Hi there! Welcome to my monthly dose of blabber and babble.

As usual, I left more than a month in between newsletters, and there’s a lot to say! In this issue, I talk about writing scripts, rekindling purpose, and a couple of small projects I worked on.

As usual, the newsletter ends with a film recommendation that I hope you’ll like.

The Last Day of Rain: How It’s Going

In the middle of searching for, adapting to a new full-time job and preparing for a newborn (surprise!), I didn’t have a lot of time left to draw in the last few months. However, now that things have calmed down, I finally managed to pick up the script for the final volume of The Last Day of Rain!

I already had a first draft, so I began with that. I made a few more changes to the ending parts after reading Manga in Theory and Practice, by Hirohiko Araki, and I feel I’m approaching something that I’m fairly happy with. Never fully happy, of course, because that doesn’t happen with me or anyone I know.

The initial version made Carol more of an observer who saw events unfold. After the changes, she feels more in control of what happens. Which is how it should be: she’s the protagonist, after all!

Due to parts of the story having to be explained via dialogue, one or another passage might sound a bit like a soap opera, I think, but I hope it will be a fun soap opera.

ALERT: Scroll past the image below to avoid spoilers. 🙃 And if you do read this and don’t know anything about the story, it’s not always this soapy! It is, however, a sci-fi mystery with a love story at its core, so it will have its moments.

Needless to say, pages thirty-eight and nine are probably halfway through the book, so this final chapter is shaping up to have around eighty pages. I refuse to split it, though! I’d rather spend more time on it than having to go through releasing two more chapters. Believe it or not, marketing comics is harder work than making them!

Once this is done and dusted, I’m planning to clean up and re-letter the whole thing and publish it in the form of a single graphic novel. That will take a while, but I think it will be worth it!

The work on this story will be the focus of the newsletter until the end of the year, from script to concept art and to finally developing the book itself, and I’m hoping to share a lot of behind-the-scenes content. So if you’re interested in seeing it evolve, you are very much welcome to press the subscribe button below:

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Rediscovering the Purpose of my Art

I haven’t been drawing a lot lately, but not only due to life changes. The biggest reason is, probably, that trying so hard to get my art and comic books noticed has taken a bit of my passion away. It made me forget why I do it in the first place. So I needed to stop. To get a normal job that pays the bills and makes me feel safe, instead of chasing freelancing in a world increasingly populated by AI, where hard work appears to have no value anymore and everybody thinks that prompting will save their lives (it won’t).

And so I had time to breathe. And to remember why I started doing it, whether I want to continue and what motivates me to do so.

I want to create beauty. And connection. Stories, whether in text or image, have helped me cope with many pivotal moments in life. And that’s what I want to do. To create images and stories that give others comfort or catharsis. That helps them deal with emotions, even if they don’t know that it’s what’s happening.

Each artist is different, and many create only for themselves. But for me, it is not an individual activity. I do it for connection, not for reclusion. I don’t do it to relax at the end of a busy day, either. I do it for mental stimulation and because I love to learn, and I love feeling the engines of my foggy brain moving when mixing fresh new knowledge with creativity.

That’s why I want to keep learning, and getting better, and creating more. So that I can become good enough to be able to make others feel.

We have recently redone our office space here at home to create room for the new arrival, and I used the opportunity to install a few cork boards in front of my desk. A big chunk of them is now full of images that I love and want to use as inspiration in the months that are coming. I hope that, instead of a digital board, having these tangible bits of paper that I look at every day will help me stay true to the emotional type of art that I’m looking to achieve.

There’s a mix of artists who favour soft edges and light colours and those who go for moody palettes and sharp corners, and perhaps I’ll need to choose, or maybe I’ll be able to come up with something that sits comfortably in between.

