Hey! It’s me, Darcy! Welcome to the first issue of The Vanishing Word where I chat with newsletter editor, Tania Reitsma, about my process of making comics while keeping you up to date on anything new and exciting.
In this issue:
What’s New? – 2026 Book Announcements & Conventions
How I Make Comics Q&A #1 (of 12) – An Introduction
Comic Shop Spotlight – Golden Age Collectables
Mailbag – How it Works
What’s New?
Two New Books
I figured the best way to kick off 2026 is to announce two new comic projects coming out this year, The Karman Blade and The Cutting Garden. You’ll get more detailed information about these very soon, but here’s the gist.
The Karman Blade is a new fantasy series that reunites the entire creative team from last year’s Harvey Award-nominated series Precious Metal. This standalone story is told in four issues. It’s been an incredible opportunity for me to stretch out a bit and explore a different kind of storytelling. This project builds on past work with Ian Bertram while doing something quite different from our previous work together.
Juicier details will follow as we get closer to the solicitation date, but here’s a completed page from the first issue, which was also recently posted on my IG.
The Cutting Garden is a 106-page original graphic novel from myself, Erin Connally, Aditya Bidikar, Ben Didier, and Melissa Gifford. Not to repeat myself, but this is yet another years-in-the-making project that pushed me to explore something different from what I’ve done in the past.
We’ve locked in a September 2026 release from Image Comics, and I’ll have more to say on this story as we get closer to that date. Meanwhile, feast your eyes on this interior title page, designed by my long-time friend and collaborator, Ben Didier.
Conventions in 2026
In the realm of rare public appearances (not just at conventions but like, in real life too), I’ll be attending four conventions in 2026, all in Canada. That’s a record for me. And at least one of these is in a city I’ve never been to, which is exciting!
First up is Vancouver Fan Expo from February 14–16 at the Vancouver Convention Centre, in the West Building. This is always a crazy show for me where I sell out of everything, and I expect this year will be no different. Hope to see you there!
How I Make Comics Q&A #1 (of 12)
Okay, so here we are—the “feature presentation” of The Vanishing Word!
In this ongoing series called How I Make Comics, I reflect on my process and experience of making comic books in conversation with my newsletter editor, Tania Reitsma.
To start, we’ll attempt to give you an introduction to why I’m doing this and what you can expect from each month’s issue. Be sure to subscribe and share this with anyone who’s interested in the creative process so that they can follow along from the beginning.
Topic: Introduction to How I Make Comics – A Snapshot
The Purpose
TR: Alright, Darcy, let’s hit you with the most obvious question first. Why are you creating this series, and why now?
DVP: The whole idea of doing this series really comes from two places. The first is that if I’m sending people newsletters on a regular schedule—something I’ve struggled with in previous years—I want to make sure that I’m giving them something of interest. Since I enjoy reading about how things are made, I figured why not share how I make comics?
The second reason is that whenever I’m in a public space with my work such as Fan Expo or Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), a fair number of people ask me about the process of making comics. There’s clearly an interest, but I always struggle to give an answer that I feel is worthy of the question. So this Q&A series is also a response to that, and doing it here on Substack allows me to create and distribute it for free.
TR: What topics will you focus on?
DVP: There will be 12 parts, or 11 if we’re not counting this intro. I’ll cover the whole comic-making process from a writer’s perspective—everything from ideas, outlining, the first draft of my scripts and so on all the way to publication.
By rolling out these topics in monthly Q&As, I get to tell the story of how I make comics in small digestible pieces. Then, once all the parts are published and out there, it ends up being a nice overview of my entire process.
The Payoff
TR: What’s the value in stopping to reflect on how you make comics?
DVP: Since I haven’t given much thought to how I make comics, perhaps I’ll learn something about myself along the way as I reflect on my own process. I’m a professional writer and comic creator, but far from a seasoned pro, so it’s interesting to take a snapshot of where I’m at and share it with others.
Maybe the value is just in the fact that I’m sharing something of myself which is actually quite difficult for me. I’m being challenged outside of my comfort zone, but I’ve committed—so here we go!
TR: Now, for your readers, what do you want them to gain from learning about how you make comics?
