These Days …
It’s the middle of September. It’s this time of year, autumn as it cruises into being winter, that I start contemplating what to do with this website (and this newsletter) in the next year. I think of each year as a project. This year I’ve written a monthly newsletter. In some previous years I’ve posted daily images. Other years I wrote a weekly newsletter. I don’t yet have an idea what I might do in 2026.
I don’t expect I’ll do new daily images here. I don’t expect to but I’ve often done things I didn’t expect. In 2025 I’ve been posting daily on substack, blue sky and tumblr. It’s been the same image on each platform. I’ve been wanting to see what sort of response on get on each site. The images have all been from the archives on my computer. I expect I will continue the daily posts on those sites in 2026. My audiences on each site is small but the images are being seen by more people on those sites than see them here. Subscribing to my substack will get the daily images sent to your email. Otherwise, checking the platforms will get my posts and the posts of other interesting people.
I’m working on a variety of projects that I expect to post at some point – The Surrilana Depths graphic novel, the Daughter of Spiders stories, the Sunk Cost Elegy graphic novel. At the moment, none of those seem like they’re enough complete to start serializing, even if I were to limit myself to monthly posts.
I has occurred to me that I could finally set up this site as a portfolio/store. Have a gallery of images that, when clicked on, take you to either my Zazzle or my Redbubble store. That’s a thought. I could direct folks here from the other social media sites. Just let Skookworks chug along without regular posts for a year or so. That feels rude. I do think of y’all out there and I hope y’all enjoy these newsletters even when there’s not much news in them.
Atomic Age Maps Gallery
Most role playing scenarios feature maps so the players can better orient themselves in the stories. I’ve only drawn maps once, for the sourcebook: Atomic Age Cthulhu. I’d already contracted to do illustrations for the book so, when the editor asked if I could do maps as well, I basically shrugged and said, “Why not?”
Most of these were pretty straightforward. I followed instructions, did a little thinking and mostly drew the maps in Photoshop. The big challenge was the map for the Tri-Cities in 1955. The internet has a lot info available but no images of maps that old. So I went old school and visited the Seattle Central Library. There’s a map room on the top floor. I found a few maps that suited my purpose but, when it came time to check them out, I wasn’t sure how. This was years before our library started putting bar codes on everything and none of the maps had check out cards. I asked a librarian how to check them out. She smiled and said, “Bring them back when you’re done.”
Librarians are divine beings.
Yes, I returned the maps when I was done.
The Widower
Published in GLYPH #2, September 1998
Credited to “Sean Black”
But really:
Sarah Byam, writer
Justin Norman, penciller
David Lee Ingersoll, inker
Nine Panels: Misspent Youths
I get older. They never do. Punks.
I will see y’all again on October 15th.
Keep calm. Carry on. Hugs if you need them. Knuckle sandwiches if you’re a fascist.