All these people are extremely hard-working with a perfect grasp of fundamentals, and I won’t ever be as good as them, but it’s important to have something to look up to. 🤓

Over the next few months, I am planning to share some quick sketching sessions based on these on my Instagram page, should you be interested:

Claudia's Instagram

Comics Disability Project - Cats And Dogs

This month, I had the chance to collaborate with Jess Hannar on a project that sheds light on the struggles of people with disabilities who will lose their benefits due to a recent UK government policy. Unfortunately, has already been approved in Parliament.

She’s working with a few artists by giving us scripts to illustrate, which are then posted on Instagram.

Here’s the result of my one:

This was so engaging to work on, and I’m happy to have contributed, at least a tiny bit, to an important cause. I hope people will continue talking about this, so that at least parts of the policy can be reworked, if not all.

I’m also looking forward to collaborating with Jess again in the future. She’s a truly lovely person and her ideas deserve to be seen.

A Navy Bird

Last year, we heartbreakingly and suddenly lost a beloved member of the WIP Comics community. Navy was a cartoonist and tutor, besides being an excellent human being with multitudes of worlds and stories contained in her mind, waiting for the right moment to come to life. She’s dearly missed by all of us.

So in our yearly anthology, we are paying her tribute by drawing little navy birds, her online nickname, which will populate a section of the book. I tried to capture the essence of her work and personality in mine, if such a thing is even possible:

In case you’re interested in having a look at the anthology itself and getting your hands on the work of over sixty emerging artists, you can find it on Kickstarter until the end of the month.

Infinity Anthology on Kickstarter

Film recommendation: She Taught Love

I loved this film. It starts as a seemingly normal, perhaps dull, romance, but you soon realise that one of the main characters is a covert comic book nerd who created a whole fantasy series together with her dad.

The way the film reveals layers about the characters, starting with a sophisticated world and ending with a nerdy, who-cares vibe. How the relationship between the protagonists isn’t shallow, and feels like actual love and trust.

It’s another one with not-so-good reviews on IMDB, but once you look under the surface, they are mostly excellent. However, the few people who didn’t connect to the film really didn’t connect to it and brought the rating down. These days, it feels like people are so numbed by endless streams of entertainment that they expect every single thing they watch to make them jump out of their seats.

Either way, it was an entertaining watch! You can find it on Disney Plus, Hulu and possibly other streaming services.

Next Markets and Conventions

Here’s where you can find me until the end of the year:

• 30 of August - Urban Makers (Old Spitalfields Market, London)

• 27th-28th of September 2025 - The Lakes International Comic Art Festival (Bowness-on-Windermere)

• 15th-16th November 2025 - Thought Bubble Comic Convention (Harrogate)

And in case you can’t make it to any of those, my online shop is always open (it warms my heart whenever someone picks up something from there, especially because it’s rare):

• Online shop

• Etsy shop

And that’s all for today, folks!

Hope to see you soon!

- Claudia

Thank you for reading, and for your continued support! The four chapters of The Last Day of Rain are available in my online store at shop.claudiamatosa.com, as well as a few other books and art prints.

You’re also very welcome to subscribe to this blog if you like reading my ramblings (for some reason)! I don’t e-mail every post, but once in a while I send a summary of what I’ve been up to, so you can catch up:

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For bits and pieces, you can also find me on the following socials:

• Instagram

• Bluesky

• Mastodon

• LinkedIn

If you’re new to Comics, Stories & Things, welcome. Thank you so much for subscribing. ❤️

I’m writing to you from my hometown in Portugal today, where the weather is as mildly disappointing as back in the UK. And I have to say that I’m taking a small satisfaction in that fact. Portugal ain’t having it better than us. No sir! But now, seriously, it would be nice to see some sun, please. 🌞

Today, there’s news to share! Chapter three of The Last Day of Rain is out, and you can order the digital and paperback versions from my shop.

In this issue, besides speaking a bit more about the comic, I’m sharing a few personal notes on doing the things that inspire you despite being afraid of failure. You can also read a review of “What Happened On Thursday”, by Weird is The Best, a collection of beautifully done daily comics about life and cats. Finally, I recommend a science-fiction anthology on Kickstarter, created by Nick Bryan, which I think you will love.

