#icons inx

[darlinhutchence]

an actual angel from heaven (real)

[seokmatthewz]

KIM JIWOONG ✧ LOVE KILLA ✧ 230323

[hcdior]

boys planet layouts 🫧

like/reblog if saved!

[vintage-tigre]

Michael Hutchence and Kylie Minogue, 1990

[iloveasunflowah89]

🫶🫶🫶

[saintsnoir]

ladies and gentlemen, michael hutchence

[veronicabacardi]

[topp-dogg]

videos that live in my head rent-free:

INX - Alright dance practice

[cutielando]

so I just saw the sleep token themed smau you did and it gave me an idea: reader is the daughter of a big new wave rockstar from the 80s (like someone from INXS or Duran Duran), and she’s started dating a driver (Alex or Mick) and now there’s a whole generation of fans who are like ‘her dad is who??? in what band???’

I just thought it could be neat, seeing two of my special interests merge like that lmao god I love the eighties-

descendant | mick schumacher

social media au

synopsis: in which the world doesn't know you're music royalty

my masterlist

Instagram

liked by lilymhe, landonorris and 3,193,285 others

y/n.rhodes Thank you mercedesamgf1 for having me!❤️ Such a fun weekend!!

view all 392,185 comments

mercedesamgf1 It was a pleasure having you with us for the weekend!❤️

user1 UMMMM????

user2 since when does she go to races?

landonorris such a shame you didn’t wear the papaya shirt i gave you

y/n.rhodes next time, i promise !!!!

landonorris hmmm, okay. mclaren do your thing

mclaren On it! 🫡

lilymhe you’re gorgeous babe 😍😍

y/n.rhodes have you seen yourself???😭❤️

alex_albon please don’t flirt with my girlfriend

y/n.rhodes you can’t stop us now. she’s OUR girlfriend

lilymhe sorry babe

alex_albon ???

zendaya i miss you girl !!!

y/n.rhodes i miss you too !!!!

user3 she is such an icon

user4 we should be grateful to be living in the same era as her

user3 for realllll

user4 i wanna be her so badly😭😭

lewishamilton it was a pleasure meeting you🥂

y/n.rhodes likewise, Sir Hamilton 😮‍💨

lewishamilton i told you not to call me that

y/n.rhodes i must have not heard you, loud garage you see

mickschumacher had a lovely time!❤️

y/n.rhodes so did i❤️

iMessage

sir lewis

hey y/n

y/n

hello sir hamilton

sir lewis

����woman

y/n

okay sorry sorry

what’s up

sir lewis

what’s the deal with you and Mick?

y/n

what do you mean?

sir lewis

all the flirting in the garage

the comments

what’s going on?

do you have a crush?😉😉😉

y/n

we’re just friends

nothing is going on

sir lewis

are you sure?😌😌

y/n

yes lol

sir lewis

i don’t believe you, but okayyyy

y/n🩵

lewis is onto us

mickie🩵

what?

how?

y/n🩵

unmmm

the comment?????

maybe because we flirted in the garage?

he’s convinced we have crushes on each other

mickie🩵

fuck

what do you want to do?

y/n🩵

i mean

we can just go with the flow

just show up together and that would be it

mickie🩵

are you sure?

we don’t have to

y/n🩵

it’s okay, i wanna

Instagram

liked by y/n.rhodes, estebanocon and 684,195 others

mickschumacher great weekend, time to recharge

view all 89,143 comments

mercedesamgf1 Hope you enjoy your time off ;)

mickschumacher thank you admin :))

georgerussell63 very nice pictures, mate

mickschumacher thank you, i have a talented photographer

georgerussell63 i'm sure you do ;)

estebanocon you went on holiday without me? :(

mickschumacher i had to :( i didn't have a choice

estebanocon you always have a choice

mickschumacher no, he doesn't - the missus

estebanocon sorry ma'am, i take it back

user1 Mick having a girlfriend was not on my bingo card for this year

user2 I need to know who his girlfriend is like YESTERDAY

user3 I might know who she is

user4 BESTIE???????? SPILL

user3 I might be completely wrong and off-track but I believe it might be Y/N Rhodes

user3 isn't she the girl who visited the garage a couple of weeks back?

user4 Yes. She's the daughter of Nick Rhodes, a member of the band Duran Duran

user5 MICK BAGGED A GIRL???

