Traveling isn’t Quiet

& Esmerelda the stomach-bug

Work-time, for me, means being totally alone.

I spend my days mostly drawing or writing in isolation, with only the work, my thoughts, and a few strutting personal demons for company. This solitary work/life paradigm has little use for things like social grace or organized thought. Like a subterranean fish, I shed these unnecessary features and become… strange.

Me.

I become suited only for work. I grow powerful, in a very specific and limiting way. Not to brag, but within the kingdom of my imagination, I am known as something of a genius. Not my words.

Me, when I’m REALLY in the zone.

Rejoining the “real world” can be a bit of a process. I come out rarely, wearing a bewildered smile and what I hope is a nice shirt.

But today… Today, I blinked awake in Cape Town, South Africa, at a family reunion.

My wife’s entire family is from here (she herself is from Jersey). Some of them haven’t been back in 20 years.

I can’t tell you how strange it is to be moving full-tilt on Quiet and then suddenly stop everything, hop on a 14-hour plane, and spend two weeks in the blazing sun of another continent. Today’s hero - me, the gasping cavefish - has now strolled along beaches, picked through tide pools, acquired a new shirt, met and befriended a stomach bug (which I’ve named “Esmerelda”), taken a cable-car to the top of a mountain, eaten delicious food, and slept rather poorly. I’ve been contemplating the socio-economic realities of this second-world country, and navigating the interpersonal dynamics of a large and active family compressed into a relatively small space.

Oh, and monkeys!

Monkeys: cuter than stomach viruses

Cape Town is stunning and it’s very nice to get away, but I’ll admit, I’m not having complete success unplugging and living in the moment (despite the monkey-related joy evidenced above). Part of the issue is timing; Jonah is still very much in the middle of his quest, so this time away doesn’t feel earned. Part is financial; the dollar might be strong here, but our rent in NYC doesn’t care that we’re gone. Part has been jet lag, part is Esmerelda, and a big part is just that I don’t like not being able to work.

Sometimes, however, things be slow. That’s just how things be.

The current spread that I’m working on! The title page within the book.

And another one. There’s something down there in the dark and it says “Acks”

Making much progress on these spreads is out of reach at the moment. Rather than lament this, however, let me tell you about the things I did get done before leaving:

• I made a Marvel Anatomy retractable banner for AwesomeCon!

Next: a Quiet: Level One banner!

• Made & ordered metal lapel pins of Quiet!

I’ll be making several more kinds - this is the test-run

• Engaged a letterer, Tom Napolitano, who came highly recommended to me courtesy of the powerhouse James Tynion. Tom’s work is exactly the piece that was missing. A preview:

See how the words lead your eye? This, I like.

• I started a business, and opened a business bank account. No picture there, just satisfaction.

• My friends at Ember Forge have finalized the Quiet Kickstarter figurine! I will be raffling one of these off soon…

“Oh, you’re not following @quietlevelone?” (Turns away from you at the party)

• Filmed my Fallout YouTube video; it’s being edited now! What, you’re still not following me on YouTube? Still?!

• And I’ve almost finished my cover. Here’s a look:

There was other stuff, too, so much other stuff.

And there is so much ahead.

When at last I leave the sun-drenched streets of Cape Town and we begin our descent into the blowing winter wasteland of New York, my plan is to hang from the undercarriage of the airplane and just start pumping my legs as fast as they’ll go. As the wheels touch down, I’ll run to keep pace, and the added power of the 747’s engines should keep me moving at exactly the speed I need to complete this journey. I just need to maintain this speed for a few months.

This was long and rambling - thanks for reading.

With love from the Mother City,

Jonah (And Esmerelda)