Tia Hanke-Hills

The part where they had Cuomo pushing a meatball around the plate with his nose was awful.

A cat curled up under a blue blanket like a lump.

He's lump, he's lump, he's lump, he's in my bed.

I just finished Bunheads. I hope it gets renewed!

America runs on Dinklage.

The cheddar I bought is bad, and I knew it when I ate some of it earlier.

Now, me (being a Libra) to my guts: "Are you mad at me?"

What about a rom com where the meet cute involves two people trying to stomp out the same lantern fly?

I've lost count of how many times I've told my therapist that how I'm feeling is like a cake with several layers.

Anyway, I did it again today.

Three vitamins in a dish shot from above that resemble the Google Drive logo.

How messed up is it that I see Google Drive in this?

I love this new season of Project Runway. I also love that someone on this season said junxtaposition.

I miss trading stickers.

A glass of water shot from above with three ice cubes in it that resemble the Google Drive logo.

How messed up is it that I see Google Drive in this?

AJLT going out on a brown note.

I'm sure someone is working on this, but Nicholas Hoult and Benedict Cumberbatch need to be brothers in something.

Whether you’ve already backed our book, or you’re on the fence, or this is the first time you’re hearing about it, I trust that after you read this, you’ll have a much better understanding of why this book means so much to me, why it’s so fiercely independent, and where your pledge money will go. The production of Lake Yellowwood Slaughter has been a highly unconventional process. I had been sitting on the idea for over a year, restless to do it, but fully aware that it would be an extremely difficult concept to pitch to most publishers—weird, niche, and highly violent. I did not look forward to the imaginary editorial pushback I thought I would have to deal with. And then two things happened at the same time. The first thing that happened was that my good friend Robert Meyers (my editor on Doctor Tomorrow with artist Jim Towe at Valiant in 2020) offered me an assignment at the new publisher where he was heading up editorial, Bad Egg Publishing. The job was to write the mini-series Void Silver, with artist Suzi Blake, for the popular content creator Jacksepticeye. The payday on this job was generous; so generous that I realized I could pour all of it (and then some of my own money) into financing Lake Yellowwood Slaughter on my own—hiring the creative team of artist Gavin Guidry, colorist Chris O’Halloran, letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, cover artist Suspiria Vilchez, and graphic designer Dylan Todd—and paying them out of my own pocket. Writing Void Silver has been a joy, and I will always be deeply grateful to Robert, Seán “Jacksepticeye” McLoughlin, and Sophie Jackson for unwittingly making Lake Yellowwood Slaughter possible. I figured that finding a publisher for the finished Lake Yellowwood Slaughter would come later. The second thing that happened was that my good friend Sebastian Girner started his own publisher, Goats Flying Press, with the express mission to create “comics against all

odds.” That slogan fit us like a glove. Sebastian launched Goats as a small operation with no staff, no money, and no resources, financing the publication of their books on KS, and here I had a book that would come finished and paid for, that only required a few K more to pay for printing. In Goats I found a publisher as doggedly independent as this book, and a partner as enthusiastic and dedicated as Sebastian would be; in exchange, I hoped that bringing Yellowwood to Goats would represent my vote of confidence and my contribution to help build Sebastian’s project. It was a bumpy road. Void Silver covered all but 5K of what I calculated Yellowwood would cost. Of course, I'd also have to pay taxes on that money, so in fact it was about 10K short. And of course, the book ended up costing a few thousand dollars more than I had anticipated. But I calculated that I had just enough income from other sources—my editing work, two other writing jobs, and the bits and bobs of other small jobs I do here and there—to pay my rent and keep the lights on. It would be OK. Then one of the jobs got canceled. Then the company behind the other job folded. Then the hiatus between arcs on the editing jobs became a long hiatus. All of a sudden I still had all the costs of producing Yellowwood but only the small bits and bobs of leftover work to keep me afloat. I had almost passed on a freelance editing job for Kodansha because I thought I would be too busy—helping oversee new deluxe editions of the incredible manga Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura—but now I was glad I’d accepted, because it was my biggest gig for a little while there, working with Ben Applegate, who started out as a client and collaborator but has since become a friend. All in all, the 12 months from June 2024 to June 2025 felt like a decade. I don’t regret it. Every member of the Yellowwood creative team got paid, and professional rates, at that, in line with rates from comics’ biggest publishers in comics.

As long as we hit our funding goal, the worst-case scenario was that we’d release a book and everybody would get paid except me. Nobody but me would have to work for free. And the book would exist! That felt like a worthwhile roll of the dice. This is why we kept the funding goal low. Asking for just 8K, we were reasonably confident we could make it and publish a book even if the campaign did a total belly flop. In the coming weeks we’ll finish coloring the book and send it off to the printer; by then, I’ll have spent almost 40K out of pocket. Most of the Kickstarter money will go toward credit card bills. After spending years wiping out all the debt I racked up in my 20s and early 30s, I like to keep my credit card balance at 0, so the year that I’ve now spent watching my debt climb by the thousands has been agonizing. The good news is that the Kickstarter is almost 425% funded with nearly 34K. The bad news is that still doesn’t get us into profit. Again, no complaints here. What happens if and when we hit profitability? Everybody gets a cut. Gavin Guidry and I are co-owners of this book, and every member of the team gets a cut. Sharing royalties is a must. This is an invaluable lesson I learned firsthand working with Greg Rucka. When Greg hired me to edit The Old Guard by him and Leandro Fernández, and then The Old Guard became a movie, my life changed. The slice of royalties I got from that deal wasn’t even one year’s salary, but it was enough not to have to peck and scrounge for every last freelance job just to get by. Suddenly I could slow down, reclaim some of my own time, and start writing a lot more. There’s a straight line from editing The Old Guard in 2016 to releasing Lake Yellowwood Slaughter in 2025. (And getting to visit the set of Old Guard 2 in Rome and hang out with Charlize Theron was a nice bonus.) Greg is a good friend and a good collaborator, and the experience taught me that it is essential for every collaborator to share in a book’s success.