y/n.rhodes those are some very nice pictures, mr. schumacher

mickschumacher i have a very good photographer who took them for me

y/n.rhodes you'll have to introduce them to me, they seem very good at what they do

user5 I wanna be on vacation with him too :(((

user6 NOBODY MOVE, MICKIE HAS A GF

user7 this explains his impressive drive a couple of weeks back

lewishamilton interesting turn of events

mickschumacher i don't know what you're talking about

liked by lewishamilton, mickschumacher and 5,291,825 others

y/n.rhodes i like the view tagged: mickschumacher

view all 602,185 comments

lewishamilton I KNEW IT

y/n.rhodes nostradamus, congratulations

lewishamilton don't mock your seniors

mickschumacher 🩵

y/n.rhodes 🩵

mercedesamgf1 Thank you Y/N for being our lucky charm from here on out! 🩵

y/n.rhodes always a pleasure 🩵🩵

user1 MICK AND Y/N?????

user2 this took me completely by surprise

user3 I TOLD YOU GUYS I KNEW IT

estebanocon finally

mickschumacher :)

y/n.rhodes thank you for keeping quiet, estie bestie

estebanocon i told you not to call me that

y/n.rhodes sucks to suck

user4 Y/N seems like such a menace and I'm here for it

user5 mickschumacher did you meet Nick?

mickschumacher i did

user6 HOW WAS IT?????

mickschumacher intimidating, but we get along great

y/n.rhodes my dad loves him, he's a sucker for blondes

user7 DAMN Y/N

comments and re-blogs help us grow!

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[louisupdates]

FITFWT23: OUTRO SONGS

NORTH AMERICA

26 May - Mohegan Sun Arena, UNCASVILLE CT: The Best, by Tina Turner

27 May - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, GUILFORD NH: This Charming Man, by The Smiths

29 May - Place Bell, LAVAL QC: Downtown, by Petula Clark

30 May - Budweiser Stage, TORONTO ON: Summer of 69, by Bryan Adams

1 Jun - Blossom Music Center, CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH: Bittersweet Symphony, by Verve

2 Jun - Michigan Lottery Amphitheater, STERLING HEIGHTS, MI: Chasing Rainbows, by Shed Seven

3 Jun - The Icon Festival Stage, CINCINNATI: All These Things That I’ve Done, by The Killers

6 Jun - Kemba Live! Outdoor, COLUMBUS OH: The One I Love, by REM

7 Jun - TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park, INDIANAPOLIS: Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Joy Division

9 Jun - Saint Louis Music Park, SAINT LOUIS: Johnny B. Goode, by Chuck Berry

10 Jun - Starlight Theatre, KANSAS CITY MO: Moondance, by Van Morrison

13 Jun - BMO Pavilion, MILWAUKEE: I Can See Clearly Now, by Johnny Nash

15 Jun - Huntington Bank Pavilion, CHICAGO: September, by Earth, Wind, and Fire

16 Jun - The Armory, MINNEAPOLIS: Nothing Compares 2 U, by Sinéad O’Connor

17 Jun - Harrah’s Stir Cove, COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA: Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've?) by Buzzcocks

19 Jun - Denny Sanford Premiere Center, SIOUX FALLS, SD: American Pie, by Don McLean

21 Jun - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, MORRISON, CO 😪

24 Jun - Wamu Theater, SEATTLE: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, by The Smiths

26 Jun - Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Center, VANCOUVER BC: King Of Pain, by The Police

27 Jun - Mcmenamins Edgefield Concerts, TROUTDALE OR: Always On My Mind, by Elvis Presley

29 Jun - The Greek Theatre, BERKELEY CA: Never Tear Us Apart, by INXS

30 Jun - The Hollywood Bowl, LOS ANGELES: California Love by 2Pac ft Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman

1 Jul - The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan, LAS VEGAS: Human, by The Killers

3 Jul - Arizona Financial Theatre, PHOENIX: Liberator, by Spear of Destiny

6 Jul - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, IRVING TX: Hello, I Love You, by The Doors

7 Jul - Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park, AUSTIN TX: Teenage Dirtbag, by Wheatus

8 Jul - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, THE WOODLANDS TX: Walking On The Moon, by The Police

11 Jul - St. Augustine Amphitheatre, ST. AUGUSTINE FL: Every Breath You Take, by The Police

13 Jul - Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, HOLLYWOOD FL: Your Song, by Elton John

14 Jul - Yuengling Center, TAMPA FL: Hit Me With Your Best Shot, by Pat Benatar

15 Jul - Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park, ATLANTA: You Can’t Always Get What You Want, by The Rolling Stones