LET’S GO!

Kickstarter Spotlight: The Collected Letters of Courier-Z

Do you like science fiction and wonder what the life of Amazon and Evri drivers is like? This anthology of short stories, written by Nick Bryan and illustrated by a group of talented artists, is funding on Kickstarter at the moment. It features a cat that, according to the reviews, isn’t all that different from Mr Clippy, which is guaranteed to please millennials all over:

But Nick is much better at explaining his own work, for obvious reasons:

This is it for today! Thank you for staying with me, and see you soon!

Should you be interested in ordering my books, you can do so here: https://claudiamatosa.com/shop

And for more frequent updates, you can also find me on the following socials:

• Instagram (the one I update regularly)

• Ex-Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Bluesky

• Mastodon

• Threads

I hope you’re keeping well, new subscribers and long-term ones, and that you’re coping with the mildly disappointing British weather or the skin-melting heat everywhere else.

It’s been two (or three?) months since my last newsletter, where I told you I would try and spend more time doing the things I love, drawing and storytelling. Learning how to increase the reach of my comics took quite a toll on me and almost made me lose the joy of creating them.

So I’m letting go of some activities to make room for others, which you can read further in the “Less is more” section. The newsletter is NOT one of them, and I’ll keep sending it more or less regularly.

Enough talk now; on to the content! 🥁

This week’s issue features a review of a sci-fi webcomic that you sure won’t want to miss, images from the second chapter of The Last Day of Rain, an anthology about Change, donations for climate change, a shift in the mood of my work, and a few others. Lots of Change, you see!

Finally, I speak a little about why I self-publish my comics instead of pitching to publishers, so if that interests you, please ignore all my blabbering and skip to that section or read it directly here.

Let’s GO!

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The Story Continues: the Second Chapter is Here!

Previously I showed you a sketch that I was working on for the second chapter of The Last Day of Rain. I’m thrilled to tell you that the chapter took the shape of a book two months later and is ready to order!

If you remember the sketch from last time, here’s how it ended up:

This sequence features Carol running across Rother High (formerly known as Rotherhithe) in the scorching London heat of 2091 and finally finding a haven in the air-conditioned IT repair shop/cafe where she works.

Continue reading to see more images and an insider look!

Continue reading

Order the Book

A Shift in Mood

I learned in the months that I’ve been self-publishing my work that I feel best about the stories that end on a hopeful or happy note.

So that’s the kind of ending that I want to focus on from now, even in the stories that start as sad or have complicated themes.

Thankfully, and giving you a little hint at what’s coming, The Last Day of Rain is one such story!

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A Comic about Violins and Grief

This year I’m participating in an anthology packed with talented artists, and the theme is “CHANGE”. Joe Stone organises it at WIP Comics, and it’s the first time that any work of mine features in a Kickstarter campaign. It’s also our first Kickstarter as a group. So we’re all very excited about it!

Continue reading the article to learn why I created this comic and why it’s a return to my roots.

Continue reading

Back the Kickstarter

Web Comic Review: Kamikaze

I’m reviewing a comic from the other side of the pond today. Kamikaze is a sci-fi webcomic co-created by Carrie Tupper, Alan Tupper and Havana Nguyen, and you can read more about them on their website. Alan and Carrie also run the friendly Comics.Town Mastodon server, where I have my own account.

The first thing people tend to mention when they speak about a story with beautiful art is that, well… it’s a story with beautiful art. However, for this one, the masterful writing and the lettering design shine as much as the drawings, and it’s unfair to mention any one of them without relating it to the others.

Read the full review

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Less is more. Maybe?

After hitting my limits, I realised that I needed to change how I approach life if I wanted to keep working for a living and making comics simultaneously. That led me to think seriously about what I want to focus on.

And, at least until the end of the year, that means finishing The Last Day of Rain, attending the fairs that I have booked, and studying to improve my skills.

