It’s been a productive week. A few days ago I finished revisions on the first script for a brand new project that’s a way off from getting announced, but I am thrilled with how the script turned out. Showdown co-creator and artist Tadd Galusha is heading into the final stretch of the mini-series and has been turning in some spectacular pages. And I am going to spend the long holiday weekend working on pitches for new creator-owned projects.

Comic release wise, as of the typing of this Newsletter, I have five more comics coming out this year. We have issues 2-5 of Showdown coming out between July and October. And then we have the Detective Comics Annual 2026 (with the short story I wrote drawn by the brilliant Fran Mariscal) coming out the last week of July. As always, it would be cool if a few more surprise gigs turned up that would come out before the end of the year, but my 2027 is looking great right now. I have written a lot of material you are going to see next year and I am excited about that. But…everything that I have coming up in 2027 (right now) I will be done writing by the end of this year, 2026.

I’ve said it before but that’s the weird thing about comics. As with anything, you should do your best to be present, focus on what’s in front of you, and make the most out of the moment you are in. And as I gear up to promote the rest of Showdown and the Detective Comics Annual 2026 I’m absolutely going to do that, but…I also need to figure out how much work I am going to get in 2027.

I am hopeful that the creator-owned pitches I am writing up this weekend lead to one or two projects I will write next year. I also feel optimistic that the strength of the rest of Showdown and the Batman short story in Detective will lead to more job offers, but…I have to believe in the work, and also do a little bit of pushing in the real world. It’s a balance and one I’m still figuring out. However, like I said…with the amount of work I have had come out this year and with the amount of work slated for next year…I feel good, I just want to feel great and have all of my freelance time spoken for well in advance! Such is life!

So…I’m thinking about the next six months of the year, but there will be a lot of exciting things coming up, not just new comics being released. I am definitely going to San Diego Comic Con (for the very first time) and I will be doing signings and panels. In October you can expect to see me at LA Comic Con’s Artist Alley, more on that as the summer goes by. And then I am working on doing a few more appearances and signings closer to the end of the year. I want to do more public appearances and signings because they are fun, it’s great to meet people in person, and genuinely my soul just feels better after doing the.

You can also expect to hear me on some more podcasts this summer. As I boldly stated a few weeks ago, I think Showdown #2 and #3 are two of the best issues I have ever written, and I want to make sure they get as much attention as possible. That means banging the drum on those as hard, if not harder, than I did on #1. And we will be doing some of that promotion here on the Weekly Up-Dave. In a few weeks I will be doing the first of my Showdown Creator interviews, starting off with the aforementioned Tadd Galusha.

New Comic I Read: The Fury of Firestorm #3 by Jeff Lemire, Rafael de Lattore, Marcelo Maiolo, and Lucas Gattoni. From DC Comics. Jeff Lemire has been on a hot streak in his most recent return to DC Comics. Absolute Flash, JSA, and The Fury of Firestorm are three of the books I look forward to the most month in and month out. Now here’s the thing. The Flash is one of my top three DC characters/mythologies, and the JSA is the team that gave me my deep love of the entire DC Universe so I’m pre-disposed to like those (But to be clear both those books are insanely rad). Firestorm, a classic DC character no doubt, he has never been one of my guys. But this book three issues in a row has had me hook, line and sinker. I think it is a deep, clever, and terrific take on Ronnie Raymond, Martin Stein, and pieces of the Firestorm mythology that have needed to be transmuted together for a long time. It’s such a character rich book, Lemire’s work on Raymond and Stein is sad, thoughtful, and deeply effective. The art by Rafael de Lattore and Marcelo Maiolo that goes back between Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez-esque Bronze Age DC flashbacks and the modern horrors of an unstoppable Nuclear Man is tremendous, these guys are doing some of their best work together. When this book wraps up at issue 9 and is a collection everyone will be recommending it, get in on the fun before then,.

Newish Music I Listened To: Take Off Your Pants And Jacket (25th Anniversary Edition) By Blink 182. This one comes with an asterix. Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (congratulations on getting the joke) is the first Blink 182 album I ever owned, it’s very close to my heart. With that being said, now having taken in the bands full oeuvre (there’s a dirty Blink 182 joke I could have made but I don’t want to offend anyone reading this, especially my mom and dad) it is the weakest of the albums they made before their first break-up. I love it, it has great songs, but it’s in the middle of not knowing whether to be endearingly juvenile in a puerile way like their records prior to this one or endearingly juvenile in a self-reflecting emo way which they would do perfectly on their subsequent self-titled album. This year is the album’s 25th anniversary so the band officially re-released the album with six tracks that didn’t make the cut the first time around, but many of us heard through…other channels…over the years. They are split into two categories. Three break-up songs, and three songs designed to be crudely sexual and make you laugh (they did, I laughed, I’m an easy mark). Of the six revived tracks What Went Wrong? is my personal favorite. As far as the songs that made it onto the record the first time? I gotta go Anthem Part Two, Stay Together For The Kids, and my favorite Please Take Me Home. The ultimate song for every boy who thought he was the only person in the universe unlucky in love. Don’t listen to this album if you aren’t somewhat juvenile at heart. And don’t at me if you do listen to it and it offends you. I love you.

New Podcast I Listened To: Factually Hosted by Adam Conover. I’m a late convert to Adam Conover. When I was in college and he hosted the TruTV show Adam Ruins Everything, I was kind of annoyed by him, that show, and every commercial for it. Then during the most recent WGA Writer’s strike, and I saw him on the front line fighting for better guild protections, I thought he was the perfect person for the job. Tenacious, unflinching, smart, and a know-it-all for good. Then I listened him on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron and I understood the intention behind his previous projects, Adam Ruins Everything included, and I have grown to be a fan. And I especially like his podcast Factually, I think it’s really smart, he talks to great guests on current subjects I care about, and I don’t always walk away with the most optimistic feelings but it’s nice to listen to people who know what they’re talking about.

That’s it for this week!

Next week I will be back with more talk about Showdown #2, possibly more San Diego Comic Con information, and MAYBE something else cool? Definitely something else cool. Please keep coming back.

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Until then?

Stay safe

—Dave Wielgosz