18 Jul - Ascend Amphitheater, NASHVILLE: Hold Back The Rain, by Duran Duran

19 Jul - Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre, CHARLOTTE NC: Perfect Day, by Lou Reed

21 Jul - Red Hat Amphitheater, RALEIGH NC: Moondance, by Van Morrison

22 Jul - Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia MD: Easy, by The Commodores

24 Jul - MGM Music Hall at Fenway, BOSTON: More Than A Feeling, by Boston

25 Jul - MGM Music Hall at Fenway, BOSTON: Here Comes Your Man, by The Pixies

27 Jul - TD Pavilion at the Mann, PHILADELPHIA: Nothing Compares 2 U, by Sinead O’Connor

28 Jul - Stone Pony Summer Stage, ASBURY PARK NJ: Dancing In The Dark, by Bruce Springsteen

29 Jul - Forrest Hills Stadium, NEW YORK: We Are The Champions, by Queen

Away From Home Festival 2023

19 Aug - Parco BussolaDomani, Lido di Camaiore: We Are The Champions, by Queen

EUROPE

29 Aug - Barclays Arena, HAMBURG: Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Joy Division

31 Aug - Royal Arena, COPENHAGEN: Under Pressure, by Queen and David Bowie

1 Sep - Spektrum, OSLO: Wake Me Up When September Ends, by Green Day

2 Sep - Hovet, STOCKHOLM: Seven Nation Army, by White Stripes

4 Sep - Ice Hall, HELSINKI: Always On My Mind, by Elvis

5 Sep - Saku Arena, TAILLINN: All Star, by Smash Mouth

7 Sep - Arena Riga, RIGA: Thuderstruck, by AC/DC

8 Sep - Zalgiris Arena, KAUNAS: Can’t Help Falling In Love, by Elvis [Zouis this day]

10 Sep - Tauron Arena, KRAKOW: Lust For Life, by Iggy Pop

11 Sep - Atlas Arena, ŁÓDŹ: Blitzkreig Bop, by the Ramones

13 Sep - Wiener Stadhalle D, VIENNA: Supersonic, by Oasis

14 Sep - Stozice Arena, LJUBLJANA: Smile Like You Meant It, by The Killers

15 Sep - Budapest Arena, BUDAPEST: Helicopter, by Bloc Party

17 Sep - Arenele Romane, BUCHAREST: My Hero, by Foo Fighters

18 Sep - Arena Armeets, SOFIA: Bombtrack, by Rage Against The Machine

20 Sep - Petras Theater, ATHENS: Go With The Flow, by Queens of the Stone Age

1 Oct - Bilbao Arena Miribilla, BILBAO (VIZCAYA): Where Is My Mind, by The Pixies

3 Oct - Altice Arena, LISBON: Farewell To The Fairground, by White Lies

5 Oct - Wizink Center, MADRID: Munich, by Editors

6 Oct - Palau Sant Jordi, BARCELONA: One Armed Scissor, by At the Drive-In

8 Oct - Pala Alpitur, TURIN: Are You Gonna Go My Way, by Lenny Kravitz

9 Oct - Unipol Arena, BOLOGNA: Helicopter, by Bloc Party

11 Oct - Rockhal, ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE: Where Is My Mind, by The Pixies

12 Oct - Sportspaleis, ANTWERP: My God Is The Sun, by Queens Of The Stone Age [very self-aware choice]

14 Oct - Accor Arena, PARIS : Bubbles, by Biffy Clyro

15 Oct - Ziggo Dome, AMSTERDAM: Song 2, by Blur

17 Oct - Lanxess Arena, COLOGNE: Can't Stand Me Now, by The Libertines

19 Oct - O2 Arena, PRAGUE: Are You Gonna Be My Girl, by Jet

20 Oct - Mercedes Benz Arena, BERLIN: Friday I’m In Love, by The Cure

22 Oct - Olympiahalle, MUNICH: Praise You, by Fatboy Slim

23 Oct - Hallenstadion, ZURICH: Last Nite, by The Strokes

8 Nov - 3Arena, DUBLIN: These Are The Days, by Inhaler

10 Nov - Utilita Arena, SHEFFIELD: Mr. Brightside, by The Killers

11 Nov - AO Arena, MANCHESTER: This Charming Man, by The Smiths

12 Nov - Ovo Hydro, GLASGOW: Gloria, by The Snuts

14 Nov - Brighton Center, BRIGHTON: I Wanna Be Sedated, by Ramones

15 Nov - International Arena, CARDIFF: 20th Century Boy, by T-Rex

17 Nov - The O2, LONDON: Can’t Stand Me Now, by The Libertines

18 Nov - Resorts World Arena, BIRMINGHAM: Till The End Of The Road, by Boyz II Men

You can also find the list at this Twitter account: ltwtoutros.

