I've been looking forward to September. I mentioned in last month's update that I've barely been home in the past few months - traveling for over half of both July and August. But *this* month... nada! Not a single trip (well, until September 30, but that's basically October 1 in my book).

That means time at home to relax, to catch up with friends, to do yardwork, read a lot of books and see some movies... actually, haha that's hilarious! Being home in September means I'm writing constantly to catch up on the things I couldn't get done in July and August. I use the phrase "digging out" to refer to times like this - when there's no way to deal with the backlog beyond just putting shoulder to keyboard and writing until you're back on top of it. (Comes from my Midwestern roots and post-snowstorm mornings, probably.) Anyway, I'm using this month to dig out - it's going well so far. Let's hope so, because October's going to be more like July/August, and if I want to enjoy any of that stuff (it's all cool, and I'll tell you more about it below) I need to GET DIGGIN'.

So, let's see. What should we talk about? I actually have found some time to watch a bit of TV recently. I'm enjoying HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (as a longtime GRRM fan I'm enjoying being back in that world, and it's good, soapy fun). I'm in the middle of a MIDNIGHT MASS rewatch over on Netflix (loved it the first time, loving it even more the second). But there's another show airing at the moment that's connecting with me in a pretty big way, in part because I can finally, at last, say that I worked on the thing! What is it?

SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW AND ALSO AN ATTORNEY AT LAW NAMED ME

The Disney+ show SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW's been airing for the past several weeks - as of this update, five episodes are out. Reception seems really strong, which makes perfect sense to me. It's a new approach to the MCU; grounded in the continuity but also very open to poking fun at all the insanity that's built into its stories (and superheroes in general.) It's light but not weightless, and brings in the gravity when it needs to in a way I really like. It's also a lawyer show, and having a bit of a legal background myself (if you're new around here, I'm a lawyer *and* a writer!), it's fun to see the MCU through that lens.

I'm also connected to Jen Walters/She-Hulk in particular because I wrote a series that ended up going for 12 issues before being cancelled (TOO SOON, but it's not the first time a SH comic series has burned bright before being pulled, and I would guess it might not be the last.) Javier Pulido and Ron Wimberly created incredible, incredible art for it, and it was one of the signature elements of the early part of my time in Big Two comics. It's fair to say that without She-Hulk my writing career wouldn't have taken off the way it did. If you haven't read that series, Marvel just re-released a big omnibus of my entire run, and you can get a signed copy here. In honor of Jen Walters finally making her live-action debut, I'll also do a 10% off coupon this month - drop SEP10BER in at checkout and it should work.

Anyway, I was actually out at the LA premiere for She-Hulk, which was really fun. I got all dressed up and everything!

They rolled out the purple carpet (heh) at the El Capitan theater, and it was actually pretty spectacular. It was my first time going to one of these, but it lived up to expectations. A press line/tent, free concessions (including green and purple candy - I grabbed some Skittles) a live organist playing movie themes, and all the stars in attendance (including other She-Hulk comics folks - my Marvel colleague Dan Slott was there too - always nice to see him). Very Hollywood, very glitz and glamour. I had a blast.

They screened the first four episodes of the show, so it was basically like watching a two-hour She-Hulk movie. I loved it, honestly. Tatiana Maslany is amazing, the supporting cast is great, the cameos are fun - it's just a great time.

Then again, I knew it would be when I read every single script back before they shot anything. What? How?

I worked as a legal consultant for the show! This was during the early days of quarantine, and so I was on a bunch of calls with showrunner Jessica Gao (so great!), other amazing writers/producers like Dana Schwartz, Zeb Wells and Wendy Jacobson and the rest of the room as we went through all the scripts and I gave notes on the show's legal aspects. She-Hulk is a lawyer, after all, and she's supposed to be a great one in canon, just a natural - so it was important to get that part of the show right. It was a wonderful time, and I continued to do that work here and there beyond the initial review all the way through production - the last thing I did (I think) was giving notes on that to-do list you see flash on screen briefly in Episode 4.

I'm so glad I got to do it - I was flattered to be asked - and I'd love to do something like it again, especially if SH gets a second season.

(For the attorneys out there reading this - no, they didn't take all my notes, which was fine by me. Story and character and drama always come first, and so they made decisions here and there with that in mind. It's how it goes - it's how I do it in my own work too, even when writing lawyers - but seeing things like the conflict waiver from the Abomination made me pretty damn happy when I saw it.)

Anyway, pretty cool, huh?

MY BIG FAT GREEK VACATION

One of the many, many things I did in August was travel to Greece for a vacation. For quite a while now, vacations for me have been more like "vacations," with *less* work but never *no* work. This was no exception, but I tried to dial it back as much as I could, and did some amazing things. Went to Crete, ate a lot of incredible food, swam in the Mediterranean.

One of my favorite parts was going for runs in the Olympic Stadium from the first Olympics back in 1896. It's this gorgeous marble structure, and if you pay a few Euros you can even run on the actual track (and take dumb pictures on the medal stands, which I absolutely did. SOLID GOLD, BABY!)