DVP: I hope for the casual reader, or someone who enjoys my work, it’s a peek behind the curtain at how these funny books all come together—particularly in the independent, creator-owned space where most of my work has been and is being done.
As for anyone who is interested in making comics themselves, though their process is unlikely to look exactly like mine, these reflections might give them a thing or two to think about. It could provide a kind of bumpy roadmap on how one gets from concept to completion.
Bonus if my family reads this and finally understands what it is I do for a living!
The Challenge
TR: Couldn’t you just create this series in your own vacuum? Why are you going with a Q&A format and assigning someone external—me, in this case—to come up with the questions?
DVP: Actually, no. I couldn’t have done this on my own, and it would never be happening without your involvement. You see, I’d rather write an entire fictional series than talk to myself about how I make comics. It seems a bit absurd. But again, since I’m often asked about this stuff, and I enjoy it on the receiving end, I thought this would be a challenge worth taking. Getting an editor involved to pull this stuff out of me, by providing thoughtful questions, was key in making it happen. Thank you, Tania!
TR: You’re welcome, and thanks for getting me involved. So right now, this Q&A series is still being created as we go. We’ve already been drafting the Q&As for the next several topics. Can you describe your experience so far as you’ve been doing your reflections?
DVP: I’ve found it’s quite difficult to break the process into different parts because making comics, at least for me, feels like one long fluid thing—often spread out over years at a time.
It’s kind of like a song with different parts. There’s an intro and a verse, chorus, bridge, and so on, but they all just flow into one another, ideally pretty seamlessly. So breaking the music down into specific, separate bits kind of goes against the process itself. But I’ll do my best!
The Future
TR: You’re doing great! Having previewed your responses for some of the upcoming topics, I’m confident that readers will appreciate your honesty and willingness to break down the steps. As we conclude, can you tell us what we have to look forward to in the next issue?
DVP: Right, so the next segment will be talking about ideas—where I feel like my ideas come from, how I know which ones to pursue (sometimes for years on end), and which ones to leave alone. I hope everyone sticks around!
Comic Shop Spotlight
Another regular thing you’ll see in The Vanishing Word is an introduction to a comic shop that has stood out to me or played an important role in my career thus far. This section is where the shop gets to do a little show-and-tell.
This time the spotlight shines on Golden Age Collectables in Vancouver, BC, Canada, with a message from Hank, aka their “Head Bee Guy”.
Hank: Since 1974, Golden Age Collectables has been Downtown Vancouver’s friendly neighbourhood comic shop—a local portal to capes, kaiju, cosmic weirdness, and everything in between. Whether you’ve been reading for decades or you’re just dipping a toe into one of the many multiverses, we’ve got a crew here to help you find exactly what you’re after! From brand-new weekly issues to manga, graphic novels, statues, shirts, and a treasure trove of rare books for the collectors, we’ve got shelves full of surprises and staff who love talking about this stuff! Swing by and say hi. We’re proud to be part of this city, and we love sharing stories with it!
DVP: Golden Age Collectables has been around in Vancouver for as long as I can remember and I still recall wandering in there as a kid and feeling like I’d just walked into another universe where I could see endless worlds up close and at a distance. The excitement of picking out the comics I wanted most that month and running to catch my bus home again was a feeling that I have yet to beat. I’d decide which ones to read right away and which to I savour once home. It was, and remains, the greatest escape.
Fast forward to 2019 when I sat in the back signing copies of Little Bird #1, looking down a long line of familiar faces. It was surreal as hell but mostly I was just bursting with gratitude. Thanks for all the wonderful years, Golden Age—I have no doubt there are many more to come.
Just a reminder to support your local comic shop whenever possible as they remain the lifeblood of this whole industry. And many of them offer something that you simply cannot get online—in-person community. You can learn more about GAC here!
Mailbag
Have questions or comments for us?
Go ahead and hit reply with your thoughts on the topics we discussed in this issue of The Vanishing Word. From time to time, we’ll pull from the virtual mailbag, share a message, and answer it here!
Until Next Time!
Thank you for reading. Don’t forget to subscribe and share. Be kind to yourself :) - DVP