[darlinhutchence]

Michael Hutchence and his fur coat during an interview for Night Network in 1988.

[iantimony]

didn't poast last week so this is a two-week extravaganza post! con: got roped into DMing dnd pro: none of these fools have read mdzs so i can steal plots from there. hope the party is ready to be lead on a quest by a disembodied arm!

listening: oh shit SO many things. i will not be linking to all of them.

depeche mode: basically just their top songs on spotify, not any specific album. strong shoutout to 'shake the disease' and 'wrong' (which featured in my secret samol post!)

disturbed: ditto

franz ferdinand: albums 'hits to the head' and 'tonight'. throwbacks

phoenix: 'wolfgang amadeus phoenix' ditto throwback

inxs: 'x' DITTO throwback. doesn't hit the same as when i first listened to em years ago unfortunately

streetlight manifesto: album 'somewhere in the between'

boy and bear: 'harlequin dream'

sammy rae: 'let's throw a party', 'the good life', and their 'everybody wants to rule the world' cover

hozier: 'wasteland baby' and 'unreal unearth'

paramore: album 'this is why'

grizzly bear: 'veckatimiest' and 'painted ruins'

haken: their newest album 'fauna' because i'm thinking about whether or not to go to one of their shows in feb (leaning towards yes right now)

my SO's pinecore playlist

shosty symphony no 5 (<3)

and, finally, a lot of borodin symphony no. 1 in e flat and the last two movements of rimsky-korsakov golden cockerel because that's what the youth orchestra i'm volunteering with is playing right now haha

for podcasts, i've listened to the new counter/weight prequel eps! i'm so charmed to see these characters again. i still haven't finished millenium break holiday special because i lost my spot when a bunch of an episode played without sound by accident so i finally went and scrubbed back to the beginning of the episode (it's the second to last part) so by next week i will FINALLY be out of holiday special zone.

reading: finished rereading tgcf lol,,, in loving memory of square checkbox: apparently apple is switching to circle ones? hateful wikipedia page for kessler syndrome my friend @celestialtourguide sent me a dm to ask about a few of the characters in this manuscript and i was immediately charmed by it. it's so pretty, i loved the informational blurbs, just really cool stuff. it was already on waybackmachine but i've gone ahead and updated it.

watching: kurtis conner looksmaxxing. weird little subculture peek. rewatched sideways' why the music in cats 2019 is worse than you thought because my roommate was interested. this led us to the same channel's why avatar has the most ironic soundtrack of all time because roommate misread ironic as iconic and she really likes that movie. no accounting for taste, but aight. much more interesting than i thought it would be. that video then lead us to tony hinnigan's woodwind demos because hell fuckin yes. big-ass panpipes.

i've been keeping up on dunmeshi anime in little watch sessions with my SO, and also am working through kill la kill with him! i've seen it before but he has not so i'm really enjoying that.

playing: fallow.

making: i managed to finish my secret samol gift in time for reveal day!!! comics are fuckin hard dude!!!! i don't know if i'll be doing it again but it was a fun challenge. i decided to use a New App for some reason instead of procreate because procreate has not been hitting right and i wanted comic half tone brushes for this project. app is called sketchbook, it's an orange icon with a pencil on it. shrug! it's fine! i'll probably keep using it for a bit. started working on an english paper piecing project! soliciting tips for that because right now my method is: cut out hexagon using pattern piece i made to be 1/4 in larger all around than the template, gluestick template onto hexagon, baste edges down neatly, whip-stitch right sides together. remove template once all six sides have something attached. i'm sure there's a better way to streamline this process, i'll have to experiment. this will end up as a dice bag i think.