In this letter I’ve mentioned virtually all the people I need to thank, but I want to round them up, plus a few more, and thank them again. Yellowwood is a dream come true, and I owe all that to my partner Gavin Guidry and our collaborative team of Chris O’Halloran, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Suspiria Vilchez, and Dylan Todd. Working with them has been a pleasure and a thrill. Sebastian Girner and Jeff Powell at Goats are bringing this book to the world and I’m in their debt forever. Robert Meyers, Suzi Blake, Seán McLoughlin, and Sophie Jackson made Yellowwood possible. Ben Applegate and all the managing editors at Kodansha who keep hiring me have put food on the table with fun, fulfilling work. And of course, none of this would have ever happened without Greg Rucka and Jen Van Meter, who changed my life and laid out the path for me to write professionally. Stuart Wellington, Dan McCoy, and Elliott Kalan invited me onto their podcast, The Flop House, to promote Yellowwood, and David Harper led us in a very fun conversation on his podcast Off Panel, and I thank them all. When I was 24 years old and hadn’t read any comics since age 18, it was the art of Michael Lark that gagged and dragged me back into this world, and now I get to work with him on Lazarus, a dream come true. When I was an editor at Wizard we profiled a young up-and-coming artist, Nicola Scott, and now we work together on Black Magick. As a young assistant editor at Marvel, I worked with and became friends with Leandro Fernández, and now his Old Guard has meant so much to me…as well as a new mystery project you’ll hopefully hear about soon… I owe these people everything. To all of them, and to the almost 600 Kickstarter backers so far, I say thank you, for reminding me there’s still joy left in my wheezing, desiccated heart. Oh and I guess my wife, her too. Please back Lake Yellowwood Slaughter on Kickstarter. It means more to me than you can ever know. And our collaborators deserve their royalties!

Folks, as we cruise down the home stretch of the Lake Yellowwood Slaughter Kickstarter campaign's final week, I've felt increasingly eager to share how much this project means to me, how it came about, and what you're supporting when you back it.

kck.st/4k4deZe

But what if it was Smelly Cat's fault all along?

Cortisolutions

Lake Yellowwood Slaughter A graphic novel "adaptation" of a 1983 slasher movie that never existed!

Lake Yellowwood Slaughter is live on Kickstarter!!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/goa...

My cats are always saying "you haven't LIVED until you've rubbed your face on a corner 1,000 times in a row."

Extremely proud of @alejandrobot.com and excited for the launch of LAKE YELLOWWOOD SLAUGHTER!

Wake me up when the cats are fed.

Thank you, Original Peaches™️!!! I'm excited to listen!!

One character asks another: "Do you think the Sun and Moon ever fucked? And what would happen if they did?"

My right arm is resting on my lap with my wrist slightly bent and my palm facing up.

I used to poke fun at people in my life for resting their hands on their laps this way. Thought it looked silly, doll-like. How wrong I was. It's so damn comfortable.

LAKE YELLOWWOOD SLAUGHTER The Official Comic Book Adaptation! Arbona | Guidry | O'Halloran | Otsmane-Elhaou Graphic novel cover art painted by Suspiria Vilchez prominently featuring a black-leather-gloved hand holding a bloody knife with a lake and a rowboat and woods reflected in it, two frightened women's faces, and a killer in a yellow raincoat holding a gleaming axe. The book is by: Alejandro Arbona & Gavin Guidry—story and art Chris O'Halloran—color Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou—lettering Suspiria Vilchez—cover art Dylan Todd—logo design Published by Goats Flying Press Coming to Kickstarter in May

The box full of of LAKE YELLOWWOOD SLAUGHTER ashcans that we're bringing to BROOKLYN INDEPENDENT COMICS SHOWCASE this Saturday and Sunday in Industry City, Brooklyn

New York!! LAKE YELLOWWOOD SLAUGHTER makes its con debut this weekend—I'll be at the Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase in Industry City, BK on Sat. & Sun. w/ Sebastian Girner of @goatsflyingpress.com. We'll have ashcans in EXTREMELY LIMITED SUPPLY with a preview, come early and get one signed!

Two small moths clinging to a white shower curtain.

Two moths, both alike in size,
In shower curtona, where we lay our scene.

It's a real listen to Ashlee Simpson's Autobiography kind of Wednesday.

Dream last night: I was searching for crackers.

Garlic lingered on her breath from the night before, and she could tell without looking that her eyebrows were disorganized.

It's Easter Sunday, but it's also 4/20 and this tincture is overperforming.

Watched 2005 P&P on the big screen last night, and it reinforced that, yes, flexed hand forever. But also, "and what excellent boiled potatoes" forever.