Notes from Vannotes - Far Away Ansible and BCAF Fast Approaching

A Little Update in the Calm Before the Storm

July 31, 2025

It’s one of those busy seasons where deadlines are coming fast and furious, but I promised myself that no matter what I would ensure that my faithful newsletter subscribers received an email today! What would you do without this email in your inbox? I’m not sure, but I know in my heart you were eagerly awaiting to see if one more email would show up in your inbox this afternoon, hoping it would be an update from the Alan Moore of Idaho. With the blessings of Glycon, let’s get started!

Far Away Ansible Pre-Orders are Open…But Closing Soon!

Let me just say that when I got the hare-brained idea to put an anthology of comics together with my friends, I didn’t expect them to go HARD. Truly my collaborators have produced some of the best comics of their career for this goofy little tribute anthology.

Now I’ve read a lot of anthologies over the years and I can guarantee you that this one is all bangers! To give you another little taste, I’m proud to include previews of comic contributions from myself and Chan Chau below.

The opening page from my short story for Far Away Ansible “Starry Eyed”

The opening page from a short story written by myself and drawn by the incredible Chan Chau.

Besides myself and Chan, we also have contributions from Rose Bousamra (Frizzy, Gutless), Laura Knetzger (Bug Boys, Bigfoot and Nessie), and poet Amelia Díaz Ettinger (These Hollow Bones).

A reminder that pre-orders end August 4, 2025 and we’re only doing a limited run, so make sure you pick it up since there’s no guarantee it will be available in the future. Click below to learn more about the stories in this anthology and pre-order now!

PRE-ORDER - Far Away Ansible Comics Anthology — Vannotes Books

*** Pre-Order Ends August 4! *** *** Books start shipping the week of August 25! *** An original 32 page anthology of comics inspired by the work of Ursula K. LeGuin. Authors include: Rose Bousamra ( Frizzy, Gutless ) Chan Chau ( The Baby-Sitter’s Club, Enlighten Me ) Laura Knetzger (

www.vannotesbooks.com/store/p/far-away-ansible-comics-anthology

Bonus! There’s no shipping fee for anyone who picks it up at Boise Comic Arts Festival!

So what makes Boise Comic Arts Festival so great?

Have you ever been to a comic convention and wondered “why are there no comic creators here?” Boy howdy have I had that experience and it’s even more awkward when I’m one of the few amongst the towers of Funko Pops, hordes of 3D printed dragons, and anime body pillows.

The magic of Boise Comic Arts Festival is that there are countless comic creators there and the curatorial eyes of the organizers make sure that the special guests are not only industry legends, but also young up and coming cartoonists. The best part? It’s a small show where you can interact with them one-on-one! BCAF is so magical that I even put Far Away Ansible together on a timeline where it’d specifically be a BCAF debut.

During a typical BCAF weekend, it’s nothing but non-stop fun as I get to pal around with dear friends from across the country and make new friends as well. I’m not only there as a creator, I’m there as a fan too. I’ve already got my stack of books ready to be signed by David F. Walker, Jorge Corona, and Matt Forsythe. You can see a complete list of the creators that will be there at: https://www.boisepubliclibrary.org/using-the-library/boise-comic-arts-festival/

So make sure you’re making your way to the Boise Centre on Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31. You’re going to have an absolute blast while participating in one of the best comics festivals in the country.

Other Notes from Vannotes

What Am I Reading? Having just read Dave Egger’s The Circle, I am probably the most paranoid I’ve ever been about unified tech ecosystems. I’ve seen Bricks advertised for awhile and I finally bought two to try and regain some of my focus as the human race is attempting to collectively battle brainrot. We all know it’s a problem, but how many of us are able to rip ourselves away from our phones? I liked the book, but the warnings it provided were even more meaningful.

What Am I Watching? I’m not a queer foreign film expert like some of my friends, but an ad came across my Instagram for a remaster of the German film Taxi Zum Klo and I was instantly intrigued. Luckily I was able to find a low resolution version online. It was one of those 1970s/1980s NC-17 movies that’s just as sweet and heartfelt as it is explicit and raw, one step away from Joel Kim Booster’s Fire Island. If the remaster comes through your city, it’s well worth the watch…as long as you’re less than squeamish about bodily fluids.

What Am I Listening To? Michael Giacchino’s Fantastic Four: First Steps soundtrack…over…and over…and over again.

What Am I Playing? Not much right now. I’m waiting for a few months and a few paychecks before looking at buying a Nintendo Switch 2 and diving into DK Bananza, which looks to be an incredible game. Maybe I should go back and dive into Baten Kaitos once I get through this busy, busy August…what a fun JRPG you can easily sink a dozen hours of your life into and barely make any progress!

Upcoming Conventions and Appearances

Boise Comic Arts Festival

That’s it for this newsletter! You can count on at least one more before the end of August to give you a peek behind the curtain of BCAF Presents…oh yeah I forgot to talk about how I’m the editor of BCAF’s exclusive FREE publication of comics, games, and local artist features. We’ll definitely have to deep dive into that in the next newsletter!

All my best,

Vannotes