With some personal pain, I also had to let go of some activities, even those I enjoy doing, so I have time for myself, my family, and my friends from now on. But that only means more quality time for the comic… and this newsletter too!

Continue reading

Why I Self-publish My Comics

Many writers and artists spend a lifetime perfecting their skills, and eventually, they create a body of work that is ready to pitch to publishing houses. But I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work with publishers, so I started self-publishing as soon as I felt I had enough knowledge. I needed to understand the entire process behind creating, publishing and marketing a graphic novel before I tried to work with others (which I very much want to).

Part of that experience has included attending fairs and conventions. Here’s me, barely awake, showcasing my stuff at LFCC a couple of weeks back, sporting a cheeky Hello Kitty pin from the lovely apshiq:

Read the full article for a sneak peek into how it really feels to be a self-published creator.

Read the full article

Comics for Climate Change

In the past two events I attended, I donated 5% of my sales to charities related to climate change. I’ll keep on doing it after every event regardless of whether I break even on not. It makes me feel good, given how much paper I use… even if just a little!

Charities donated to so far:

• The Climate Coalition (London Film & Comic Con)

• Rainforest Trust UK (South London Comic & Zine Fair)

Let me know if you’d like to suggest any charity you’re passionate about! (No one ever does, but eh…)

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Next fairs, and also fewer fairs

This year, I had the chance to table at a few fairs and conventions. In all of them, I met many lovely people, both artists and comic book fans, and I learned which events made me happier. Ultimately, for me, it's about how much the organisers make an effort to create an event where everyone feels welcome and how much fun I have with other artists tabling by my side!

I realised I prefer indie fairs or smaller events, where I can hang out with people and sell simultaneously. Plymouth Comic and Zine Fair and South London Comic & Zine Fair were my favourites!

So I reshuffled my agenda a little, and here’s this year’s confirmed line-up so far (hopefully there will be others, so keep an eye on this space!):

• August 6: London The Big Market, Lewisham

• November 11–12: Harrogate Thought Bubble

• December 2: Edinburgh Tags Fest

The next one will be The Big Market in Lewisham, and there will be all sorts of things for sale, as well as music and drinks, so come along if you're in the area! I’m sure that will be something for everyone.

Disclaimer: I won't guarantee you'll find me sober at my table if there’s beer around, sorry. 💩

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Next up

This month, I'm finishing my comic for the WIP anthology. And then, I will go straight into creating some concept art for the third chapter of The Last Day or Rain, which will require me to create a WHOLE city. It should be fun. I'll tell you how it went next time!

See you soon, and, as usual, thank you for reading my ramblings! For more frequent updates, you can find me on the following socials:

• Instagram (the one I update regularly)

• Mastodon

• Threads

• Bluesky

• Ex-Twitter (what the hell is going on with that?!)

That said, have a great month! If you’re working hard, take good, long breaks to recharge. There’s only one of you, and you’re not replaceable. :)

Claudia

I hope you've had a great month and that you've had the chance to spend quality time with your loved ones, relax, and enjoy good food. Ultimately, these are the things that truly make life worthwhile.

And thank you for all the kind messages! I'm happy to hear that you've been enjoying the content. Writing to you has been an absolute pleasure.

It's hard to believe that I've been doing these brain dumps for five months now, but I'm still here. It's almost like therapy for me. Going through the events of the past weeks and putting them into words helps me see how much I've accomplished. Sometimes, I feel like I haven't done anything, but when I write the newsletter, I realise that's not true.

So this issue has a special section on burnout. It’s all the way towards the end because I know people prefer happy news, so feel free to go there only if you’ve got the stomach to face a mildly-depressed author.

As for the rest, you’ve got the usual update on The Last Day of Rain (spoiler: sketches!), me being reviewed in a podcast and a colourful new drawing you’ll see before everyone else. There’s no review this month, and instead, I’m recommending a beautiful picture book that will possibly inspire you to make amends with your neighbours.

