A Glance Back And A Look Forward

The year that was and the one that will be.

THE YEAR THAT WAS

2023 is almost over. I took a look back at my Substack at this time last year and I opted out of the traditional “here’s what I did this past year and here’s what I promise I’m gonna do this coming year.” Which is probably good, because I read through my New Year journal entries last year and I have admit that not a lot of crushing was done on the personal goal front. So, I’ll see what I can do about getting my shit together in that column as I scoot myself into 2024.

On the work side of things, 2023 couldn’t have gone better. I wrapped up Strange Academy, my long running Marvel project that I created with Humberto Ramos. We released Middlewest: The Complete Tale softcover by myself and Jorge Corona at Image Comics. We collected and released the Untold Tales of I Hate Fairyland that was first published on this Substack. And to my absolute delight, we’ve continued publishing the hit Image Comics series I HATE FAIRYLAND with the incredibly talented Brett Bean handling the art duties! I was able to work and create some amazing comics with some of the industries best cartoonists this past year. You can’t get better than that.

As usual, there was no shortage of Young Variants put out by Marvel! Here are just a few of them. (I can’t announce it yet, but there’s also a really cool thing going down with my Marvel covers this coming year! )

My company Stupid Fresh Mess also decided to have a little fun this past year. We released UnOriginal Art prints, made some stops on the conventions circuit, signed a book or two down at CGC, sold some stuff live on Whatnot, and published several Exclusive Variant Covers on available at Skottieyoung.com. One of those being my first published work for DC and on Batman! I couldn’t be more proud of Megan and John and the rest of the crew that lent a hand through out the year.

Then there’s you all. The SFM Community. None of 2023 would’ve been possible with out each of you showing up and showing your love and support. We can’t thank you enough, but we’re going to try in 2024.

I mean check out this awesome 2023 graphic made by the awesome Dr. Tracy Hoffman! Her and her family are just awesome. Thanks for the pizza too!!!!!

And we can’t let this year slip by without thanking Dustin Whitney for continuing to build the curate the Skottie Young Art Appreciation Facebook Group. While I’m not a member myself, I hear how great and supportive everyone is and it’s so flattering to know nearly 5000 people are over there having a good time sharing and talking about my art. I did get to watch the first annual SKOTTIE’S and wow, was that cool. What are the SKOTTIE’S? Well, go join the group and find out!

THE YEAR THAT WILL BE

What’s next? Well, some more exclusives from Stupid Fresh Mess are coming your way very soon and throughout the year. We also have a second round of UnOriginal Art prepped and ready to launch soon as well. We already have a few hats ready to go live and we’ll finally be doing a T-shirt drop as well! Keep an eye out here for all of the fun stuff we’ll be cooking up this year!

As far as comics go, that is and will always be the priority for me. Trust me, 2024 is going to see some BANGERS!

A RETURN IS NEAR!

Kyle Strahm and I have made it no secret that TWIG will return. As you can see by the last page of Twig #5.

I’m excited to tell you that we’ve starting building the story and i’m currently typing away on the outline and first issue. If fact, I stopped in the middle of writing this newsletter to have lunch with Kyle to hammer out a few more things as we’re kicking it off. It’s still too early to show you some of Kyle’s sketches but we will as soon as it’s time. So, 2024 will see the return of TWIG!

ONCE AGAIN BACK, IT’S THE INCREDIBLE…

…Jorge Corona! That’s right. Jorge and I are back on our bullshit and playing pretend on paper like it’s our job! Well, I guess, it kind of is our job. So, yeah. We’re back together and doing it again! I’m going to give you a few teases but that’s it. It’s Western…kinda. I mean it is, but not just that. In the same way our book Middlewest wasn’t just an adventure through the plains of the midwest. It was that, but extra. Same here with [NOT TELLING YOU THE TITLE YET]! It’s a Western something else. Let me tell you, that something else is SOMETHING ELSE! As with all of my creator owned books, Image Comics will publish our new limited series.

We have Nate Piekos back and he’s creating all new fonts for this book and we’re in love. Jean-Francios Beaulieu is coloring and if you loved Middlewest and The Me You Love In The Dark, then you’re going to swoon of over his colors for this book.

Of course, Jorge is once again proving to be one of the best artists in comics with every single panel he draws. I’m not kidding. These pages are going to blow you away. And the best part, he’s already working on issue 4 of our 5 issue story! The first issue will be out in late spring i think. But maybe sooner. Stay tuned for details. For now, check out the sneak peeks.

See, I told you. This guy goes hard and we’re all better for it! When you see what Jean and Nate add to it, you’re going to be so happy.

Well, that’s a wrap for 2023 and a look at some what 2024 will bring. I hope you’re as excited about this coming year as me and my crew are. On behalf of me, Megan and John here at Stupid Fresh Mess, have a Happy and safe New Year!