finally, pottery starts again this week! so next week will have some of that in here

eating: ah beans i did not do a good job keeping track of this. uh. made the ground pork & cabbage thing again because my roommate got SO much napa cabbage for making kimchi and we had a shitload left over. napa cabbage isn't as good as a more standard cabbage for this imo, standard cabbage tends to be a little sweeter i think once it's cooked in? idk. had some stage 5 mental illness moments last week trying to cook dinner on a very short time scale with lots of other shit to do, following a recipe because fucking of course my roommate wanted me to cook with a recipe that night. anyways.

misc: like said at the top, somehow i managed to sign up for Another Activity god damn it. so now every saturday evening i run dnd. tl;dr i'm in a group irl that meets biweekly, someone who i give a lift to for that was complaining in the car that their other online group's dm ragequit after his encounter wasn't well-balanced (skill issue) and before thinking about it i just was like oh well i could probably step in if you need! god damn ittttt lol i have missed dming so it should be fun. i vibe checked them for a session 0 last week and they seem chill and honestly shouldn't be too much work on my end, especially if i yoink plots from mdzs ha ha ha. other than that, all is basically well. i've settled back into a schedule, applied for some summer positions (!), and absolutely hate the amount of busy work in one of my two classes. yippee

[freaxs-blog]

On this day in 1997, the world of music lost an icon. Michael Hutchence, the charismatic frontman of INXS, left us too soon, but his legacy lives on.

From a young age, Hutchence was destined for stardom. Born in Sydney, he was a blend of sensitivity and raw energy. His journey with INXS began in '77, turning them into global superstars.

Their music was a fusion of passionate lyrics and unforgettable melodies. But it wasn't always smooth sailing. Michael battled personal demons, struggling with the pressures of fame and addiction. Yet, he never lost his artistic spark.

Did you know Michael once swapped hotel rooms with Bono to avoid a pesky journalist? The journalist ended up interviewing Bono, thinking it was Hutchence!

🎵 Let's talk about "Never Tear Us Apart" – a song that speaks to the soul. From the album "Kick," it's a testament to enduring love and connection. Michael's voice captures a blend of vulnerability and strength, making it timeless.

Michael Hutchence was more than a musician; he was a poet, a showman, and a deeply complex individual. His music continues to inspire and move us.

As we remember him, let's celebrate the music that made us dance, cry, and feel alive.

[spirits-having-flown]

hello all!!

(i’ve never really done an introduction post since i’ve gotten back here a couple or so years ago so here is a very late introduction post-)

my name is rebekah and i am a music nerd. my pronouns are she/her. i make mostly icons and sometimes gifs. (requests are open!) i also post pictures that i find of my favorites as well. i am open to making friends. i am sometimes shy and do suffer from anxiety, but outgoing once i talk more.

my interests include (bold = current favorite):

bands: wham!, bee gees, fleetwood mac (saw live on 10.16.18), goo goo dolls, inxs, the beatles, tears for fears, steely dan (saw live with the eagles on 03.09.24), hall & oates, talking heads, the monkees, the jacksons, oasis, the cure, abba, bon jovi, def leppard, the doors, the rolling stones, & more!

singers: liam gallagher, george michael, harry styles, janet jackson, james taylor (saw live on 06.11.24), kylie minogue, madonna, michael jackson, paul mccartney, prince, stevie nicks (saw live on 06.23.23), george harrison, aaliyah, dan fogelberg, & more!

movies: back to the future, the breakfast club, pretty in pink, sixteen candles, funny girl, purple rain, under the cherry moon, bright lights big city, 10 things i hate about you, the princess bride, saturday night fever, & more!

tv shows: family ties, seinfeld, friends, arrested development, curb your enthusiasm, that 70s show, new girl, gilmore girls, three’s company, community, grace and frankie, ted lasso, home improvement, veep, the office (us) & more!

actors/actresses: michael j. fox, julia louis-dreyfus, robin williams, audrey hepburn, river phoenix, rita hayworth, ralph macchio, jennifer aniston, matthew perry, molly ringwald, robert redford, jane fonda, heath ledger, & more!

other: classic rock, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, vaporwave, 70s & 80s fashion, nature, autumn, summer, tennis, collecting vinyls, cassettes, and cds, rose gold, disney, drums, christmas, & more!

my other blogs are @elaine-marie-benes (julia louis-dreyfus appreciation blog) and @round-are-way (oasis/liam gallagher appreciation blog), my spotify can be found here, and my vinyl collection instagram page can be found here.

thanks for reading and stopping by, rock on!!