By the way, if you have accessed the newsletter through Instagram or Twitter and have been keeping up with it, I would greatly appreciate it if you subscribed using the button provided below. This way, you won't miss any future issues, and it helps me keep track of my readership.

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Let’s go!

The Last Day of Rain: Monthly Update

The comic is coming along more slowly than I thought of course, but there are already some loose sketches! Here’s my favourite page so far, where Carol runs along Rotherhithe Street with a cheeky cat on her arm, all under the scorching sun at a mere fifty degrees.

Stay tuned for more - we’ll see what the next month brings!

Official website

New drawing: A Happy Day

I made a painting to take to Brighton Comic Con & Gaming Festival earlier next month, and it’s available as a print in my online shop today. You’re the first to see it!

I think it needs some fine-tuning here and there, but I’m happy with the overall mood. I may just leave it as it is. You can’t perfect things forever.

Buy it here 😳

I was reviewed!

I finally mustered the courage to ask for some reviews of my work, and The Awesome Comics podcast was blazing fast about it! The Last Day of Rain and The Sea Wall of Plymouth feature on their podcast, along with a selection of lovely indie comics.

Go listen

Here’s an excerpt of the good stuff:

“Claudia’s put a QR code in the book with a pair of headphones symbol, and you can scan it to listen as you read the comic. I thought that was a nice little touch. Her artwork has an absolutely solid foundation in both form and colour. It’s really nice. It has a warm hand-drawn illustrative quality that you maybe find in a Nobrow or an Avery Hill book. Not synonymous with manga or an American superhero comic. I’ve seen great work throughout the comic. […] The lettering design on the books is absolutely top-notch.”

And their suggestion for me:

“I think if she invested a little more time in capturing facial expressions and body language, it would really serve it well in communicating the emotional ways she’s looking to convey within her stories. They are human stories dealing with the environment, and you’re also living through these characters, so when they get upset or happy, that’s transferred to the reader.”

This is definitely an area of improvement, and I’ll be working on improving the expressivity of my characters!

Listen to the full episode

Book recommendation: The Last Tree, by Emily Haworth-Booth

This month I won’t bring you a review but a recommendation instead. I recently picked up The Last Tree, an illustrated picture book by Emily Haworth-Booth. It’s a lovely book which can be leafed through in less than an hour, and it’s kid-friendly, so it makes a great birthday gift to your climate-aware child or adult.

I don’t want to give too much of it, as anything I can write about will be a spoiler! I can say that the premise of this book leans highly on neighbourly relationships and features a group of people who almost lose it all because they stop talking to each other.

It came at a time when I really needed it. When I reached the end of the story, I was soaked in tears. Of the good type!

Get it from Amazon

Next Fair: SLCZF

I have a new fair announcement, and I am REALLY excited about this one. Just their poster makes me excited! It’s so sunny! If you’re in London, I hope to see you at SLCZF on the 17th of July!

Find out more

Notes on burnout

As promised, we’re reaching the end of the newsletter, so on to depressing matters. A few weeks ago, I received a message from a friend who read something like this:

“Remember to save some time for yourself and for creating. I'm following you on Substack and am really worried to see you at the edge of burnout multiple times.”

And she’s right. It’s probably time to reconsider my approach. I've been so focused on promoting my work that I've lost sight of the joy that comes with creating it. And despite my efforts, I haven't made a single online sale, and I find myself stuck in a cycle of self-doubt. There’s always something to improve, and when I improve it, I’m still not seeing the results that I was hoping for. It makes me feel like giving up. I’m overwhelmed and exhausted as I juggle a part-time job and comics creation. The first gives me money to live, while the other drains my savings.

But then, when I stop worrying about the internet and I sit down to create or to learn from other creators, I feel an infinite amount of happiness! And it makes me think that I really just want to make things, and if the world doesn’t enjoy what I’m doing, let the world be. I know this is a rose-tinted view of life, but it’s helping me cope.

