October

An easy one this month, daily grind, in other news and comics. And a little bit of self promotion.

• daily grind

• in other news

• comics

• self promotion

the daily grind

Is the world getting better or am I letting myself slip into a false sense of security? I guess we’ll find out soon enough. I wrote that line at the start of the month and I already feel like that false sense of security was just that.

I read that social media usage has been declining steadily since it’s peak in 2022, and the biggest decline has been in young adults aged 16 to 24. I found this to be great news. It even went on to say that more commonly now it’s just a reflex type of behaviour, in other words people just pick up their phone out of habit. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this trend continues and we can all go out and have actual conversations again, with real people and not the feckin sociopaths that are shouting their mouths off on social media, and that is what they are, sociopaths.

I’ve had a week off work recently and it has been great. My son was also off so we’ve spent a bit of time together. Watching that wee guy grow up is just another level of awesomeness. At the weekend we managed to do the whole family thing and get out and about and just spend time with each other, no rushing, no deadlines, just us. It was great and needed.

In other news

I am now a fully trained Celebrant! Which means I can legally marry you! I’ve been training for this since March and it’s taken up a fair bit of my time and what I’ve been concentrating on mostly. That’s my excuse for my poor comic output.

I’ve worked in weddings for the best part of 15 years and hospitality in general for another 15, so I feel I’m perfectly suited for this role. It’s a lot of script writing and ceremony delivery, which I’m confident I can pull off. It has always been on the cards, however, I did think it was something I would pursue later in life, but I thought why wait.

I’m honestly incredibly excited to be starting this. It’s an important milestone in someone’s life and I am incredibly honoured to be a part of that, a pretty big part of that too. All going well, I’m hoping to do this fulltime but I guess time will tell.

So, if you fancy coming to Scotland or are already here and are looking to get legally married, give me a shout. You can check my profile here I am part of the Scottish Celebrants Organisation. Bring it on!

On to why we’re here.

Comics

Hyde Street Volume one - collects issues 1 - 7. There are a lot of people on this book, so I’m just going to list them all. Geoff Johns - Ivan Reis - Francis Portela - Danny Miki - Brad Anderson - Rob Leigh.

I had heard a bit about this on various podcasts I listen to, so when I seen it on the shelf in City Centre Comics I grabbed it. I was not disappointed. Another Ghost Machine imprint from Image Comics, which seems to have some of the best titles out right now.

Hyde Street can be anywhere, down any dirty trodden alleyway in every city or town, hidden out of sight but there nonetheless. Anyone can find themselves stumbling onto Hyde Street, it just takes one wrong turn, one wrong decision, one bad action and before you know it you’re now a resident with no escape, unless, you collect 10’000 souls for the Scorekeeper. We don’t know why, we don’t need to know why, all we need to know is that this has some awesome issues with hopefully some great stories to come. With amazing characters such as Mr X-Ray, a salesman of shitty children’s toys in the 60s, Pranky the sadistic boy scout from the 50’s, the Matinee Monster the silent protector from the late 40’s and Mrs Goodbody the 80’s fitness queen complete with sweatbands. Murders, mystery and broken souls, what else do you need?

Available in all good comic shops, go to your local

The Blood Brothers Mother - Issues 1,2 & 3. Dstlry. Writer Brian Azzerello, Artist Eduardo Risso.

I picked the first issue of this up a while back, I can’t remember where from, but I picked up issues two and three from my local. A western with so me serious grit. Issue one is brutal with some pretty disturbing scenes.

Issues one starts with an outlaw by the name of Carter getting released from a Mexican prison, bailed out by his gang. He then goes in search of his lady, who has settled with a man of God along with her three children. Who these children belong to is not the man of God but to the outlaw Carter, whom has no interest in raising them.

Issue two serves as a bonding story between the the three children where some hope and allies are formed with some unexpected or perhaps some unconventional people.

Issue three gives us a rude awakening into the land that the three boys must navigate.

Sad, compelling, scarry, a Wild West story that deserves to be read. I believe issue four is out but no word on the rest. I hope it is completed, maybe if enough pick it up, it will be.

Go get it where you can.

Self promotion

I don’t do this enough if I’m honest. So, I thought I might as well today. If you haven’t already read GLASSCITY The Story of a Missing Girl, you should go check it out.

Synopsis,

GLASSCITY is set in the year 2121 and it is not a city made of glass, but a city where you can get glassed.

Glasgow (Glaschu) and Edinburgh (Dunedinburgh) are one Mega City called Glassburgh. The Glasgow side is nicknamed GLASSCITY by the locals because it is a violent hellhole. The Edinburgh side is nicknamed Capital City.

Detective Gabe Gatti is mourning the loss of his missing girl five years on when he stumbles on a case that mirrors his own. As he delves deeper into an already sinister city, he finds himself uncovering more than he could possibly imagine.

Blending cyberpunk and mythology and not for the faint of heart. Ideal for Christmas, but don’t give it to your kids.

Three volumes in total with over 60 pages each. £13 per volume or £30 for all three. All three PDF’s £12. You can grab them from my Big Cartel shop.

Or, if you fancy looking snazzy, have a look at my Tee Mill shop. Hoodies, Tee’s and Jumpers. Go check it out.

That’s all for now people, until next month.

Cheers,

David