Where The Hell Have You Been?!

It's a fair question, actually.

Hello! And welcome back to the KIOSK. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

Do you want the long answer or the short one? Okay then, how about a medium one? As some of you will be aware, I wrote a graphic novel called The Hard Switch a couple of years ago, and as perhaps a few of you might have spotted, I am currently working on a sequel to that book. Fitting this in around my other work has proved a very different prospect to when I worked on the last one (changed work landscape etc), so as a result I’ve had to cut out some of my non-essential duties. This boiled down to either writing the KIOSK newsletter OR playing pétanque. And unfortunately for you guys, that not a fair fight - pétanque wins every time. Even if I don’t.

To be serious though, I have really missed manning the KIOSK, but it just felt sensible for the preservation of my sanity that I prioritise activities that got me away from my desk and socialising in the fresh air. So, I’ve not forgotten you, and I’m still making notes on future topics for some good chats down the line. I also look forward to telling you about how the book is going and hopefully there’ll be some interesting meanders within that process too.

So, have I literally done nothing else? Of course not. Here are a few nice projects I’ve been working on alongside the book this year.

Bluesky.

First up, I was commissioned to create the new landing image for Bluesky, which for those not up on things, is a replacement for Twitter/X. It was kind of dream gig, as I got to populate the the scene however I liked (I’m sure you’ve already spotted the pétanque piste and the yellow ice cream kiosk!) and it also seems like a social media platform that isn’t currently trying to be the worst people imaginable. Which is a nice change.

I also got to do a nighttime version of it, depending on what time of day you access the app. Do I have a Bluesky account myself? I do actually, and you can check it out HERE, if that’s your preferred way to roll.

Book Cover.

This was a fun job too. McSweeney’s are publishing the debut novel of Devon Halliday, To Stay, To Stay, To Stay, and they decided to go for this cool concept by designer Justin Carder. The cover is interactive, so you turn the wheel on the side and the characters from the book change in the circular window.

I had to draw the small town street scene, and then two versions of each of the five characters (the one that stays, and the one that goes) and in the finished piece, the reader should able to cycle though them all. Very much looking forward to seeing this one in print.

Board Game.

I also got to work on a boardgame. I thought I would just be creating the box art, but ended up being onboard for whole thing, so I got to draw logos, icon, player sheets, instruction booklet and more! It’s called NEXUS and is made by Red Tail Games, who you can check out HERE.

From what I can tell, it’s a mash-up of sci-fi and town planning, so I guess you can see why they came to me for that. Again, very much looking forward to seeing the physical version, as it will be very cool to see all the individual elements working together.

Here’s the cover image.

And here’s an image from the back.

Editorial.

A quick full-pager for Prospect magazine about the new race for space supremacy.

I often seem to find myself tasked with odd drawing constructions, but I do like a challenge (within reason). A top down perspective is tricky at the best of times, but putting that on a sphere means your vanishing point is kind of an inverted one-point perspective, kind of simultaneously singular and infinite, if you get me? So kind of had to go by eye. And it sort of works…I think!

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Well, that’s it for now. Again, I’m sorry for my little hiatus, but trust me, I’m not thrilled about it either. Thanks for being cool about it though, and I’ll be back with you soon.

In the meantime, I’d better go keep my eye in on the gravel…

See you all next time.

Owen D. Pomery.

ps. I don’t really remember why I drew that cover image, I found it in a file. I think it came from a line in a Joe Dunthorne novel where he describes being naked from the waist down as more naked than actually being naked. Which amused me.