Greetings from Thailand!

Also, from Hong Kong, Macau, and Japan!

Hi everybody! I’m on vacation this month, so the official newsletter will be a little late. I know a handful of people attended the Comics Book Club, and I look forward to sharing all the details about what happened and what people thought about Harrow County, Volume 1: Countless Haints!

Rather than have you all wait around for the October/November 2023 Edition, I thought I’d share some of where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to. Enjoy!

I’m not the best picture taker, but there was a lot to photograph. You can see many, many more photos over on my Instagram page. I’m uploading these from my phone, so forgive me if the quality is less than what you might otherwise expect.

Our first stop was Tokyo, Japan, where we had a nineteen-hour layover and decided to stay overnight at the airport hotel rather than wait around at the gate. This suit of armor was in the lobby and I thought it was really cool.

The last time we were in Bangkok was in December, so there were a lot of Christmas decorations everywhere. This time, I noticed a lot of Halloween decorations, like this adorable bear that welcomed us to the Central Rama 3 shopping mall.

Also in Central Rama 3 was this statue of Hanuman. At first, I thought it was a yaksha, a giant from Thai mythology. I wrote a short Hellboy comic featuring them, and hopefully I can share more about that someday.

One of my favorite things about Bangkok is the architecture, with centuries-old structures sitting next to some of the most modern skyscrapers you’ll ever see. King Power Mahanakhon is a 78-story marvel that I love and my husband knows it. He pointed it out anytime we get even remotely close to it.

No trip to Bangkok would be complete without stopping by my brother-in-law’s coffee shop, Marabica Cafe. Excellent cappuccino and he has a quote from Daytripper on his storefront window!

Speaking of architecture, oh my god did I fall in love with Hong Kong at first sight! I wish I could do justice to all the lights, sounds, and animations present in this skyline. It is so, so beautiful.

We took a day trip to Macau after Hong Kong, which felt a bit like a mini vacation within our vacation. We made the most of that day, I’ll tell you that much! We saw several casinos, but also historical reminders of when Macau was colonized by Portugal.

Our next stop was Chiang Mai, Thailand, where we stayed in a hotel built around this 700-year-old tree. It was so cool to see and learn about a different region of Thailand, though I know I barely scratched the surface. I took a lot of pictures of street art and graffiti, and I think my father-in-law thought I was crazy. Lol

From Chiang Mai, we went to Chiang Rai, where we visited several notable Buddhist temples. I took the most pictures by far at Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple. This incredibly elaborate entrance is only the beginning! There’s a sculpture garden, several other buildings, and the inner temple, where photography wasn’t allowed.

Next was Osaka, Japan, where we celebrated my husband’s birthday. This is the view from our hotel room, but it was even more impressive at night.

In Osaka, we visited a castle, a sky building, and the aquarium, but I was most satisfied with this picture I took of the Namba Yasaka Jinja, a local Shinto shrine. It represents a giant lion’s head meant to swallow any bad fortune.

Tomorrow, we’re leaving for Tokyo. (At time of writing, anyway; we’ll have been there for about a day by the time you read this. Time zones are fun!) My personal agenda is limited to the Studio Ghibli Museum and a bar called Deathmatch in Hell, two places that couldn’t be more different in tone but probably have more subtext in common than most people would give either of them credit for.

If you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask them in the comments! I will get to them eventually. Thanks for indulging my posting a bunch of vacation photos, I promise to get back to writing about comics soon enough. :)

The Comics Book Club read Harrow County, Volume 1: Countless Haints by Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook, which I brought with me. It was a perfect match with some of the local ghost stories. You can expect a proper newsletter about that comic in early November! My husband and I will be flying back to Chicago on Monday. Take care of yourselves and each other! Thanks again.