2025 Round Up

It seemed like for the world at large 2025 came in like a gut punch, and even though the rest of the sand for this year is quickly slipping out, I have no doubt that it'll sneak in another cheap shot or two to leave us all reeling as we stumble our way red-eyed and coughing into the next year. THAT SAID, I managed to also have an incredibly fortunate year and I'm immensely grateful for all of the blessings. The CliffsNotes version:

France

We kicked the year off with a signing tour in France for Ankama's release of Beneath the Trees, and we capped it off with my first trip to Angoulême. It was a really great experience although I'm sad to hear about all of the turmoil surrounding it that lead to it's cancellation for 2026. I hope the festival can find its way forward. The Franco-Belgian love for comics over there is a revelation from a U.S. perspective, and I'm sincerely looking forward to the next chance I get to return and visit with all of the new friends I made. Two of my favorite moments from that trip specifically involved running into Jesse Lonergan and Pornsak Pichetshote at two random moments while were were bustling around the little hilly town.

FREE FOR ALL (Oni Press)

I was already thrilled that folks had come out to support a Zoop campaign for the book, and it was during that initial crowdfunding window that Oni reached out asking what my plans were for the book after that. I had expected it to just go back to sitting on my hard drive, so this was a total dream. Oni has been great to work with and their release in March went even better than expected. I'll be doing a lot more with them if you haven't heard already (see below!). Also worth mentioning: if you can't find Oni's initial release for FREE FOR ALL, they'll have a book version (with an extended commentary break-down in the back) available in Spring 2026.

In-Stores and Signings

In general I didn't have much time to do cons and signings because of my work load, but I had a few that were great. I signed at Collector's Paradise for Free Comic Book Day along with Corrina Bechko and Rodney Barnes (and it's always a pleasure to cross paths with them both). Also at Collector's Paradise, I had the pleasure of meeting and signing with the mega-talented Tillie Walden (who was on tour with her third and final book for her wonderful CLEMENTINE series with Skybound). It's a pretty isolating job just sitting at your desk and writing / drawing, and I love whenever I get to meet readers and other creators.

BENEATH THE TREES WHERE NOBODY SEES: RITE OF SPRING

It was released and also well-received. Psyched that readers were on board for shifting gears and following along with the next installment of this story. Working on this book pretty much took up the majority of my life this year from February to right now (and should be all wrapped up in a couple weeks). So many lessons learned this time around. Some of that had to do with writing, but most of it was centered on the art (the effort, the purpose, the toll it takes on my life). Lots of hard-earned revelations about myself, and I'm grateful to have gone through it. It's already been announced, but in case you missed it: a third arc of Beneath the Trees will be coming as well. I won't say much about it just so we can all enjoy the final two issues of RITE OF SPRING with as few spoilers as possible, but I'm looking forward to diving into it after a break.

SDCC

It was only my 2nd time at the con, and it was fun to return although it seemed like this time around I didn't have much time to visit (I was still turning in pages for RITE OF SPRING so I spent whatever free time I could drawing / painting). No tabling this time around, but THANK YOU to everyone who came out to see me at signings for IDW and Oni!

NYCC

Also only my 2nd time here as well, and it was a doozy. I kicked off my arrival in New York with a small presentation at an all-day event hosted by the New York Public Library where creators explained their process and took questions from folks who attended. The DC K.O. crossover event was announced during Jim Lee's panel at NYCC, and it was revealed that Samantha Strong would be making an appearance amongst a slew of other characters from outside of the DC universe. And to top it off, we won Best Book of the Year at the Harveys this year (which I'm still trying to wrap my head around). I sort of had an out-of-body experience with that one, but I'm forever grateful for the recognition. It's insane that we were even nominated with that group of people, and to have won is just beyond me.

Also, I just want to point out a sweet treat for both of those cons: the amazing Jared Cullem did exclusive BTTWNS: Rite of Spring covers for each, and they are spectacular!

NPR Weekend Edition: Sunday

A huge goal of mine was achieved this November when I had the honor of being invited for an interview with Ayesha Rascoe on Weekend Edition Sunday. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent listening to various NPR programs, especially Morning and Weekend Edition. Much of Beneath the Trees was drawn while listening to it. Also wild: I caught the interview on the radio when it aired on the Sunday after we recorded, and my interview showed up right after Evan Dando's. Ha! And relevant as I also listened to quite a bit of The Lemonheads while drawing and painting (especially COME ON FEEL). You can listen to the interview here.

ARCHIE IN HELL (Oni Press)

And the most recent bit of news: it's been announced that I'll be writing ARCHIE IN HELL with the incomparable Tyler Crook handling the art. It's part of a three book reboot that Archie Comics is publishing through Oni Press, and I'm honored to be a part of it. Not much that I can say about it at this point, but we're very excited for what's in store. You can read the press release here.

MUSIC

So much music that I cruised through. Here are my 5 favorite albums from 2025 in no particular order:

BOOKS

I listened to a lot of books this year, but sadly I only read a few that happened to be published this year. My favs:

Ta-nehisi Coates - The Message

Stephen Graham Jones - The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

Setting our sights on 2026!

So what's in store for next year? Lots. So much. We're wrapping up RITE OF SPRING, digging into the third installment for BTTWNS, taking a deep dive with Archie into Hell, and hopefully some more news that I'll be able to share with you sooner than later. With any luck I'll be able to strike a better balance with my personal life and put some learned life lessons to good use. It's been a wild year, but please be kind to yourself and congratulations for making it this far. Thanks again for following along. A lot of this work just sort of sits there on the shelf without all of you, and I sincerely appreciate that you keep coming back :)

See you next year!