HELL TO PAY, SIX WEEKS AWAY!

My brand new upcoming series from Image, HELL TO PAY, will be arriving on November 2nd. You all have been waiting very patiently for this (we announced it back in 2021). Series artist and co-creator Will Sliney, colorist Rachelle Rosenberg, letterer Crank! and I are all very excited for you to finally check it out. This is a six-issue series, but it's also not just a six-issue series at all.

Will and I have been a little coy about this, but the truth is that HELL TO PAY is just the first in a series of horror adventures we've been planning for years. The overarching title for the project is THE SHROUDED COLLEGE. You can think of it like a series of mini-series, each all in the same shared world, and each tackling/reinventing a different horror trope and thematic concept.

HELL TO PAY reimagines the "deal with the devil" idea and introduces two of our main leads, married couple Maia and Sebastian Stone, each with supernatural powers given to them (at a terrible price) by the Shrouded College. They're tasked with retrieving 666 cursed hellcoins from around the world before they can discharge their own debt and live in freedom. (So, obviously, we're looking at late-stage capitalism as the underlying theme here.)

More minis will follow in 2023 through (probably) 2025, assuming you guys like what you see here and keep checking it out. The next one has an artist and a title and is super cool - it deals with vampires as a metaphor for fascism, done in a way I've never seen before. More on that down the road!

Right now we're all about HELL TO PAY, and we're doing a number of things in anticipation of the launch. First, there will be a bunch of cool variant covers with some neat incentives, from amazing artists like Dave Johnson, Mahmud Asrar and Mike del Mundo. We've also actually made the coins! That's right - there are 666 individually-numbered hellcoins, and they're gorgeous. They look like this (the real ones are metal, of course, FORGED IN THE FIRES OF HELLLLLL...)

Those will be available to retailers if they order at least 100 copies of Hell to Pay #1, and will come with a special foil variant as well as the coins (I know, I know... but minting 666 coins wasn't cheap.) We should have some at NYCC - where Will, Rachelle and I will all be in attendance. There's also an awesome incentive for shops that get at least 150 - you'll get the coin, the foil, etc., as well as a sketch cover version of #1 that Will will draw on and I'll dialogue. Amazing!

There's also a special Hell To Pay #1 variant just for fans, with options to get it signed and sketched as well! CLICK HERE to check out the secret store, but be aware that orders for that will close on October 10. Image for that below.

Yes, we're doing a lot of bells and whistles for this, but we really would love to be able to tell the whole story here, and the way #1 does can go a long way toward making that happen. Hope you'll check it out!

OH-OH WE'RE HALFWAY THERE, WHOA-OH WISHING ON A PRAYER

I can't believe I'm writing this, but it's September and Ryan Browne and I just got our order numbers in for the FOURTH printing of EIGHT BILLION GENIES #1, and they are very wonderful. We're also hearing good things about issues 2-4 and additional prints... it's wild. WILD I tells ya!

Quick little update on the movie/Amazon stuff - it's going. Very exciting things happening with very exciting people. Ryan and I are holding our breath on it a little so as not to jinx it, but if things go the way they *might* go, uh, it would be very good.

Issue 5 is coming out next week on September 28,, just before NYCC. You can see the covers below as well as a special preview straight from Ryan of one of the incredible images in the issue. And speaking of New York Comicon, we've got something cool planned for that as well...

As another special treat for anyone attending NYCC, Ryan will be with me the whole weekend so we can sign and sketch and write little funny things on your Genies! We will also have a SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION NYCC FOIL VARIANT of 8BG #1, which will only be available at the con and from our webstores. We printed a set number and don't intend to do more. Here's what these beauties look like (with special cameo from Ryan's thumb):

(By the way, If you frequent my store, you may have noticed that we took down all the 8BG listings. We've put sales on a temporary hiatus as we simply couldn't keep up with demand. Ryan and I live several states apart and quickly sold through our first batch of signed issues. We tried our best to send things back and forth, but it became too much considering out other creative commitments. We will most likely relist everything again, including all the variants of #1. But for now, we appreciate your patience!)

SO, ABOUT NYCC

Since I am myself a New Yorker, I attend NYCC every year and this year is no exception. I'll be there all 4 days doing panels and frequent signings at my signing table in Artist's Alley. Both my panel schedule and signing times will be coming soon! Keep an eye on my appearances page for more info on both.

As stated above, there will be exclusives for both HELL TO PAY and EIGHT BILLION GENIES. This will also be one of the few places in the near future where you can get an 8BG signed by both Ryan and I without having to sell a kidney to eBay. I'll be announcing a new project on the High Republic panel on Saturday, hanging out with all the Luminous authors, catching up with what seems like the entire business, and hopefully surviving to Monday. It's an intense one, that NYCC. Hope to see you there!

THE SOULE STORE

While it may currently be Genie-less, I still have some awesome signed items over at my store! Here are a few featured books:

That'll do it for this month, I'd say. Long one... but I've had a lot going on! See you in October, and stay healthy and happy!

--Charles

September 2022 - BETWEEN TWO STORMS