Notes from Vannotes - Far Away Ansible Announcement!

Need some good news going into the weekend. Well the secret project I’ve been working on for awhile is almost here! Drumroll please…

Far Away Ansible Pre-Orders are Now Open!

What is Far Away Ansible you ask? It’s an original 32 page anthology of comics inspired by the work of Ursula K. LeGuin, put together by me and my friends.

Authors include:

• Rose Bousamra (Frizzy, Gutless)

• Chan Chau (The Baby-Sitter’s Club, Enlighten Me)

• Laura Knetzger (Bug Boys, Bigfoot and Nessie)

• Vannotes (Spy Ninjas, Piggy)

There’s also an additional poem provided by an actual friend of Ursula K. LeGuin’s Amelia Díaz Ettinger (These Hollow Bones).

Click below to learn more about the stories in this anthology and pre-order now!

Shipping unfortunately has to be a bit expensive BUT there’s no shipping fee for anyone who picks it up at Boise Comic Arts Festival!

Let’s Also Get the Obvious Out of the Way

I was pretty darn happy on Substack. I liked the combination of blogging, newsletter, and discoverability. I’d migrated from my website’s newsletter services that I’d assumed were free…they were not after the trial. I had people I liked following. It’s a real pain to hop from one blogging/newsletter service to the other.

Then I read this…

To be honest, I find myself in the category of social progressives that err too far on the side of caution when it comes to censorship. Even though I find JK Rowling abhorrent, I’m not writing letters to my local school librarian saying that Harry Potter needs to be removed from shelves or advocating that every copy of JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy should end up in a burn barrel. Yet even going as far back as my DeviantArt page, I can’t remember a founder of a platform I’m actively using expressing their explicit support for outright Nazi ideology…well before Elon, but I bailed on that ship as soon as I saw what a cyber security risk it was destined to become.

I live in Idaho and, to put it too simplistically, Neo-Nazism in this state used to be about living remotely on a compound, drinking beer, shooting guns, holding parades, and committing the occasional hate crime. Now through the everyday realities of MAGA, outright hate seems to be an acceptable political stance in “polite company.” I don’t need to live in a world where we tolerate the belief that other human beings should be erradicated. I already have to hold my tongue at every mention of how good Chik-Fil-A tastes.

Do I love all of Beehiiv’s AI mumbo jumbo? No, but it feels like that’s somewhat inescapable on every platform I’m using. Every night you can find me praying to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost that AI goes the way of 3D TVs and that big tech will discover something shiny and new to market. If you want a deep dive into my thoughts on AI, most of them have been informed by the writing of Ted Chiang.

I plan to get back to blogging somewhat regularly again if I can. Hopefully I’ll be making more than five posts on here before I’ll have to jump again. You’re all delights for sticking with me.

Other Notes from Vannotes

What Am I Reading? Have you ever heard of this little manga called One Piece? A couple years ago, I bought every omnibus volume from a teenager on Facebook Marketplace. Don’t worry it wasn’t a moment of loss of childish innocence; he was selling them all so he could buy the single editions. I’ve had my stops and dstarts, yet now I’m determined to make my way through and catch up to the current 3-in-1 omnibus. I’m only…40…volumes…away. My goal is to not pick up any new graphic novels (except for series that I’m already collecting and book club selections) until I’m able to catch up. Thankfully it’s a journey that’s worth the commitment.

What Am I Watching? I’ve been catching up on some odds and ends in my queue and finally watched Los Espookys Season 2. I adore a quirky show containing it’s own weird universe with it’s own weird rules and Los Espookys has some of the weirdest. The creative team did an amazing job at bringing the show to a satisfying end in two seasons, even if I wanted even more.

What Am I Listening To? Everyone’s been listening to Car Seat Headrest’s new album The Scholars on repeat, right? No? Well I don’t know what else you’d be listening to.

What Am I Playing? I just wrapped up playing Penny’s Big Breakaway which is a fun game from the folks who brought you Sonic Mania. Sure the physics and controls could be a bit tricky, but that added the difficulty of that kind of 3D platformer. My hands can’t take a lot of precise platforming, so probably not going to hunt for every token and emblem, but enjoyed playing through the main quest.

Upcoming Conventions and Appearances

Boise Comic Arts Festival

• Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31

• Boise Centre, 850 W Front St, Boise, ID 83702

• Learn more at https://www.boisepubliclibrary.org/using-the-library/boise-comic-arts-festival/.

That’s it for this update! You were able to scroll down this far and didn’t pick up a copy of Far Away Ansible yet? Well here’s the link again so you can remedy that.