TINY UPDATE 6/7: An Oddly Chaotic Pride Month

“Tiny Update” is a monthly free newsletter that keeps you up to date on the latest news, comic book projects and merchandise offerings from James Tynion IV and Tiny Onion Studios

For me, right now it’s 8:17AM and I am very tired.

I’ve just posted up in the Delta Sky Club before my first of two flights that will ultimately land me in Dallas ahead of the Diamond Retailer Summit tomorrow, and the convention this weekend. I made the bright decision somewhere in the middle of the night that I’d be able to get more done by staying up all night, and right now I feel like death warmed over. Once upon a time, I really could bounce back QUICK.

I need to stop pulling all-nighters because they just don’t get the job done like they used to. Mostly I usually just end up on the couch doing a lot of thinking. And there’s a lot to think about these days. I’ve hit a few big landmarks in my life, most of which I’m going to keep to myself. But in the last couple of weeks, I took a real vacation with some good friends to Palm Springs, got two new tattoos, and finally crossed the one-hundred-pound mark in my weight loss journey. On top of that, boxing continues to go well, and I’m getting a bit more confident about breaking out the tank tops as I work out.

You can see the tattoos in better detail on Instagram (JamesTheFourth), but I figure the 100 Pound Mark earns me a cute selfie. I’m still very much a work in progress, but I’m excited to see where this road takes me.

There are a lot of more mixed emotions these days. It’s looking like we’ll be saying goodbye to my very old sweet dog, Khaleesi over the next couple of weeks, and my deadlines are as punishing as they’ve ever been. But I’m trying to keep my head up and keep everything moving to the best of my ability. Primarily, I am trying to keep MYSELF moving to the best of my ability.

There’s a lot more I could say, but there’s some work to get done this month, so let’s get into the nitty-gritty.

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Okay! Let’s dig in!!!

I had some of the fine people on Team Tiny Onion knock out a special Pride variant of our logo to help celebrate some of the fun stuff we’ve got planned for the month. Since I have payments paused here on Substack, I’m opening up this month’s Onion Drop, celebrating the release of THE ODDLY PEDESTRIAN LIFE OF CHRISTOPHER CHAOS. We have 200 more copies of this incredible Alvaro Martinez Bueno variant going up on sale right as this newsletter drops!

You can snag that cover and other Pride and Christopher Chaos goodies from ShopTinyOnion.com RIGHT now while supplies last! I’m also thrilled to announce that any money we raise from selling our Tiny Onion Pride Pins and Patches will be donated to The Trevor Project, and I’m going to personally match the total to double our donation.

While we’re talking all things Pride in Tiny Onionland, I am also very excited to announce that Tiny Onion Studios is one of the key sponsors of Flamecon this year and that I am going to be bringing a whole slate of writers and artists from the whole Tiny Onion ecosystem to the Queer-centric comic convention. We’ll be doing some con-exclusive goodies around Christopher Chaos for sure, and I’m very happy to announce that at the very least I will be in attendance. I wasn’t able to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s to get the full slate of creators announced in time for this post, but I might do a dedicated announcement for that later this month. In any case, I’ll be banging the drum for the full Flamecon team SOON!

But in terms of THIS MONTH, I’m very excited to say that I’m bringing Tate Brombal, Isaac Goodhart, and Nick Robles out to the East Coast for a little signing tour. I’ll be joining the boys on Wednesday, June 28th at MIDTOWN COMICS GRAND CENTRAL, and they’ll be appearing on Saturday, July 1st at THIRD EYE COMICS in Annapolis!

We’re very excited about Christopher Chaos, and can’t wait for more people to meet this delightful gay teen mad scientist. Our first print run sold out the day after FOC, and we announced that the series is going to continue as a monthly ongoing comic book for years to come! It launches on June 28th, and you should tell your local comic shop TODAY if you want to get your hands on a copy.

But I also have some other comics coming out this month! So let’s get into THAT!

June 13th

THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE: NIGHTMARE COUNTRY - THE GLASS HOUSE #3

W: James Tynion IV / A: Lisandro Estherren / C: Patricio Delpeche / L: Simon Bowland / Main Cover: Reiko Murakami / E: Andrea Shea & Chris Conroy

Demon club “The King of Pain” offers the Corinthian a chance to indulge his most murderous tendencies, and the walking nightmare finds himself ravenous after years of guarded restraint. And though the first taste is free, what starts as a snack quickly escalates to a feast, and there will no doubt be hell to pay. Are the club’s offerings enough to keep the Corinthian satisfied? Or will blood spill across the streets of San Francisco just as the immortal witch Thessaly enters the fray, seeking to satiate a hunger of her own?

June 14th

W0RLDTR33 #3

W: James Tynion IV / A: Fernando Blanco / C: Jordie Bellaire / L: Aditya Bidikar / E: Steve Foxe / P: Image Comics

W0RLDTR33 holds the key to understanding why Ellison Lane's kid brother carried out such an unimaginable atrocity...but it may already be too late to stop the Undernet from destroying someone else Ellison loves.

