Hello everyone!

If you’re reading this, you’re probably aware that the film director/meditation guru David Lynch has passed. It’s sad news. Lynch is one of my favorite directors, and, moreover, he is the reason that eight years ago I began meditating.

I was not even a little interested in meditation. But I’d long been a fan of Lynch’s work, and then I listened to an audiobook of his Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity. It’s a brief read/listen, clocking in at maybe 2 hours, part autobiography, part insight into how he thinks about life and art.

If you’ve read Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 1, you know this character shows up in our last story, which kind of encapsulates my relationship with reading (and making) comics in my adult life. I don’t want to say too much more about that since the hope is for PJ and I to continue this story in Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 2: Reign of the Comics Bookcases.

Anyway, I absolutely love this piece. In fact, I love this piece so much that it’s going to be exclusively available at the next show where I plan to table, which brings me to Thing 2…

Thing 2: The Death of Comics Bookcase World Tour, or how I learned to love-hate tabling

So, I tabled for the first time last year at Baltimore Comic-Con, and I’d best describe it as a mostly-fun learning experience. It was really interesting to (finally) be on the other side of that table, even if I would have 100 percent done a few things differently.

What did I learn? Well, first of all if you’re able to make comics, you will be welcomed into the community eagerly as a peer. Just having my book and committing to that table led to a dozen conversations with creators about craft, marketing, challenges, and whatever else. I’ve been a roving fan at shows for years, and it was just incredibly validating to be there in a different capacity. It did quite a bit to ease any lingering imposter syndrome I have around moving from writing about comics into being a creator.

Second, I learned that three days is way too freaking many. I am just not yet cut out to spend that much time under the fluorescent lights of one of our nation’s many civic convention centers. I suppose part of it is that this was my first time, and I haven’t yet built the stamina. But also, with only two full comics to my name, I simply need more books. I feel like a good number of people wanted to buy something from me, and having more than two choices would have really helped.

That said, I’m taking my two books (for now!) back out to a couple shows this year — two-day shows.So, put them on your calendar if you live anywhere near Northern Virginia or Brooklyn. I’d love to see you at either!

• Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase, April 26 & 27
  51 35th Street, Industry City (free admission!)

• Big Lick Comic Con NoVa, May 31 & June 1
  Dulles Expo Center, Chantilly, Va.

On top of those, I’ll be applying to the raffle to get a spot tabling at Small Press Expo, and I’ll be crossing the Atlantic for a fourth show in the fall, albeit as a wanderer at that one. Will talk more about all of this I’m sure as the dates get closer!

Speaking of touring, allow me to tell you about another trip I’ve been on…

Thing 3: My manga journey

Eh, how about that transition? Anyway! Yes, as so much news-related dread sets in, I’ve been determined to make 2025 My Year of Manga. Or rather, the year in which I read at least one new-to-me manga each week throughout the year.

Now, this next bit might be jarring for you to find out, given my reputation as like a total comics guy, but I am a relative manga neophyte. Sure, I’ve read your Akiras, your Plutos, your Junji Itos, and your Chainsaw Mans (why did I slip into midwestern mom here?), but I don’t feel like I have a depth of understanding about manga. And I’d really like to change that.

So, how am I going about doing that? Well, for starters we have a pair of excellent comic book stores here in Washington, D.C. — Big Planet Comics down on U Street, and Fantom Comics over in DuPont Circle — and they both maintain stellar displays and staff pick sections. So, grabbing some manga off of there was step one.

Next, I’m fortunate to personally know a couple incredibly knowledgeable manga readers, in Deb Aoki (Mangasplaining) and David Hyde (Superfan Promotions). I follow both of them on social media, and whenever they mention really loving a specific manga, I’ve been putting it on a list. As a result, I’ve got that sweet set of books you see above.

I don’t know if I’ll write anything more about this, or about the books I read, but I didn’t want to share it here for a couple reasons: A. publicly talking about the one-per-week idea makes me now accountable; and B. diving into an esoteric new hobby has been a decent way to stave off The Dread.

Maybe you will read this and be motivated to do the same (Pluto is a great place to start, btw).

Thing 4: David Lynch’s filmography ranked

So, before we get into it, I should note that I’m only ranking the 10 feature films that Lynch directed. Now, that sort of leaves out a big chunk of his output: the television shows Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: The Return. But I kind of see those as inextricable from the film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with me. So, for the purposes of this list, I’m lumping all of that together.

Now to the list!

10. Dune (1984)

To be clear, I don’t think David Lynch has made any bad movies — and this includes Dune. Did this movie do what the studio and audiences expected? Absolutely not.

But it’s not a bad movie. The design is incredible throughout, and there’s some truly great all-time weirdo performances in here. It’s also, in my opinion, a very true adaptation of the inherent psychedelic weirdness of the novel.

But I think the most interesting thing to me is that this was an attempt at a Hollywood blockbuster franchise before we had a clear corporate sterilized formula for such things. Anyway, something had to be 10.

9. Inland Empire (2006)

If you want to argue that Inland Empire is a dense, inaccessible Lynch masterpiece, I wouldn’t disagree with you. It’s a monster of a movie at three hours long — but it’s also one that I feel like is a bit intimidating, to its determent.

This is one of the Lynch films I’ve only seen once, so it’s possible a re-watch could change its spot. Also, Laura Dern is (as always) spectacular in this. It’s funny, the temptation is to think of Lynch and Kyle MacLachlan as one of those traditional Hollywood, director-actor duos. But I think you can make a case for it actually being Lynch-Dern.

