Issue 31: Giving it All
My week at rock 'n' roll summer camp
Hi friends!
I was talking to my friend Chris, who—at nearly 40 years of age—just got into his first car accident. He’s fine, by the way. But the event stressed him out, and in my attempt to make him feel better about his fender bender, I shared the story of how I lost my very first car—a beige 1994 Geo Prizm—in an accident back in the early 2000s.
The Geo was a gift from my parents, given to me in high school. I’ve never been a “car guy,” so I didn’t have any sort of standards for my first vehicle. (Does anyone?)
The Prizm was cheap, it went in forward and reverse, and was relatively safe on wintry Ohio roads. When school let out each afternoon, I always forgot what the car looked like. At that age, cars all sort of looked the same to me. And, in all fairness, most of my fellow students had their own beige makes and models from the early ‘90s. Complicating matters, I could never remember where I parked. I wasted a lot of time sitting near a tree outside the school, waiting for the other students to leave. Within 15 to 20 minutes, the Geo’s location was magically revealed to me and I drove home.
Later, I was given a Garfield air freshener that I hung from the rear view mirror. That sarcastic orange cat made it so I didn’t have to wait as long to leave. Though, I did have to awkwardly squint into the interior of every car that might be mine until I spotted Garfield. Within weeks, the air freshener’s scent was gone, but I didn’t dare remove it for fear of losing the car again.
After I moved to Florida for college, the Geo developed a quickly-expanding hole in the muffler. My then-girlfriend/now wife liked that, because she always knew when I was a mile away from arriving at her apartment.
The fateful accident that took the Geo out of my life occurred while I was driving down Semoran Boulevard with that same then-girlfriend/now wife. I don’t remember where we were going, but I do remember seeing flashing emergency lights approaching from behind. I steered the Geo into the right lane and turned off the main road, but the police cruisers turned behind me. In my rear view, a pair of headlights between me and the cop cars got brighter and closer. Just as the headlights were about to be in my backseat, I turned to my co-pilot and said, “This isn’t good.”
SLAM.
Turns out, the driver of the car was flying high on drugs while attempting to outrun the police. But I—and the beige 1994 Geo Prizm—stopped him so the police could wrench the man from the car, throw him over the hood, and cuff him. It was heroic act for which I never received so much as a thank you from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
I was sad to see that Geo with her back end caved in, the trunk butted up against the back seats. It had been a good car. It was an ugly car, but it was a good car.
I like to think my story made Chris feel better.
What Happened Last Issue?
I judged a writing competition and relayed some important takeaways for all our writers in the house.
In This Issue:
Giving Back!
Project Updates!
Give ‘Til it Hurts
The first few weeks of May were brutal. I was battling burnout on all fronts and facing new challenges at the day job. However, I knew that if I could just make it to mid-month, everything would be okay.
How did I know this? Because from May 19-24 I made my annual pilgrimage to Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, where I spent a week giving lectures and sitting on panels, all with the goal of igniting and inspiring the imaginations of those students who will make up the next generation of creatives.
But it wasn’t just me… More than 50 professionals from across the entertainment industry—working in music, games, animation, film, sportscasting, and tech—graced the campus to give back, and I count myself lucky to be among them.
I spoke on myriad topics, from launching a writing career, to breaking into the games industry, to successfully tackling side projects atop day-to-day responsibilities, to overcoming creative blocks. I even spent an hour answering questions about writing for video games to a room of 100 eager faces—the highlight of this year’s trip.
This event happens each year as part of the university’s week-long celebration, wherein six accomplished graduates are inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. Huge congrats goes out to Nadine, Santos, Michael La Plante, Mark Diaz, Benjamin Rice, Natalie Asport, and Nina Lopez-Carrado for making us all very proud.
It’s always wonderful to be in the company of the professionals who attend the event to share tips, tricks, and expertise, as well as those students who are soaking up the information and preparing to launch their entertainment industry careers. We speakers all take a week off from our jobs, fly to Florida, and work harder than we do at those day jobs. There’s something wrong with us all, but in the best way possible.
It’s my “Rock ‘n’ Roll Summer Camp.”
Project Updates!
Unit 44 [Comic Book]
Series artist Aleks Jovic recently completed art and colors on the 11th(!) issue of Unit 44! While I went to work adding my letters and perfecting my witty one-liners to Alek’s gorgeous pages, the one-man machine tore into issue 12 and the art is halfway complete!
Need proof? I gots proof!
Don’t forget to preorder issues #9 and #10, shipping IMMINENTLY!
The Obsoletes [Comic Book]
After a bit of downtime following the release of issue 2, the third issue of my sci-fi/action comic series for Silverline Comics is back in production! The first half of the issue has been drawn for some time, but the artist—Aaron Humphres—ended up dropping off the book for reasons. Series inker Jose Fuentes will absorb both art and inking duties for the back half of issue 3 (and through #4) and the book should be coming to a crowdfunding platform near you in a few months!
Molly’s Oddities [Graphic Novel]
Thankfully, I’ve kept busy enough as of late that I simply haven’t had the time to fall into any sort of depression regarding this project. I’ve been hearing back on my most recent round of queries sent in January of this year, but those responses have been rejection after rejection. Most cite agents only representing graphic novels from writer/artists (which I am not).
I’m not the type of person to simply stop querying after a few rejections—I like to rack up a rolodex worth before I take a project behind the barn and put it down—but it seems that since I didn’t draw this comic, I’m coming in with a major disadvantage. I like the story, though. Maybe it becomes something else in time. It’s a nice thing to have in my back pocket.
The Incoming Storm [Young Readers Nonfiction] - Releasing 1/7/2025
This book has been announced, BUT the cover isn’t yet complete. (Between you and me, it’s not impressive for me to announce a book to you that doesn’t have a cover.) SOON, THOUGH, I will tell you all about it.
The Weirdness [Young Readers Nonfiction] - Releasing 1/6/2026
This one got a release date! Almost a year to the day that the project above it releases. How about that? This book won’t even be announced until—I’m guessing here—April of 2025, but I’ll continue sharing updates. The first draft of the manuscript is with the editor.
The Space Case [Young Readers Nonfiction]
Sometimes you think a project is done and it comes back again! My editor had shared the manuscript with the licensor and they asked if there could be a short introduction. I penned a fun little introduction, sent it back, and am currently awaiting the imminent announcement of this awesome little book that has been a blast to work on.
The Insincerity [Young Readers Nonfiction]
My editor at Penguin Random House appeared in my inbox with a new project this week! I am by no means an expert on this topic, but I’m looking forward to researching it further and putting together an outline for a book due out Summer of 2026. Here’s to learning!
The On Project [Top Secret]
Gosh, I’ve had this idea for more than a year a now, and I’ve been sitting on it, just waiting for the right time to get it going. After sharing the idea with a friend, he gave me some much-needed words of encouragement to get the ball rolling. Given everything listed above, the ball will roll slowly, but some progress is better than none, right?
Upcoming Releases!
Unit 44 #9 & #10 - Releasing June 2024 (currently printing!)
Unit 44 #11 & #12 - Preorders in June 2024 / Releasing August 2024
Unannounced Young Readers Book - January 7, 2025
Unannounced Young Readers Book - Spring 2025
Unannounced Young Readers Book - January 6, 2026
The end.
I’m Wes Locher. I’ve been writing professionally for more than twelve years. I write comic books, video games, fiction, and nonfiction. I write whatever seems fun, cool, and inspiring. I also love helping other writers to demystify the process of making a living through words. This is my newsletter.