The next horror must-read from multiple Eisner Award-winning writer JAMES TYNION IV (THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH) and FERNANDO BLANCO (Detective Comics) continues!

SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN Vol. 6

W: James Tynion IV / A + Cover: Werther Dell'Edera / C: Miquel Muerto / L: AndWorld Design / E: Ramiro Portnoy & Eric Harburn

Monster hunter Erica Slaughter becomes the hunted and faces her doom alone! With the last person in her corner gone and a ruthless agent from the Order of St. George closing in, Erica Slaughter finds herself alone and without a prayer. Can she take on this horrific new monster plaguing the small town of Tribulation, New Mexico by herself, or is this the end of her story? Erica is faced with a choice to reach out to an unexpected source for help, or find herself dealing with both a monster and her human enemies alone… Erica Slaughter faces her deadliest challenge yet in the next volume of the Eisner-winning and Harvey Award-nominated series from GLAAD Award-winning author James Tynion IV, artist Werther Dell’Edera, colorist Miquel Muerto, and letterer AndWorld Design. Collects Something is Killing the Children #26-30.

SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN Pen & Ink #1

W: James Tynion IV / A: Werther Dell'Edera

BOOM! Studios is proud to present PEN & INK, a deluxe art-focused format featuring stunning black and white interior inks with artist commentary. This premium reformat of Something is Killing the Children #1, celebrates the start of Erica Slaughter's epic journey with exclusive notes and annotations from artist and co-creator Werther Dell'Edera.

June 28th

BLUE BOOK #5

W: James Tynion IV / A: Michael Avon Oeming / L: Aditya Bidikar / E: Greg Lockard, Daniel Chabon / P: Dark Horse

From the New York Times-bestselling and multi-Eisner award-winning co-creators of Something is Killing the Children, The Nice House on the Lake, The Department of Truth, and Powers comes this ambitious, non-fiction comic book experience depicting true stories of UFO abductions with an eye to capturing the strange essence of those encounters. Madness and paranoia continue to take a toll on the sanity of Betty and Barney Hill as they search for help in determining whether their nightmares may have been missing memories of their alien encounter. Also includes "True Weird: And I Have Been Promised It" by Genevieve Valentine, Ming Doyle, and Aditya Bidikar.

THE ODDLY PEDESTRIAN LIFE OF CHRISTOPHER CHAOS #1

W: Tate Brombal + James Tynion IV / A: Isaac Goodhart / C: Miquel Muerto / L: Aditya Bidikar / Cover A + B: Nick Robles / E: Greg Lockard, Daniel Chabon / P: Dark Horse

From the New York Times bestselling and multi-Eisner award-winning writers of Something is Killing the Children, The Department of Truth, and House of Slaughter; and the artist on Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story comes this LGBTQ+ horror-hero coming-of-age series that's Invincible meets Doom Patrol.

Meet teenage mad scientist Christopher Chaos. For all his life he knew he was different. His brilliant mind works in ways that defy logic and enable him to do things that push him beyond his peers. Unfortunately, these abilities have also caused great pain in his personal life--leading others to fear him and leaving Christopher with profound loneliness and guilt.

Then one day something cracked. When the cute boy at high school turns out to be a deadly creature, Christopher finds himself pitted in a world of monsters, heroes, and a cult of hunters out to kill them all.

As I said above, I’m en route to my next convention right now! I’ll be at Dallas FanExpo this weekend, and I’ve got my signing/panel schedule all ready for you.

FRIDAY

3-5PM - Signing

SATURDAY

12:00-1:30 - Signing

3:00-4:15 - Signing

4:30-5:30 - PANEL - WORLDS OF JAMES TYNION IV: W0RLDTR33, NICE HOUSE BY THE LAKE, DEPT OF TRUTH

SUNDAY

12:00-1:30 - Signing

2:30-3:30 - PANEL - WORLDS OF JAMES TYNION IV: SIKTC and HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER

3:45-5:00 - Signing

Next up, you’ll be able to find me, Tate, Isaac, and Nick at Midtown Comics Grand Central on Wednesday, June 28th from 5-7 PM. And Tate, Isaac, and Nick will be down in Annapolis at Third Eye Comics on July 1st from 11 AM-1 PM!

I will be at San Diego Comic-Con this year in a way where people can actually get stuff signed, but still in a limited capacity. I’ll be sure to get my full schedule out before the show.

I will be attending Flamecon on August 12-13, and New York Comic Con in October. That might be it for me for conventions/appearances this year, so try and hunt me down at one of the above shows!

I very, very much hope that I sleep on these flights.

And I hope you’re all doing well. When life slows down a bit I’m excited to give you a longer update on everything I’ve been cooking in the shadows.

James Tynion IV
Brooklyn, NY
6.7.23