

The Adventures of Augusta Wind:  The Last Story debuts in August, thanks to the fine folks at IDW, and I’m enjoying this sequel mini-series even more than the first one.  The art alone, by the amazing Vassilis Gogtzilas, is worth the price of admission.


IDW is also behind the new hardcover edition of my old Vertigo series, The Last One, which comes out in September.  The time-hopping story of Myrwann, an immortal living in New York City’s East Village, is, at its core, a tale of compassion and the toll it sometimes takes on the human heart.

Imagination 101

My Imagination 101  writing workshop is coming up in a few weeks (July 15—17 in Kingston, New York).  There's still room in the class, so if you're interested in attending, just jump over to my workshops page and read all about it.

***

Looks like a busy, and gratifying, summer ahead.  Hope you all have a great one.

2 comments:

  1. I am delighted to hear that your time away was so full of grace! The day-to-day world continually seduces us, trying to get us to believe it--in its busyness and tendency towards self-preservation--is the whole shebang, when, in our hearts, we all know better. Self preservation, rather than mere self-preservation, comes, as you said, most genuinely through acts of love and compassion (and I am 100% in agreement that storytelling is an act of love, or, at least, can and should be). Also, congrats on getting to return to India. Your excitement is almost palpable, and definitely contagious! Thank you for sharing these aspects of your heart: your story as well as your stories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're incredibly welcome, Mike. Very glad that what I had to say resonated with you.

      Delete