A proof of The Marvel Universe is on its way to my house from Monee, Illinois. There will be a few minor corrections to make but I expect the book to be available from Jeffrey’s Jamboree later in the week. The speed of the turnaround is truly astounding. They really do just push a button and shit out a book. It’s futureworld.*

There’s always a hangover/empty nest feeling after one of these things is done. A few days of not knowing how to organize the hours in the day. One useful task is putting the art up for sale and building an archive page for the site. This takes up lots of time. It’s tedious busy work. Coding where the only thing I do is change a couple characters over and over. It leaves my head free to think up the next thing.

For the past few months, the thing to dive into next is a variation of the last. Another public domain book to illustrate. The wrinkle this time is that now I’m choosing between ones I haven’t read before. This adds an extra element of uncertainty to the process. How far in do I go before committing for real?

I don’t have any problem giving up on a thing I don’t like. I walk out of movies after fifteen minutes, throw a book across the room after reading a couple bad sentences, leave a restaurant that only has QR menus. I value my time.

But this is different. Because I’m putting my work into it, it’s an active engagement, rather than passive enjoyment. It’s kind of the way I always take a sketchbook to a concert now. The other night I went to the Bottle, took my customary spot in the Tall Guy Corner, then realized my pen was not in my pocket. It made me feel naked. Unprepared. I left the club and walked four blocks to the CVS to buy an emergency replacement. CVS hasn’t stocked Parker Jotters in decades so I got one of those four-color Bics. That pen had crossed my mind a few days before. I wondered whether they still made them. Recalled kids covering their school books with green, red, blue, and black ink. I was happy to see it on the shelf.

The pen didn’t feel quite right in my hand as I drew SML playing but it did the job. It will take some time to get into the next book I work on but I’ll get there.

Listen to me read the first few pages of Nathan Knapp’s Daybook into a microphone.

*If there was any more evidence needed, here it is.