iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 15/09/2026

Today is the day! 🥹 Happy birthday to my little night owl Hester who is on a quest to find friendship in the Faraway Forest 💖 Order links: thefarawayforest.com 🌲✨ Brilliant colors by @kaycatsart.com, published by @chroniclekidsbooks.bsky.social!

Cover of The Faraway Forest: Hester’s Big Dream, showing an owl looking out of her treehouse window at night, gazing up at the stars with a hopeful, wistful expression

Interior page showing a wall of fun electronics and knickknacks for sale at Acorn Mart, the 24 hour convenience store

Interior page showing Hester wearing sunglasses and headphones, strutting proudly down the street in the daytime

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 13/09/2026

I’m on the bus and we just drove past this huge line of people downtown waiting for freebies from a Starbucks promotion event and our bus driver pulls over right at the front, opens the door, and calls to the guy handing out free tote bags full of bottled drinks and gets himself a tote 😂 I love nyc.

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 12/09/2026

I’ve been mailing out preorder goodies every day! 💖

Three special Faraway Forest envelopes featuring Wally the raccoon mail carrier, in front of a blue postbox

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 12/09/2026

Cold brewed Taiwanese red tea in my favorite glass (from @weisanboo.bsky.social) 😌

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daryl "crimetime after primetime" b 🏳️‍⚧️ @hypercubexl.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

GDT's reddit AMA spitting fire www.reddit.com/r/movies/com...

reddit comment:

Hello! Did you intend the ending of Pan’s labyrinth to be real or in Ofelia’s mind?

Guillermo Del Toro's reply:

My interpretation, and it's exclusively mine, is that it's real.

Because there's two things. One is what people call “The Shining Question.” The Shining Question is, Who opens the door for Jack to get out of the fridge? And Ofelia is in an attic with a guard outside her door, and she draws the door with the magic chalk, and she shows up in the labyrinth. So, the only way she could have gone into the labyrinth is the magic chalk. And the flower is real at the end. The flower that blooms in the dead tree. And the reason I think it’s real is because—and this is why I'm in favor of the human factor in art—I think that art does transform the world. You know?

Think about it for a second. One of the goals, with all this movement, is to make you believe that art is vulgar. That art is nothing special, and anybody can do art. That is like me telling you that I'm faster at running than Usain Bolt but I “run” in my motorcycle. Well, that's not the same. That’s not the same at all.

Art is important, and they want you to believe it isn't. It's part of the idea of control. The goal is not to have artificial intelligence. The goal is to foster natural stupidity. The goal is to foster you not looking for answers, and to trust yourself entirely to an engine. Look at the way we are dipping our toes into these things. We are starting to ask the machine, Is this true? For now, there's a correlation between reality and what the answers of the machine are. For now. But soon, we won't even investigate further. We will be told it's true. And if the machine is in the hands of somebody who should not be trusted, then your reality has been completely and utterly fucked. Because your intelligence ends at the question. You don't seek the answer. It's given to you.

Q: You recently mentioned that AI creates 'semi-compelling screensavers' and that you'd 'rather die' than use it. As a filmmaker who relies heavily on practical effects and creature design, what do you think is the biggest thing lost when a computer generates an image instead of a human hand?

GDT:

The three quarters of the process that gave you the chance to think of the idea that people don't think about without that process. Meaning, AI can get you to the middle really fast, but there's a dialectic with the process that gets you to that top 10%. I'll give you an example with the Pale Man.

We sculpted it as an old man, with a face. And then I said, Let's take out the face. This happened because I saw a photo of a manta ray and the poster for Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm. That combination, which happened at two different times during a week or a month, are not permutations that are chemically part of an equation. They are alchemy. And then I said, Take out the face, and then I said, Let's put the eyes on the hands. This triangulation happens because I spent a month or two months living with the idea of this creature. And it's not linear.

AI is like a super-fast engine that makes semi-sentient permutations of things that are already done. Creation is things that have never been done. Coming to exist.