If you’re an author experiencing similar thoughts, this article from Russel Noherty made me feel better:

The Author Stack

You don't have to like me as long as you validate my existence

Read more

3 years ago · 34 likes · 14 comments · Russell Nohelty

It speaks about how difficult it is to be a creator in a hyper-capitalist world, where you have to constantly strike a balance between marketing your work and actually doing your work.

So next month, I hope I’ll be able to come here and tell you I created a lot and that I managed to take a few weekends to soak in the sun because I stopped worrying about selling. Sometimes you need that. Taking a break, hopefully, will help me think of what to do next.

Next up

Thank you for reading! In the next issue, I’m hoping to trim things down a bit, so you’ll see:

• An update on The Last Day of Rain

• Project tracker - what I’m working on next (hint: sequels?)

• Another book review

See you soon!

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I hope you’re all doing great, and if you’re not, I wish you the best through whichever hurdles you’re currently dealing with.

This month’s newsletter will have more images and less writing. I’ve been burned out from social media and self-promoting for a few weeks, and writing this is the only thing I’m doing in that area. But still, it feels taxing, and I kinda need a break. I’m trying a little too hard. I’m tired of myself. I need to spend more time doing what I like: creating stories.

So let’s go!

We’ll begin with a sneak peek into the characters of The Last Day of Rain, some of which you haven’t seen in the story yet. Then, let’s look at a game I played with my fans on Instagram, from where the plan for a new story emerged. And, of course, the usual comic book review! This one is exciting, full of post-apocalyptic creepy-cuteness, wildfires and jumping fish.

And if you don’t feel like reading, scroll all the way down to see a calendar of the conventions I’m attending this year. It’s beginning to look busy. 😳

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Meet the Characters of The Last Day of Rain

As people do, I decided to spend my time somewhere else instead of drawing the next chapters. It wasn’t entirely useless, though. Before proceeding, I needed to solidify the appearances and personalities of a few characters in my mind. If I know everything about them, they’ll be much easier to draw!

So in the last month, I created a line-up and individual images for each character in the story.

Here’s the line-up, from start to finish. I often hear people say they can’t draw, but the truth is that for most artists, every drawing begins with a weird sketch, where you place things on the page to help you visualise the composition.

There is more info about this crowd on the website, so please head there if you’re curious.

Meet the characters

AAND, finally, after this, I’m ready to jump in and start pencilling chapter two. I’ve got proof. I have the book layout ready in Clip Studio Paint.

Disappointing, I know. Hopefully, next month this screenshot will look less blank! Until then, well… we’ll see.

If you haven’t purchased the first chapter yet, you can find it on the website:

Official website

Building a Story with My Fans

Calling my Instagram crowd “fans” is a bit of a stretch because I doubt anyone is my fan, but I prefer that to the word “follower”. It sounds a bit cultish, eh.

Anyway. Last month, I ran a poll on my Instagram stories after a random sketch that I made on the plane:

I asked people if they wanted to see a comic with these folks. One thing led to the other, and after a few more polls and a lot of fun, my audience helped me decide who the characters would be. Here’s the final result:

The story is already in my plans and will hopefully materialise into a post-apocalyptic comedy soon, either as a comic book or a webcomic (still deciding!).

Stay tuned! Or not. 🥹

Find me on Instagram

Review: Still Life with Apocalypse

This month I’m reviewing a book my husband picked up at Plymouth Comic and Zine Fair. He brought it home, and I couldn’t take my eyes off it, so I sort of nicked it. It’s “Still Life with Apocalypse”, adapted to comic book format by Imogen Mangle. Richard Kadrey wrote the original story.

I haven’t read the short story. Still, from what I gather from online reviews, Imogen has peppered her comic book version with colourful details, a lot of imagination and beautiful visuals. Beautiful and eerie because that’s what the story lends itself to, and she achieved it masterfully.

