Cliff "Q" Cumber

So, I am doing this. The first issue is ready to go. Well, letter. It's a page of weird shit.

Tell me you see it.

Aw, thank you, Ms Harris! I'm not sure it'll ever happen, but you'll be first in line.

Love you, man. Can't wait to see you.

I'm not quite sure where I was going with this dump. Thank you for reading.

I'm going to keep going, though. I have stories I want to tell and emotions I want you to feel through those stories.

And here we are in 2025. Well, almost. And I'm feeling the entropy of my age and complete uncertainty about our future as a species, and a lingering dissatisfaction that I was never part of that comics mainstream like Clowes or Burns.

I don't have many regrets. Not sticking with my art consistently is one of them. Not finding my people until it's too late is another. I chose writing and journalism primarily (and, thereby, supported a beautiful family).

By the time I'd mastered the digital stuff, we'd be off down some new rabbit hole leaving me behind yelling, "Wait, wait!" My old brain just doesn't have the speed or wit to keep up.

I turn 55 this year. I had always hoped I had time to make it after my sporadic forays into making comics but that clock is ticking down. If I had another 55 years to properly and efficiently put into practice all the lessons I'd learned, it still wouldn't be enough.

So why not revolt? Why not defiantly go back to ink on paper so those few lovely people who feel that delightful tickle in their brain when they see my scribbles are rewarded by having something physical to hold?

The thought of building another following just so some billionaires can make a quick buck off me gives me the wobblers.

And I find social media EXHAUSTING and wish it would all just go away or be reduced in scale or something.

Most of my interactions cross-platform have been awful and draining (maybe with the exception of the soon-to-be extinct TikTok).

I mean, look at this top nine. Three pieces of art from ages ago, Ed Piskor, my cat, my extremely handsome son, a shit meme, a far-superior cartoonist and the top of my effing desk.

And, honestly, no one out there *gestures vaguely at the digital masses* seems to like my art, which, to be honest, hurts, because I was hoping it was impostor syndrome but the evidence points to that being the reality.

Who doesn't like getting mail/post that's not just some spam mailer?

... I may launch a comic/zine/letter project in 2025 that is completely analog and totally offline that you can only subscribe to by giving me your address and is mailed to you in an envelope.

I feel like if I only have three subscribers, it's worth more than all my social media followers combined

What's your favorite Carry On movie?

Mine is Carry On Henry.

Another hot take, I think, is that tea bags should never, EVER have a string attached. You think you're dealing with amateurs?

two men are sitting at a table in a bowling alley with the words `` am i wrong ? '' above them . ALT: two men are sitting at a table in a bowling alley with the words `` am i wrong ? '' above them .

Watching Supernatural all the way through, because sick, and I'm pretty sure that Castiel is actually DC's John Constantine working his side hustle in another reality.

Watching the latest Carry-On movie for Christmas and I haven't seen Sid James or Babs Windsor in it yet at all and I'm like WTF?

Also, Carry On what?

Seriously, Hollywood, get your shit together.

I found myself scrolling the LinkedIn news feed today for some reason and it was so depressing.

Happy day late birthday to the creator of Plastic Man, Jack Cole.

But if you're wondering, l-r, David Kelly, Biff Pilchard, O'Sullivan and Cleo Rocos.

These are some very bad guys. No resemblance to actors living or dead.

a man is sitting at a table with a sign that says `` change my mind '' on it . ALT: a man is sitting at a table with a sign that says `` change my mind '' on it .

Beetlejuice II and Gladiator II are the Highlander II of this generation.

Maybe a cover. Maybe not. Maybe a gun-toting baby. Maybe not.

I also love the art of this ad.

Any comics pals who were reading in the '80s ever play this? I remember being in the UK and so jealous my US colleagues had access to these cool games.