And the second thing is the loss of the apprenticeship that one has as an artist. You're never a master; you're always an apprentice. This is a kinship I have with, for example, Chris Nolan. When he showed me The Odyssey, there’s a scene when Matt Damon is floating in the stormy ocean and I asked him—because we were talking about practical effects, and how great it is and that we both always use a maquette or a model—and I asked him, How did you do it? He said, “We put him in a storm in the ocean.”

And you're gonna find that 30% of a great image occurs accidentally. You know, either a drop of water hits the lens, or the camera shakes. I remember when in 1993, '94, Jim…

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 10/09/2026

The B&N preorder sale is back!! What a great time to get a discounted preorder on a book that comes out NEXT WEEK aaaaand you also get all these preorder goodies! 🥰 Get the book here: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-farawa... And then fill out the form: thefarawayforest.com ✌️

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Wendy Xu @wendyxu.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

little daoist seeks peace, xiaoya seeks melody... needle seeks combat. fun fact: the miaodao (longsword) she wields literally translates to "sprout blade" and nobody historically really can pinpoint if the katana influenced this sword or vice versa

six character sketches of needle, a lotus seed sprite wielding a miaodao (longsword)

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 07/09/2026

Notepads are back in stock in my online shop! 🎏✨ www.pommopress.com

Daily Planner notepad w/ checklist, date, daily goal, dotted and gridded notes sections

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🪲 jules z / just right !🌀 @juleshroom.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

OPEN CALL FOR TRAILCAM ARTWORK Just Right Press is organizing its first group zine! The theme is illustrated interpretations of elusive & amusing creatures witnessed on trailcams. We would love to feature your artwork! Learn more @ juleszuckerberg.com/trailcam-studies and below!

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 06/09/2026

Reviews are coming in for THE FARAWAY FOREST: Hester’s Big Dream! 🥹 There’s still time to preorder at thefarawayforest.com ✨

“Hester’s routine is a delight! I wish every day (and night!) could be so charming.” - Kaeti Vandorn, creator of Monster Friends

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 28/08/2026

Canceled some subscription services I didn’t need. Set up a monthly donation to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library 🤍

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dollgirls ✿ Illo Mart D408🐈 @dollgirls.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

goodbye tomato summer

illustration of several mahjong tiles falling vertically. the background is green and the tiles are beige with burgundy red backs. some of the tile fronts are visible; they are variations on the six, one, nine, and two of the mahjong dot suit with the dots replaced by tomatoes

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 26/08/2026

Waiting for the bus I heard a bird making angry calls over and over and finally looked up to see a kestral repeatedly dive-bombing a red-tailed hawk on top of a building! Then my bus came.

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 23/08/2026

Last day at ANYC table Z-14!! Chiikawa prints have sold out 🥹

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 22/08/2026

Everyone is so happy on the ferry at sunset 🧡

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 15/07/2026

📢 Upcoming events this summer & fall! Excited to be staying mostly local this year! The POMMO Press logo next to certain events means I’ll be tabling and selling my wares 🤓 The others will be more book-focused, sharing my new graphic novel THE FARAWAY FOREST: HESTER’S BIG DREAM! 🦉🌌✨

7.30-8.1 • Stationery Fest
BROOKLYN, NY - Marketplace
POMMO PRESS
8.20-8.23 • Anime NYC
MANHATTAN, NY - Artist Alley
POMMO PRESS
9.26 • Brooklyn Book Festival
BROOKLYN, NY - Author Panel & Signing
10.3 • Glen Rock Children's Book Fest
GLEN ROCK, NJ - Author Signing
10.8-10.11 • NY Comic Con
MANHATTAN, NY - Artist Alley
POMMO PRESS
10.23 • Library Event (w/Live Owls!)
SMITHTOWN, NY - Book Event & Signing
11.19-11.22 • NCTE
PHILADELPHIA, PA -
Author Panel & Signing

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 14/08/2026

Wow thank you for all the options 🙏 I ended up finding some in the very first store I looked in… one of the many “99cent discount” shops in my neighborhood that I normally never go in!

