Moving in, moving forward!
Greetings! It’s been a while but that’s mostly because there’s been lots of changes—in my career, my home, and my creative projects!
In June, my teaching/advisor/coaching career at Mira Loma High School came to an end. After 26 years of teaching, I can say it had plenty of joyous and frustrating moments, but in the end, I feel very proud of my students and to have worked alongside some of the best teachers in California. With celebrations at both River City Brewing Company and at the last staff meeting, I said my goodbyes, received lots congratulations, and managed to get all my room and Matador stuff into five boxes (!) to take with my on my move up north.
Which brings me to the next change—moving to a new home! Yeah, life up in Humboldt is very different than life in the Sacramento region—for sure! The climate, the people, the culture—very much a welcome change.
The amazing redwoods at Sequoia Park Zoo.
Leslie says the sunrises are as beautiful as the sunsets, and she’s not wrong. Settling into our McKinleyville house is still not complete, but each day it feels more like home.
On the creative side, let’s start with a few awards from both Dr Dream and Blank. Blank was named as a Finalist in the 2024 American Legacy Book Awards. Dr. Dream received an award from The Bookfest Spring 2024 as well as a five star review from Reader’s Favorite book awards. The final awards for Reader’s Favorite will be out in September, so I’ll post an update when that happens. If you’d like a copy of either tradeback, you can order them directly from Barnes and Noble:
Blank: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blank-keith-carmona/1128077558
Dr Dream: The Collection—https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dr-dream-keith-carmona/1144761461
So let’s wrap up this quick update with a couple of projects in the works: a Shadow Hunters crossover and a writing for comics adaptation. The Shadow Hunters crossover will feature the long-time popular trio of Jessika, Jenna, and Renea facing off against a demon named Marionette, who, trying get in the good graces of Lylith, goes to capture the three and bring them to the demon queen. The book will feature one of my Dr Dream characters, Alice, joining with the Shadow Hunters in this action-packed comic. As a bonus, this is going to be a family affair behind the scenes as Jason Dube’s son Asher as well as my daughter Talia will be contributing their artistic talents to the book. Production should be starting soon with a Kickstarter in 2025.
Next up is an idea that came from my fellow Scattered creator James Burton. “Ya know, we should do a book about writing and creating for comics, like a book version of your YouTube series.” The man’s a friggin’ genius…but being in comics as long as he has, you gain an intelligence in the field like few others. While I’m still trying to figure out the format of the book, it’ll be a combination of the video content and James’ own words of wisdom (some of which he expounded during guest speaking appearances at Mira Loma). I am very much looking forward to once again working with James and producing another great book like we did with Damage, Inc. For Love of Spiders and Mummies.
For all things Scattered Comics, check out : https://www.scatteredcomics.com/
Check out Jason Dube’s live art on Monday’s and Fridays on: https://www.youtube.com/@jasondube5285
Sign up for James Burton’s blog at: https://jamesburton.substack.com/
—Keith