The narrator leads us through a collapsed society, full of children scavenging and looking for remains of the old world. The main character calls it “the end of the world”. But you can’t help but think, how can the world have ended if they’re still there? I think that’s part of what makes this story so appealing. There’s a certain comedy angle to it, mixed with feelings of despair.

And they don’t know why the world has ended. Or when. They suspect that it was a sequence of events. But what events?

If you enjoy post-apocalyptic comics, oh, this definitely is for you. I know I do. But if you pick it up, don’t forget to follow up on the advice on the back cover:

Imogen also has a few online webcomics that you can look at. I’ll do that myself once I hit send on this post!

Read Still Life With Apocalypse

Imogen's Instagram

Curious fact

Did you know my printed comic books usually come with a Spotify playlist? Usually, you’ll see a QR code on one of the first pages looking something like this:

A few readers have told me they loved the touch, so here’s a link to my Spotify, where you can find all the playlists:

Spotify Playlists

Fairs

This will be a year of fairs and conventions, and it’s setting itself up to be fairly tiresome. I’ll be travelling all around the country to sell some comics and prints! Here are some fairs where you can find me. And also my awesome partner, who somehow hasn’t gotten tired of tagging along yet (perhaps because he recently started building his own loot of comics).

• June 10: Brighton Comic Con & Gaming Festival

• July 7-9: London Film & Comic Con

• September 2-3: Birmingham Film & Comic Con - Collectormania 28

• September 23: Somerset Comic Con & Gaming Festival

• November 11-12: Harrogate Thought Bubble

If you’re in the area, pop by my stand and say hello!

And if this goes well, I plan to apply to fairs in other countries next year. Do you have a favourite convention or fair in your country that you recommend? Hit “reply” and let me know!

Substack

For those of you who have been receiving my newsletter for a while, I have moved to a new newsletter platform, Substack. If you’re already familiar with it, please feel free to use the chat or notes functionalities to ask questions or make suggestions! Otherwise, nothing changes. :)

If you’re curious, you can also download the Substack app and explore:

Read Comics, Sci-fi & Things in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

Next Up

I’ll see you next month for more updates on The Last Day of Rain, more fairs (hopefully), and who knows what else. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. :D

As usual, if there’s anything in particular that you’d like to hear about, reply to this email and let me know.

See you soon!

A warm welcome to my new subscribers from PCFZ, and a massive thank you to those who have been with me for some time! Your support truly means the world to me. I know, I know… I say this every month, but only because it is true. 😜

I hope I'm providing you with engaging content, but if there's something else you'd like to hear about, you’re very welcome to reply to this email or drop me a line at hello@claudiamatosa.com.

This issue is packed with content, so brace yourselves! :D

We will begin by speaking about what got me into writing science fiction (you may be surprised), and then we will move on to some highlights from my table last month at Plymouth Comic and Zine Fair. It was a truly motivating experience! And this section comes with a curious fact about The Sea Wall of Plymouth that you may not have noticed… 🧐

Afterwards, the regular progress update on The Last Day of Rain because that’s what we’re all here for (or is it?!). I’m unsure if we can call it an update, but you can decide for yourself when you get there!

Aaand, finally, we’ll review another science fiction comic, also about climate change: “Salamanca Blues” by Alba Ceide. If you’re bored by my shenanigans, I hope you skim to the end to read the review because it’s a fantastic book. Spoiler: there are giant bugs on it. There. I hope you’re convinced.

Delving into the world of science fiction and why I write it

My love for the genre began with something you wouldn’t probably guess, and you will also need to be old enough to remember a world where social media wasn’t a thing, and people shared chain emails and forgot to put people in “BCC”.

This particular chain was making the rounds in the 90s when we were beginning to talk seriously about the effects of climate change. It told the story of a future where water was a scarce good, and the narrator was anxious about them and their family experiencing escalating thirst. I wish I had saved it, but maybe it’s for the better!