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 14/08/2026

What kind of store would sell popsicle sticks?? A delivery fell through and I need some today in South Brooklyn… 🙏

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 11/08/2026

This new yuzu ponzu I got makes everything taste so good… I’ve been making cold ponzu noodles all summer and I’m still not tired of it

Bowl of noodles with ponzu sauce, pickled cucumber slices, avocado, roasted salmon, and topped with seasoned seaweed flakes

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 10/08/2026

If I meet you and you have an interesting name the odds are good that I may steal it for a future book character… I’m sorry!

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 30/07/2026

It has begun! Stationery Fest 2026 in Brooklyn 🤓✌️ Tix are sold out but if you’re coming—say hi! Table H02 in the Downtown Marketplace (smaller room)

POMMO Press table with riso prints, sticker sheets, notepads, charms, patches, etc

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 26/07/2026

🧵Thread of new POMMO Press products debuting at Stationery Fest next week (& will be available in my shop after!) 👀

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 26/07/2026

I correctly identified a guy’s dog as a dogo argentino this morning and he was like “no one ever guesses it” 😎

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 24/07/2026

A bit embarrassed to ask this but would anyone who’s going to be at the Eisner Award Gala tomorrow night be willing to take a video for me when they read the results for my category (best pub for early readers)? 🙏 #sdcc

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 15/07/2026

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mart • commissions open @martapreliy.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Hey, it's #portfolioday again 🎉 I'm Mart, a freelance illustrator. I love creating vibrant and detailed illustrations! If you need a book or comic cover, a poster, or anything else, feel free to reach out! 🖼️: www.mart-lett.com 💌: hello@mart-lett.com 🔗: linktr.ee/martapreliy

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 14/07/2026

Murray and his aloe (feat. an old postcard from @saracapello.bsky.social!) 🧡

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Loan Navet @loannavet.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Hi #PortfolioDay I'm Loan Navet, a 2D game artist and illustrator. I love to explore cute, quirky and magical worlds ✨ 🎨Looking for opportunities in publishing, games, illustrations, and ttrpg! And I also do commissions 📧loannavet.pro@gmail.com

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Noppy @thomasnoppers.com · 14/07/2026

I am Noppy and I capture characters in rare fleeting moments of peace and solitude. #portfolioday

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 12/07/2026

I’ll be tabling at NY Comic Con this year for the first time!! If you need me I’ll be mentally preparing for the next three months 🙂‍↕️

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 12/07/2026

How can a show called Wonder Egg Priority be so dark…

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 09/07/2026

I’ve officially started drawing thumbnails for The Faraway Forest book 3!! Thankfully I have a lot of reference material at my disposal now (books 1 & 2)! 😌

Both previous books laying open to pages including a certain character, the pine marten librarian Martine

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 26/06/2026

My first new riso print in a *very* long time is a tribute to OPEN Chan! The mascot of 7-11 Taiwan 🤓

Riso print design in scarlet / yellow / blue, featuring OPEN Chan (dog alien w rainbow hair?) surrounded by classic Taiwanese convenience store snacks

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 06/07/2026

5 days of a crazy heat wave that overlapped with July 4th fireworks followed by a forecasted week of rain and thunderstorms…. Solidarity to the other nyc dog owners who are also suffering out here 😔

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 02/07/2026

Another new riso print coming soon for those who like Chiikawa and mail 🤓 (me) ✌️

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 03/07/2026

Unfortunately, I have looked at a photo of a star-nosed mole and now I am a person who has seen a star-nosed mole. 😔

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 02/07/2026

Another new riso print coming soon for those who like Chiikawa and mail 🤓 (me) ✌️

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Pat Race @pat.alaskarobotics.com · 01/07/2026

I'm certainly not going to weigh in on any specific monster-of-the-week comics drama. I'm not. Don't do it. Uh... Also, Tillie Walden is one of the most professional, hardest working, and wildly talented comics artists I've ever had the privilege of hosting. She puts in so much work, time, and care.

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Debbie Fong 🌲📬✨ @debbiefong.com · 16/06/2026

Hester in 3D! ✨ I had to commission @wildrumpus.bsky.social to make a matching model to go with the Wally he designed a few years ago! Aren't they cute together? 🥹💖 Ps. We’re 3 months out from Hester’s book release! Don’t forget to get your preorder goodies at thefarawayforest.com ✌️