Issue 25: Voyager Homecoming reviews, Kickstarter updates, and revisions!
Caffeine!
It’s good….
and stuff.
NEW STUFF
Let’s talk about this first, because it’s the most time-sensitive! We’ll be appearing at the Comic Creators Block Party at Revenge Of Comics and Pinball in Los Angeles on November 8!
We’re in signing block C, from 3 pm – 4 pm, and will have copies of Star Trek Voyager: Homecoming issues 1 and 2, and Begin Transmission: The Trans Allegories of The Matrix available for purchase!
We’ll probably also be there earlier than our signing (we know a lot of other people who are signing), so look for us! We’d love to say hi. 😊
As you saw in this issue’s main image, and the above screenshot, Star Trek Voyager: Homecoming issue 2 also went to number 1 on the Kindle store! Oh dang, we did it again!
Speaking of, a lot more reviews for the book have come out in the past two weeks:
The Comic Book Spot (9.6/10!): “Another homerun for this miniseries. If you’re in the mood for another thrilling mission with the (mostly) original Voyager crew, check out this book.”
SciFi Pulse (9.5/10!): “Janeway’s leadership is tested as she navigates the complexities of diplomacy and survival, while the crew’s unity and resolve are pushed to their absolute limits.”
Comics Beat: “Susan Bridges & Tilly Bridges clearly know their stuff… Ultimately, Voyager – Homecoming #2 feels a lot like an action-oriented lost episode of the TV series.”
Nerd Initiative: “Wow. …a solid 9/10.”
Fanbase Press: “I can’t overstate how seamless this comic fits into the show. This could easily be the opening arc of an eighth season. Highly recommended for all Trekkies!”
Get Your Comic On (4 stars): “Feels like classic Voyager reborn — heartfelt, high-stakes, and full of character. It’s everything fans could hope for from a return to unfinished business, and then some.”
And here’s a really thoughtful article from CBR that seems to really understand what we’re trying to do with this book!
Remember that Star Trek Voyager: Homecoming issue 3 releases on November 26! Hopefully you’ve already got your preorders in.
But also the final order cutoff for issue 4 is November 26! So be sure you get those in, if you’re not already having your local comic shop pull every issue for you!
We’ve still got limited signed copies of issue 2 in our Ko-fi shop, including one more of the rare black and white cover! Get yours before they’re gone, because we won’t get any more of them!
The Kickstarter for the Curiouser and Curiouser volume 2 anthology, Beyond, is wrapped! I think the plan is to get copies into the hands of backers no later than January, but we’ll keep you posted! We can’t wait for you to read Finches!
The Kickstarter for the Witching Season comic anthology has a week and a half to go and still hasn’t hit its goal, so be sure to stop by and back that and help make the book happen! We can’t wait for you to read Whatever You Want, too!
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
We just turned in the first draft on the one-shot comic we’re doing for an IP, got notes back, and are working on the revision now. That'll be turned in next week for the next round of notes.
We also got our ideas approved for the next Star Trek Adventures ttrpg book we’re working on, so we’re writing that this week, too.
Tilly also submitted a query for another nonfiction book to a literary agent who specializes in queer and trans books, and she has requested a full proposal. Which is great! But also means more work drafting up the proposal and including two (polished) chapters from the book, so that’s more work that needs to be done. We are dismayed to find nonfiction book publishers are less concerned about the content of what you’re submitting to them than they are with “why are you the one to write this book,” and “why now?” They also want to know what kind of a “platform” you have and how many people you can possibly bring to the publisher with your book (and not, y’know, the other way around like it should be… what can this publisher do for us?).
These are the same questions basically every executive in Hollywood asks you any time you pitch them anything, so it’s not entirely unexpected but… those are our least favorite questions to answer. We’re the ones to write this book because we wrote it and we wrote it now because now is when it was done.
We get where they’re coming from, and we know what they want to hear, but also? It’s very aggravating.
And then we’re for sure going to script that new pilot.
For sure.
For sure sure.
TRANS TUESDAY UPDATE
We talked about why Halloween can be so difficult for many trans people pre-transition, because your entire life is being forced into the costume of the cis person you aren’t. And so putting another costume on top of that can be difficult… especially if they might involve things like makeup, which gives you feelings you don’t understand.
Tilly Bridges
And then we began an eight-part series (that will take us through the end of the year) about the trans allegory of Lisa Frankenstein. It’s an utterly charming, weird, wonderful horror romcom, and it has a whole lot to say about transness. We begin with context, names, colors as metaphors, and get right into going through by timestamps!
Tilly Bridges
RECOMMENDATIONS
Okay look, we’re late with this one, but in our defense we are so very tired.
Over the Garden Wall was a single season animated show from a decade ago, with ten 12-minute episodes. It is the most charming, funny, spooky, goofy, creepy show, and every year we make a point to watch the whole season (you can watch them like a movie in two hours!) as Halloween approaches.
And okay, like, yes, Halloween just passed, but! The good news is it’s still fall and spoopy things are always good. So go watch it right now (it’s on Hulu), and then afterward you can thank us and tell us how right we were. And that’s a rock fact.
THE DIRTBAG DISPATCH
If there’s one thing Izzy loves, it’s baths. Well no, it’s sleeping under the blankets. But if there’s two things she loves, it’s sleeping under blankets and being clean clean clean.
There are cats who groom obsessively and it causes problems, but that’s not Izzy. She’s just a very prim and proper lady who likes to be well-groomed.
It’s one of the things she does best.
And here’s one of the things Henry does best: getting in the way.
Why would you lay between the feet of a standing human? When you know that humans walk and move and aren’t likely to be in that spot for long, and may in fact step on (or trip over) you?
Do not ask about the ways of the Dirtbag! For they are a mystery even to him.
WHAT’S IN THE BIG TIME?
The Big Time version of newsletter issue 25 goes into the importance of color grading in film, with multiple examples from our short film. It’s a vital part of the process not many people know about, and can be used to great effect in storytelling! And we’ve got the first part of an audio commentary track on Star Trek Voyager: Homecoming issue 2!
Sign up for it at birdguestbroadcast.com and help us pay rent and eat food and stuff!
THE END
Y’know what’s great? Ice cream.
Y’know what else?
You deserve some. Hell yeah you do!
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