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Luke Arnold, Doc Wyatt talk the teamwork and insanity that defines ‘ESSENTIALS’

The compelling new OGN is funding via Kickstarter.

by Chris Coplan (April 18, 2024)

You may know Luke Arnold as Long John Silver in the Black Sails and/or INXS’ own Michael Hutchence in the Never Tear Us Apart miniseries. Doc Wyatt, meanwhile, is best known for his production work on the iconic Napoleon Dynamite and the animated Rocket and Groot for Marvel. So, what happens when a lauded actor and a TV writer/producer get together? Why a brand-new graphic novel, ESSENTIALS.

For ESSENTIALS, Arnold and Wyatt were brought together in part by The Lab Press, a new publishing outfit that focuses primarily on graphic novels. Together, the pair then collaborated with a veritable smorgasbord of comics artists, including Bill Sienkiewicz (who does the cover), Dani, Jason Howard, Andrea Mutti, and Glenn Fabry. (The book’s colors were provided by Jordie Bellaire, Brad Simpson, and Wesley Wong, with lettering from DC Hopkins of AndWorld Design).

Once fully assembled, this superstar team behind ESSENTIALS set about crafting a story in which “the world you see around you is not real.” More specifically, we follow “disgraced mathematician Harris Pax” as he and Buttons (an “interdimensional being possessing his niece’s favorite toy”) set about smashing the walls of this faux reality. ESSENTIALS asks some big questions — “What matters most in a well-lived life? Is joy more valuable than truth?” — just as much as it’s a rollicking, dimension-hopping adventure story.

ESSENTIALS is currently crowdfunding via Kickstarter, with the campaign having raised $13,000-plus (of a seemingly $1,111 goal) on the way to its May 16 deadline. (Head here to contribute.) To get a better idea of the work that went into ESSENTIALS, we recently got to field questions to both Arnold and Wyatt. The duo spoke about the somewhat involved creative process, the big themes at the book’s heart, working with The Lab Press, and much more.

The talent behind ESSENTIALS. Courtesy of The Lab Press.

AIPT: I’m curious: what’s the collaborative process look like between a TV writer and an actor making a comic book?

Luke Arnold: It’s hard to summarize this process because there are so many stages. We broke most of the story on zoom between Australia and LA. Then, we outlined in pieces, trading them back and forth multiple times, rewriting and recrafting until we were happy. After that, we’d take a chapter each, write them, share them, editing and/or rewriting each other’s work. Then, it would go to the artists, and we’d wait for the first sketches to roll in.

Because the team (Doc, myself, and everyone at The Lab) is spread around the globe, we found that the best place to review artwork was actually in VR. We all got Oculus headsets that allowed us to sit around a table together with the art displayed on a huge board in front of us, marveling over the work and deciding on any notes to send back to the artists.

The next few stages would take place over email, and then when all the art was finished, Doc and I would get back on Zoom to take another look at the script. Once you have those final pages, you can quickly realize that a lot of dialogue feels unnecessary, so we’d go through and make changes before sending everything to the letterer. That was one of my favorite stages, as you have an opportunity to write some parts all over again, inspired by the work of the artists.

Doc Wyatt: Luke’s an actor, but he’s also a novelist. His novels blow me away. I knew Luke first as an actor, and on set, he was talking about these fantasy novels that he wanted to write. But when it actually happened, I was blown away. The Last Smile in Sunder City was Luke’s first book, and it kicked off a series that’s a mashup of the noir detective genre with urban fantasy. Anyone who’s missed it should catch up with it.

As a writer, Luke is intricate. He works in levels and layers, meanings behind meanings, and philosophical underpinnings. It was a really rich and rewarding experience because we’d start out talking about the story we were breaking, but the conversation would drift into all these other, unrelated places… until suddenly it would snap back into story mode, but bringing along all these influences from our seemingly unrelated conversations.

AIPT: What’s the elevator pitch for ESSENTIALS? It seems like there are a lot of big questions churning at the heart of this book.

LA: Our world has collided with another dimension and reality has become untethered. Most humans were killed in the collision, and those that survived are now trapped in their own subjective realities as their beliefs, thoughts, and fears become manifest around them. Harris Pax – the only scientist who foresaw this apocalypse and managed to protect himself – has teamed up with Buttons – a being from the other dimension. Together they must travel into these subjective realities and convince the people inside to give up their illusions and return to the real world.

