Cover Reveal for my New Graphic Novel!

I can FINALLY tell you what I've been working on

Feb 14, 2025

Issue 205

As we glide through February, I’m excited to finally share the graphic novel I’ve been working on—along with some other fun discoveries that have landed on my desk lately. Lots to cover, so let’s dive in!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

💥Enrollment Closes Tonight: My Two Day Comics Workshop!
🎙️3PP Podcast: Will This Contract Rip Me Off?
🎙️3PP Podcast: Love, Money, and Art
📚Selling some books from my collection: LINK
🚨Jake’s Shop Clearance Sale: Massive Discount on Stickers and Pins

1) Darkstalker: A Wings of Fire Legends Graphic Novel

From the Making Comics Division

I’m so excited I get to share this cover reveal for the book I’ve been working on. Scholastic posted this sweet animated trailer on their instagram account: LINK

It’s been a BLAST to dive head first into Wings of Fire and learn all about this world of dragons created by author Tui Sutherland.

The novel series is up to book 15 now (16 is in production) and those books are being meticulously adapted to the medium of comics by a crack-team of creative people:

Adaptation by Barry Deutch and Rachael Swirsky
Art by Mike Holmes
Color by Maarta Laiho

While Mike Holmes draws the main series, I was tapped to do this first “Legends” book which is a prequel to the series. It’s an honor to be a part of the Wings of Fire crew and help bring this world to life through my favorite medium!

And let me just say…dragons are not the easiest characters to fit into a comic panel. Six limbs, long necks, massive tails… where do you put all that extra stuff without turning the panel into a tangled mess?

All credit goes to Mike Holmes for cracking that code. Any time I got stuck—especially trying to fit three or more dragons into a single panel—I kept flipping back to his books for reference.

What a workout this book was!

Darkstalker comes out November 4th this year. Pre-order here: LINK

2) Miyazaki’s Tribute Comic to his Favorite Car

From the Office of Wheels

I’ve mostly seen Miyazaki’s military comics, so this one was new to me. I love how he breaks down vehicles and humanizes them in his comics—you don’t have to read Japanese to understand the love/hate relationship he has with this one.

Found this over on the Catsuka X account: LINK

3) Tribal Mech Warfare

Listen, I’m a simple guy. I see post-apocalyptic junk robots, and I immediately share it with you. These are from the imagination of Finnish 3D artist Tomi Väisänen. Tomi has an a nice sense of the balance between detail and proportion with an eye for realistic engineering.

More here: LINK

4) The Charming Barber Shops of Takatoshi Okayama

Japanese illustrator Takatoshi Okayama has an impressive body of work, with stacks of art showcased on his website—but what really caught my eye is his playful series of barbershops from around Japan.

I love illustrators who can take something you’d normally pass by without a second thought and turn it into a captivating centerpiece. If this resonates with you, be warned: you’re about to lose yourself in his website.

More here: LINK

Website: LINK

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

My sponsor for this newsletter is…me. It's me, because I'm not accepting sponsors for my email list, and don't plan to any time soon. Really, I'd just like people to buy stuff from my shop. If you like this newsletter, you can support it a few ways:

Book Collection Sale!

I’m selling off some of my library because, well, I don’t need a lot of these books anymore and I’d like them to find a good home!