Writing can be a very solitary thing to do. While we have all these wonderful characters in our heads to keep us company, we bring them to life on our own. However, when it comes to making a graphic novel and publishing that graphic novel, there are countless people involved. And since we did not have an acknowledgments page at the back of The Racc Pack, I would like to take the time to thank some people who made this book happen.
First and foremost, to Whitney, because this book simply would not exist without you. Here’s to hoping that The Racc Pack is the first of many stories we get to tell together.
Maria, thank you for always championing my ideas and helping to keep my ADHD-adled brain focused. I am so grateful for your support and guidance, from you and all of PS Literary. Amanda, thank you for believing in our idea and giving us the chance to bring these trash pandas to life. Celia, thank you for stepping in with two anxious creators and becoming a beacon of light for this project, and loving the Bins’ as much as we do.
Thank you to Lily, who was the first editor to believe in me. We may not have worked together on this but you started me on this path and I will never stop being grateful to you.
To everyone at Simon & Schuster—Dainese, Siobhan, Tom, and all the countless others that I haven’t had the privilege of working with directly, thank you. I see you and everything that you do, and I know that this book would not exist without so many of you unsung publishing heroes. THANK YOU!!!!! <3 <3
To Adrienne Kress, Alex Segura, Julio Anta, Mat Heagarty, Samantha Puc, Jeff Zentner, Stephanie Gerk, Barbara Perez-Marquez, Meggie Ramm—the friends that read early PDFs of The Racc Pack, provided feedback, support, and blurbs. Thank you. In this industry, we have to rely on each other to help whenever we’re able to. It shouldn’t be like that, but it is, and I’m so lucky to have such wonderful people in my corner.
Thank to my friends in the Toronto comics community. Without you, I would never have made it this far in the first place. You’re all who I mean whenever I say that aspiring creators need a support network that gets what you’re going through.
To my mom and dad for always encouraging me to read and finding new ways to motivate me to pick up a book. Thank you for never steering me away from my creative pursuits…it may have taken me a while to find my way, but I got here in the end.
To my Aunt Nancy, I know you would’ve loved the Bins’ Family and all the other critters in our book. And I can hear your voice telling me how proud you are of me.
To Brad, my incredible partner and support; I love you so much. Thank you for always listening to me vent about what a journey publishing is. To Brenda, Paul, Kevin, I’m so glad to be a part of your family. And to all of the McCrea Family, thank you for being so warm and welcoming and supportive of me. I am so blessed to have you all in my life.
To all of my friends—Tory, Britt, Laura, Lilah, Bee, Liz, David, Lill, Shaun, Amy W, Nick, Steven, Amy B, Amy W, (yes I know a lot of Amy’s), Dani, Chris, Bobby, Mike, Jon, Mia, Andrew…oh god, oh god, oh god, I know I’m missing people but I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!
And last but certainly not least…THANK YOU, TORONTO! For the stories, memories, magic, and the best (unofficial) mascot of all, the Toronto Raccoon. The Racc Pack would not exist without the unique proximity and appreciation (mostly) that we all have for our trash pandas.
In trash we trust.
Happy New Year, everyone! We made it around the sun again and while I know we’ve all been burned lately with being excited for the year ahead…I’m cautiously optimistic. Professionally, it’s a pretty big year for me with at least three books coming out. In a mere two weeks, The Racc Pack will be released. And then in April, Pillow Talk will finally be out (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh). And in May, we’ve got the collected edition of My Little Pony: Camp Bighoof being released.
Also recently announced is a new My Little Pony project that you may have missed: My Little Pony: Mane Event which will be out in March. I recently had a chance to read the issue with the final art, colours, and lettering and y’all…it looks SO GOOD!!!
I truly can’t wait for you to get your hands (or hooves!) on all of this books.
This year I may be a little quieter here than usual. Normally I aim to post an update at least once a month, but that might change as I rethink how to best do outreach as my main social media platforms collapse around me. I’m also trying some new things with my work and I’ll be really hunkering down on that for the foreseeable future. I’m excited and anxious about all of that and won’t say more on what I’m doing just yet…but hopefully if it goes well, I’ll have updates sooner rather than later.
With that being said, let me dig into a few of the things that I’ve been reading lately. Unless anyone was actually interested in what I was watching on TV, I think I may wind up doing away with that…although it’s been a great way for my poor forgetful brain to retain what I watched every month.
BOOKS:
The Worst Ronin by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Faith Schaffer – The Worst Ronin is a heartfelt and hilarious journey of self-discovery and worth. Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s delightful writing and Faith Schaffer’s wonderfully expressive art will you keep you engaged and delighted from start to finish. A dream team bringing a dream of a graphic novel to life! And then my final thoughts: I adored the relationship between the two women in this story. It was so heartfelt and real and I can’t get enough. And, THAT HORSE!!! I would die for Tatsuo’s horse. A++ horse and horse expressions, bless you Faith Schaffer. – RELEASES ON MAY 21, 2024- Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison – This book was exactly the finale to spooky season that I needed. As wild as it may sound, it’s the perfect combination of Ginger Snaps (the film) and Book Lovers by Emily Henry.
- Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher – A charmingly sweet queer romcom revolving around the young and distant relatives of the players of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. They navigate young love, coming to terms with your sexuality, identity, and more. Very fun, clever, and fun from start to finish.
- Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire – Not my fave of the series but still wonderfully written and brilliantly executed.
- Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin by Nadia Shammas and Nabi H. Ali – A charming and delightful Ms. Marvel tale for younger readers. Beautiful art and an engaging story that will resonate with fans of all ages!
- Saga Vol. 11 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples – Continues to be one of the best comics out there. Simply fantastic.
- Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree – A perfect warm hug of a book—I was afraid this one might’ve been overhyped but nope! It was delightful and exactly what I wanted and more. Highly recommend.
- Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter – Endearing, relatable, emotional, and predictively purrfect. Truly such a great read for young readers.
- The Variants by Gail Simone and Phil Noto – Really dug this! Not a ton of knowledge about Jessica Jones required to enjoy (if you’ve seen the Jessica Jones series, I think that’s a perfect amount)—a really solid standalone story!
- The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow by Emma Steinkellner – Simply wonderful. I loved the first book in this series and the second is just as good, if not better!
- How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu – So, so good, and captivating. A vast and emotional journey from start to finish.
- Static: Up All Night by Lamar Giles and Paris Alleyne
- Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell
- The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland – If you read and enjoyed Krystal Sutherland’s House of Hollow, you are in for a treat. Less of a dark fairy tale and more creeping paranormal murder mystery as three young women try to get to the bottom of a serial killer targeting women with magical abilities. Engaging and enthralling from the get go and satisfying through til the end. For fans of House of Hollow and Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House. RELEASES ON JANUARY 30, 2024
CREATOR SPOTLIGHT:
And now for something a little different. In this new series, I’m highlighting other creators and their work by sharing a few fun interview questions to get to know them. Each creator was given the same questions to answer but were asked only to answer the ones that resonated with them. So without further ado, let’s dive in!
Today I want you to meet…Brian McLachlan!
What is your favourite project that you’ve worked on so far?
Complete the Quest: The Poisonous Quest is a culmination of a life’s work. Back in elementary school I started writing sword and sorcery chose your own adventure homages. Now, I’ve built up my skills to create my own take on a gamebook. It’s a multipath graphic novel. Some people think of it as an introduction to role playing games because it’s more conversational with the reader than confrontational. Turning a game book into a visual experience changes the whole gameplay and it’s really exciting. You get to pick 3 of 6 characters who help save Queen Evergreen who has been poisoned by a book from an anonymous admirer. It’s accessible for kids so it’s metaphors are not super subtle.
What are five things (movies, TV shows, books, comics, games, etc) that you’ve been enjoying lately?
TV SHOWS:
- Taskmaster: 5 British comedians separately attempt different unusual tasks and then gather together to be judged on who did it best. It’s hilarious creative problem solving. The New Zealand and Australian series are bangers as well.
- Wu Tang, An American Saga: Even if you’re not a big Wu Tang fan, this series does a lot of experimental things. Like one episode that takes place entirely on the Staten Island ferry is shot like a western. It has as many artsy weird things like Community but with better rapping. The cast are all charismatic as hell and bring love to each and every member.
COMICS:
- Anchovie Akiyama in the Glass Chanterelle: Tri Vuong self published this kid-friendly mystery and I need more people to enjoy this joyful and dangerous adventure.
GAMES:
- Arena: I got lured back into online Magic the Gathering when they returned to my favourite settings: The one with gingerbread knights and goose hydra and the one with sun vampires and dinosaur dragons. Even if you never play the game, the visual world building they do is worth a look.
What would your walk-out music be if you were a wrestler?
Can’t get more pumped up right now than “The Music” by Kove. I love drum and bass.
Are there any exciting projects coming out soon that you’d like to tell us about?
I’m always excited when another issue of Owl Magazine hits the stands. I write a monthly comic called Spruce Street Squad and I get to draw and design extra puzzles, games and more. Makes a great present for little ones. Getting something in the mail each month is pretty exciting for them.
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And that’s it for our first creator interview. You can find out more about Brian by visiting his website: brianmcl.com or following him on Bluesky or Instagram.
If you made it to here, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this first update for 2024. Again, I’m so excited for this year ahead (cautiously…) and I’m happy to have you here with me. Thank you for your boundless affection and support, it means the world. When you hear from me next, it’ll likely be around when The Racc Pack is out!!!
…although that is really only a couple of weeks away. ANYWAY!
Writing can be a very solitary thing to do. While we have all these wonderful characters in our heads to keep us company, we bring them to life on our own. However, when it comes to making a graphic novel and publishing that graphic novel, there are countless people involved. And since we did not have an acknowledgments page at the back of The Racc Pack, I would like to take the time to thank some people who made this book happen.