This story must have impressed me so much that now I’m writing a graphic novel about a city where it doesn’t rain.

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My Third Fair - PCFZ!

Earlier this month, I attended my third comic book fair, Plymouth Comic and Zine Fair. And three is a good milestone and a perfect opportunity to talk about the tabling experience in general!

I feel honoured to have been given these chances to table and bring my work to people around the UK, particularly because English is my second language, and I suffer from massive imposter syndrome. I’ll keep doing my best to improve it, but I have an inkling that it may never be enough.

As a matter of fact, I was initially put on the reserve list for the fair, and I thought that I wouldn’t make it. But a few weeks before the day, I received an email from Laura informing me that a spot for the weekend had opened up. I jumped at it and began preparations!

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Curious fact: why is the sea wall full of Cornish names

Aside: It’s an OCEAN wall, Claudia, not SEA!

I know. I tend to use the word interchangeably, like many English speakers, and people do the same in my native language, Portuguese. Mar = Sea, Oceano = Ocean. But it’s not technically correct. Plymouth, for example, stands on the Atlantic Ocean, and Aberdeen on the North Sea. In retrospect, I should have called it “The Ocean Wall of Plymouth”, and I regret it a little, but I’ll roll with it anyway. 😛

On the to the curious fact! If you have read the book, perhaps you remember a hand touching a wall scratched with names of people lost to the sea. And even though Plymouth is in Devon and actually only borders Cornwall, the wall was full of Cornish names! Why is that?

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Progress on The Last Day of Rain

Though I don't have any new images to share this time, I've been working on a plan to complete the book without burning out. I'll release five additional chapters independently before launching a Kickstarter campaign, where I'll merge them into a single book with exclusive content.

There will be character sheets, maps, 3D renders and an exclusive side-story about Julia's life, who we won't get to see much for the rest of the book. But that's only towards the end of this year, and a lot of work to do until then. 😛

Click below to see my timelines, which I will quite likely fail at, but hey, you’ll be here to witness everything!

See the timeline

Review: Salamanca Blues, by Alba Ceide

This month I bring you a review of a science-fiction comic set in a world highly affected by climate change. Sounds familiar? That’s because it is, but that’s where the similarities end. If you follow my work, you’re potentially into dystopian futures, so this comic may be right up your alley.

Read the review

Shop!

Just a quick note to let you know that I've been sprucing up my online presence, which includes my shop. There's a variety of new prints available to purchase alongside my books!

Have a browse!

Next up

Stay tuned for more updates on The Last Day of Rain, more comic reviews, and insights into my creative journey. Remember, if you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch.

Wishing you all the best and happy reading!

– Claudia

Just another publication about comics

Hi, and welcome to my newsletter!

I’m a comic artist and writer who enjoys creating little sci-fi stories with an emotional edge (as you probably have already read a million times on this page). In this publication, I plan to share with you the following:

• My journey towards making a living out of my passion. Being a creator is a bumpy ride. I love it, but I have to juggle improving my craft, promoting my work, learning how to make things look good, visiting fairs, contributing to the community, etc. It’s exhausting!

• How I go about creating my comics and stories, including sketches, drafts and techniques that I like exploring occasionally.

• Some insider knowledge on the worlds and characters that I create.

• Small comics and short stories that I don’t publish anywhere else.

• Reviews of sci-fi and fantasy indie comics that I discover when out and about.

You will receive one update every month in your inbox. And that’s it for now!

Subscribe now

Yeah, but show me the good stuff!

Ok, ok! You can find most of my work in the following places:

• Online shop

• Instagram

• Webcomic

I’m still building it up, but looking forward to having more and more to show.

Previous issues

I am moving my newsletter to Substack, but you can find the previous issues of this newsletter on Zestworld, where I also publish my webcomic, The Last Day of Rain. You are also welcome to subscribe to that if you’d like to receive a new comic issue every few weeks!

See previous issues

This is it for now!

I’ll see you very soon! 😊