8. The Straight Story (1999)

Now we get to the point where I have to rank movies I absolutely love as low as number 8. But that’s just how great Lynch was. The Straight Story holds an interesting place in this filmography. It’s a direct refuting of critics who say Lynch’s work is meaningless or entirely improvised without narrative. I think this movie (which is a joy and incredibly well-done) is Lynch showing he had the tools to be be Spielberg, but instead chose to be entirely himself.

7. Wild at Heart (1990)

With Lynch directing, Cage staring, and Willem Dafoe playing a key role, this movie is heavy on singular weirdoes. Depending on mood, I can rank this one as high as #3 on a given day. It’s got ultra violence, heavy metal, and a snakeskin jacket that’s “a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.”

It’s maybe the second most stylish of Lynch’s movies (behind Mulholland Drive), and an underrated music movie, too.

6. The Elephant Man (1980)

Like The Straight Story, this I think is another example of Lynch showing what he can do when he stays between the lines. It’s a really tough one to place, because it’s his best traditional, prestige film. But it’s also a little lighter on the essential qualities that make a film Lynchian, so I kept it a little lower on my list for that and that alone.

I think this is the point, though, where everything is five stars.

5. Lost Highway (1997

I’m probably most outside of consensus with how I feel about Lost Highway, a movie that I a lot of Lynch rankings tend to have much lower. On the surface, it might read as dense and improvisational as Inland Empire. But I actually think the core of this one is a deceptively straight-forward horror film.

To me, Lost Highway is like Eraserhead, in that it’s disturbing and scary as hell, without relying on much (if any) of the traditional horror film language to get there. It’s sort of a treatise on the way men justified their own mistakes and evils, wrapped in a creepy dual-personality exterior package. I also think the dream-within-a-dream structure of this film is key to the masterpieces that came after, including Mulholland Drive and the revival of Twin Peaks.

4. Eraserhead (1977)

I don’t know that I really have anything substantial to add to all that’s been written and said about Eraserhead, a stunning first film and a disturbed masterpiece.

I will say though, that I’ve now watched this movie three times, with years between each viewing. And during both of my re-watches, I forgot how deeply disturbing and uncomfortable this movie is. It’s as honest of a piece of art or fiction as anyone has ever created, and absurdly influential.

3. Blue Velvet (1986)

Blue Velvet does two things to rank as a Top 3 Lynch film in my mind. First of all, aside from Elephant Man or The Straight Story, it’s the most accessible Lynch film, with arguably just one scene that goes Full Lynch. I think there’s merit in that, as it serves as a useful starting point for Lynch newcomers.

Second, it’s the first and to-date most clear delivery mechanism for Lynch’s core belief that under the shiny surface of modern American life (mostly in the 70s, 80s, and 90s) there is something disturbed, violent, and rotten. In that way, it’s a spiritual sequel to my second favorite Lynch work, Twin Peaks.

2. Twin Peaks / Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me / Twin Peaks: The Return

Sure, Twin Peaks has some questionable storylines in its second season when Lynch and Frost step away for a bit, but even that can’t take away from the incredible highs. The first season of Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, and Twin Peaks: The Return are all unimpeachable masterpieces to my mind, and they build on each other.

If you watch this all as a whole, it has the potential to change the way you look at your country, your art, and your life. It’s a staggering and singular achievement.

1. Mulholland Drive (2001)

Finally, my personal favorite Lynch film is Mulholland Drive. I watched it again this past weekend as I was finalizing this list, and I think it’s a perfect movie, without sacrificing the risky Lynchian non-linear storytelling.

Moreover, it just leaves you with an indescribable feeling, a sense that you’ve learned something ineffable about Hollywood, striving, and desire. It was also the first Lynch movie I ever saw, way back as a teenager in the early 00s, and I can still remember how I felt in my mother’s basement when the movie ended. Shook and intrigued and absolutely alive with the possibilities of art and creation.

Phew! That took a lot out of me. I just love Lynch’s work so much. I think it speaks to comics people in particular too, because like the medium, it challenges the viewer to fill in so many of the gaps between what you’re actually seeing, but that’s a discussion for another newsletter…

Thing 5: Shrinking on Apple+

Finally, I like closing these newsletter with a recommendation of something I’ve really been into that’s entirely outside of comics, and this past month, it’s been the the first two seasons of the tv show, Shrinking.

I’m a long-time Jason Segal fan, dating back to Freaks and Geeks, and I think this is his best starring vehicle yet. It’s a relentless funny and charming sitcom styled like single camera prestige TV. It gets off-the-charts sappy at times, but the ideas and acting are such, that it never tips over into boring or manipulative.

It’s part of a new wave of recent shows, too, that can make you laugh and tear up (see also the very well-done Ted Danson vehicle, A Man on the Inside). I came to Apple+ this month to watch the new season of Severance (which is absolutely excellent), and ended up finding this one. With its focus on honesty and community with those in your life, it’s also a great watch for our trying times.

Conclusion

I don’t really have anything much to promote down here this month. You can still get a few copies of Death of Comics Bookcase in my Etsy store, and I might replenish it with the other covers and/or copies of my other comic, Next Door, soon.

Work continues on the other projects too, as the artists’ schedules and my wallet can manage it. In the meantime, I want you all to do me a favor and go watch a David Lynch film. I’d also absolutely love to hear what your favorite is and why if you don’t mind sharing.

Cheers, and be well!

-Zack Q.