September Highlights

The Time of Real Changes

Oct 01, 2025

∙ Paid

I can’t help but feel like September is where my year really ends. Or at least where the year really starts. Maybe it’s from all the way back in school years, maybe it’s the month after my birthday. I dunno.

Overview

So I finally managed to publish something on Gutternaut. It’s a post about Impact Theory’s comics. Just like I said I would!

…

I gotta be honest, it took me longer than I ever expected to finish this. I was a bit stuck because the latest project is on Tapas and it’s behind a lot of timed keys. So I kinda had to get an idea of what Impact Theory is going for.

I was getting tired and bored coming up with stuff so I had to do the motivational speaking bits. Because the newer stuff from Impact Theory were all about building two kids up.

Plus the fact that they’re on Webtoon platforms really show how much sway those fields have in comics now.

Definitely feels like I should consider making posts in dedication to discovering certain webtoons. I mean, it looks like most of Gutternaut’s visitors really like the Underrated lists.

Should really get to updating that.

Problem is I’ve got other updates to worry about. Picking and choosing what digital PDF comics and the like to have on my desktop. Just to get the backup icons to leave me alone.

Choosing Your Style

One thing that took up a fair chunk of my time was choosing which platforms to prioritize reading comics on. Manga stays the most accessible.

Partly because GlobalComix is now going to become more of a marketplace. I guess it was just a matter of time when DC came aboard. With how many comics just drop off the charts and back for Gold memberships, it’s good incentivizing for people to actually buy stuff. Absolute Batman for example is selling like crazy and it’s on there for the first time due to all of the hype. Now Boom Studios and Oni Press look like they’re joining the fray.

Glad I read Scott Pilgrim, Power Rangers, and Once & Future while I could. It would’ve been easier to get through other stuff if they used vertical scrolling or panel-by-panel in their entire catalogue.

Had too much choice paralysis otherwise. Guess I wasn’t being much help to publishers I subscribe to on there cuz of that. But it’s not my fault that I sometimes enjoy watching my watch backlist on Netflix or Amazon Prime more. I mean New Panty & Stocking were way better as a palette cleanser after a few weeks of work. And I finally got to watch KPop Demon Hunters, even better with a new friend.

Finding Story Time

Sometimes I had more fun writing down ideas or the beginning of different stories. All on the hub page of the Re-Alt “universe”.

Well most of them. I actually have a few concepts and ideas directly going against each other in a choose-your-own-adventure style tournament story. It was partly inspired by the many tournament manga available on Comikey, and a video explaining why Tournament Arcs as a whole series is actually a good idea.

So I thought, why not show bits and pieces of characters I’ve created and let a potential audience decide which story I could pursue.

But so far, all I’ve got is…really?

So I can’t even show what I’ve done so far in file format here on Substack.

Why not show it develop on Substack? Because then I’ll be a little more likely to forget about it like that Steve Ditko tribute story.

I just find things that get my enthusiasm and dedication in ideas that come and go. I ought to think about going smaller.

People Like To Travel

But then I recall that book or thesis I’ve wanted to write about…You see where I’m going with this right?

Outside The Pages

The truth is, I have a life and people in the real world that I care about. The whole trip to and back from my sister’s wedding, I had to pick what to do. It was a lot easier when the places we go to part of the time had bad cell phone reception. Internet connection on planes meanwhile is a joke part of the time. Even if you do get to watch the first half of Sinners on one flight. Only to get unlucky and not even get a plane that you can’t charge your devices on.

And then there are the times when I had to make opportunities to actually go out and be with people. It’s odd how I can have heart-to-hearts with homosexual men more than I can with fellow creatives. But at least I got to be friends with one man and not just an acquaintance. Because being a friend is all I can be to men who know the value of being vulnerable.

More On My Plates

Now that I’m getting access to Papercutz, it’s both fascinating and a little disconcerting with the new avenues.

It almost seems easier that comics aimed at children know the value of setting a good story’s pace. With real momentum, stakes, and the layers that make a world feel lived in. Even some Scholastic published stuff shares that like the Nema Chronicles.

Of course, so long as it’s not episodic content that loses its momentum after a few stories in. I definitely can’t handle that in any form. The adult-aimed New Panty & Stocking was only enjoyable as a show because I didn’t binge-watch it. Unlike seeing a bunch of skits at once in Casagrandes.

Some things just aren’t going to give you the energy to see from start to finish. Frankly, that’s how I put myself to sleep half the time.

What To Expect Next Month

Aside from more Mad Cave bats? If I can get myself to keep going and work out a few things, better lists of stuff. But maybe not on Gutternaut proper. God I need to find something that makes me more worth discovering. The Viet Comics I take pride in just isn’t doing it anymore.

Maybe a reflection on why Superman adaptations are leaning into the John Byrne influence from the 80s. My Adventures With Superman and Gunn’s Superman are all great and good in their own rights. But they’re also at odds with messages like in Superman Smashes the Klan. …Then again anything like that is probably better off on here.

Even websites like ComicScene are leaving full websites behind.