“Don’t get it right, get it written.”
– James Thurber

Yes…

If you’ve been following The Continuing Adventures of the Gleaner (Advent Calendar Edition) over the last four weeks,
The Devil’s Malware has all been a bit silly and ridiculous.

Impish?

Perhaps.

Infantile?

Definitely!

A bit like a fever dream?

You bet!

But I had a hankering to make something in the spirit of those classic punk/pulp zines I recall fondly from days of yore…

(A few of my favorites pictured here.)

So I made a madcap attempt to gut one out for the holidays (link above for your holiday viewing pleasure).

And while it’s not print (apologies to the purists), I wanted to do something that beat with that same “DIY” heart – and could still fit inside a smartphone or a tablet.

Written online and on-the-fly. Photos of the city taken on-the-run and processed to evoke comic books and old-school pulp adventure magazines.

The photos would often inform where the story went.

Weird, strange, melancholy, and silly places.

Charging forward with little to no editing.

Because it wasn’t about getting it right.

It was about getting it written for the holidays.

A new chapter came out everyday starting on Sunday, December 3 (First Sunday of Advent) and concluded today (Christmas Eve).

Posted through the blog, through Flickr, and through Instagram.

The game was to test how narrative might be told in all these new media.

What worked?

And what bombed?

The immediacy was thrilling and agonizing.

Where the hell would this thing go next?

What would it read like and what would it look like?

So…

Hope you enjoy and have a fantastic Holiday.

And…

If you want to learn more about the wonderful world of proper print zines, enjoy the documentary posted below.

Godspeed and see ya in 2018 (when we’ll have more trouble to cook up for you amd yours.)

Video courtesy of Belinda Cai