DW: Honestly, it can sound complicated, but at the end of the day the story is pretty simple. A cosmic catastrophe has killed most human life, with the few survivors unknowingly stuck in their own bubbles of subjective reality. It’s the job of our heroes to pull them out of these private realities before they’re killed by them.

AIPT: Similarly, it seems like this book may be about/interested in simulations and subjective reality and the like. Why are those kinds of massive ideas interesting, and how do you come at them from a new angle?

LA: It’s a cliché now to say that we’ve never been so divided. We started writing this four years ago, and things seem to have only gotten worse. In this age of reactionary politics and algorithms, we really are starting to live in separate realities where even basic facts are up for dispute. But this feeling of disconnection was an existential issue long before the internet. Artists and writers have always explored the pain of isolation, our yearning for interconnection, and the despondency that comes from witnessing the perpetual division of the human race on both an intimate and planetary scale. With ESSENTIALS, we found two heroes, a villain, and a reality-spanning quest that allows us to dig into these concerns in a way that feels fresh and kind of limitless. There are already so many realities we’ve had to cast aside and many more we hope to include as the story continues.

The Jason Howard cover to ESSENTIALS. Courtesy of The Lab Press.

AIPT: What’s it like to be the debut release from Lab Press? Does that pressure help or complicate your process as creators and then also promoters of said creation?

LA: I can really only speak to it from a creative standpoint. It has awarded us a kind of freedom that is rare to find. The Lab and ESSENTIALS were formed at the same time, so the publishers had no preconceptions about what this book needed to be. There were no expectations, either from the reader or the company itself, so the book was able to find its form on its own terms. And being their debut, The Lab was likely more open to our wild ideas, such as jumping between so many artists in the way we do.

DW: For me, sure– it’s a little nerve-wracking to be the first book from a new publisher, because they’re going to be doing all their learning on our book. But that said, we believe in them. They’ve certainly taken a risk on our weird, little, indie book, so it’s only fair we take a risk on them!

AIPT: The book has a slew of talented artists attached, including Dani, Andrea Mutti, and Bill Sienkiewicz. What’s it mean to have such a roster of sheer artistic talent, and do you have any standout moments/pages?

LA: Even though this book has been in development for years, from the artists signing on to sending their pencils, their inks and colors, and now holding the final version, I still can’t really comprehend that we were able to work with artists of this caliber.

This is the first comic I’ve written, and so I was still wondering how all our scripts would come out after being interpreted by the artist. There’s a sequence in chapter two with a collage of a conversation that passes through a bunch of scenarios across a double page spread, and when Jason Howard sent us his pencils of that section, I started to believe that this world Doc and I had dreamed up could actually be realized.

I also have to say that I’m a huge Glenn Fabry fan. We gave him some of our weirdest pages, and his beautifully textured detail is everything we hoped for and more.

DW: The Lab Press had us submit a list of dream artists we’d be dying to work with. We did, thinking–well, they’ll never be able to get these… But they did!!! They didn’t tell me that they’d gotten Bill Sienkiewicz for a cover, who has been a very important artist to me since childhood. Instead they just revealed to me the fully finished cover at a party at New York Comic Con as a big surprise, and I just about lost it. It’s such an amazing cover. And it’s so Bill while still being so ESSENTIALS!

AIPT: Do you have a fave sci-fi book/film/show/etc. that maybe made its way into this project in some way (intentionally or not)?

LA: Doc is a font of sci-fi knowledge, and our original scripts were stuffed full of amazing references. Eventually, we decided to remove most of them before sending the scripts to artists because we didn’t want to cloud their minds with other visuals before we could see what their imaginations offered up. On quick flip though, you could see references to Alien, The Blob, and Night of the Living Dead, but we’ve done our best to use that imagery as a starting block to build something weirder.

AIPT: Why should anyone support the forthcoming Kickstarter for ESSENTIALS?

LA: Because this book is done and it’s incredible. We’re teaming up with Kickstarter because it’s the best way to get the books out to everyone around the world. We’re not asking for support to get it finished or anything like that. Not long after we launch, the book will be out of the printers and in your hands.

DW: We love our weird little story, and we want to tell more of it in the future, but we’ll only get the chance to do that if people read and love this one. We want to get the word out any way we can, so backers will find and support and read the book. It’s strange, it’s heady, and it’s not for everyone, but the people who it’s for– we hope– will really love it!

Source: AIPT Comics