iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Defector @defector.com · 19/09/2026

"The Polymarket ad is (I think) what you get when a depraved, bottomlessly cynical, and terminally stupid culture discovers a compelling aesthetic template for enjoying the absolute hell out of separating suckers from their paychecks." defector.com/lebron-james...

defector.com

LeBron James Wants Your Paycheck To Become His Paycheck, By Way Of Polymarket | Defector

The new Polymarket ad spot opens with LeBron James stepping onto an elevator and pushing a button labeled “SPORTS.” This is not some AI-extruded, near-enough visual representation of a generic…

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Misty and I are going on tour this October to promote our books, so my latest newsletter is about TOURING and the tours I’ve been on with bands, some funny tales, and what traveling from place to place with purpose means to me. pencilbooth.com/posts/a2f0c2...

pencilbooth.com

David Wilson / 013. Making Stuff / On The Road

David Wilson's Making Stuff Newsletter

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Macmillan Children's School & Library Marketing @mackidssl.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

We have some new mystical YA books this month! ALCHEMY OF SOULS 🗝️ by Adriana Mather: a dark academia about magically bound teens SOULMATES☠️by David Wilson: a supernatural romance graphic novel HOLLOW MAGIC ⚔️by Mars Lauderbaugh: a queer fantasy graphic novel. tinyurl.com/ytuf6664

The covers of August MacKids books releases against a red backdrop with teal, yellow, and green firewords and the words "new releases" in the middle.

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Some very kind words from a review for SOULMATES from the folks over at Booklist!

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I appreciate that Dolly Parton refused to participate in "dress respectability" and, by her own account, modeled her aesthetic after a town "tramp," who she thought was beautiful. She separated aesthetics from character and understood "classiness" to be about how you treat people, not how you dress.

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

If you're interested, all my newsletter posts archive here... I talk about comics, book covers, making movies, collaging, and more! pencilbooth.com/archive/down...

pencilbooth.com

Hey! Welcome! I'm David and I make stuff and then I write about it here.

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Authors! I've compiled my journey creating, pitching, and selling my debut author/illustrator graphic novel SOULMATES. Failed pitches, tangential success leading to opportunity, more failures, and the process of making a 320 page graphic novel. pencilbooth.com/posts/08cbb4...

pencilbooth.com

012. Making Stuff / Soulmates Graphic Novel

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

For anyone curious on how a @beltpublishing.bsky.social book cover gets designed. Here's a quick, simplified run down. Apologies for my dirty studio floor although it did come in handy... youtube.com/shorts/Z4J7R...

youtube.com

Cover work for book feat. essays from members of Bon Iver, The National, American Football and more.

YouTube video by DOWNPOUR

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Anne Trubek @atrubek.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

This remains my all time fave and encapsulates one core part of our vibe (I want to say our aesthetic but realize smoking seagulls in the snow are more vibes)

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Macmillan Children's School & Library Marketing @mackidssl.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Happy book birthday to SOULMATES 💀💐 by @downpourdw.bsky.social, a graphic novel that explores themes of death and the bittersweetness of first love. @slj.com calls SOULMATES “a haunting masterpiece,” in a starred review. tinyurl.com/mu3czh5n #newbooks #Kidlit #newbook

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Pub day for my debut author/illustrator graphic novel Soulmates! It's a spooky romance out with Macmillan and it's a chunk! 320 fully colored pages of cornfields, high school problems, romance, and death!

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Wow!!!! Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it!!

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Juzabel @juzabel.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

"People are giving up on being human...The filters that hide faces are made from scars. That’s the meat of AI technology: scraped flesh from fellow humans, molded until it’s unrecognizable, slick like plastic skin. No record of pain means no accountability. No ownership of words means no proof."

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Next week my author/illustrator debut graphic novel Soulmates comes out!

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

I watched AVATAR AANG with the fam, and no one sees my posts, BUT I just want to say congrats and thank you to the people who made that film. It is one of the most gorgeous pieces of work I have ever seen. Truly an "every frame a painting" film. I can't stop thinking about the craft and execution.

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Chris Schweizer @ NCAF & NYCC @schweizercomics.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Show guests want to be comfortable and conversational with readers, watchers, fans - it's a treat for both parties! But the dynamic is different when a camera is rolling, it requires that the interaction be wholly professionally-minded and on the record. Goodbye, genuine moments!

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Karla Ortiz @kortizart.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Been thinking on the use of GenAi for mood boards. Ethics and legal risks aside, I truly believe using GenAi as references deprives one of many pivotal things. Here’s a blurb on what I mean:

Some thoughts:
When using GenAi as a mood board you don't get sources. This means you deprive yourself from knowledge.
You generated a location? You deprived yourself of knowing more about the interesting parts of the world and why things came to be.
Generate an armor or costume? You deprived yourself on real world techniques, function, form and history.
You generated art inspirations? You deprive yourself of learning about artists from history or lock out living ones from potentially being hired.
Ethical issues of using GenAi models aside, one ends up making visuals mood boards devoid of reality and history. With it one deprives themselves from learning about our world and who is living in it, inadvertently making your work weaker, because of how detached it is from our shared human reality and history.

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Goodreads is giving away 25 copies of Soulmates. Link to enter here! You can add it to your want to read list as well :) www.goodreads.com/book/show/23...

goodreads.com

Soulmates

To everyone else, seventeen-year-old Golden Boy Kit Sum…

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

I had an author copy giveaway last week for my upcoming graphic novel Soulmates. Winners got doodled-in copies. Here's one with Emma!

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 03/07/2026

Mamdani: "As we mark 250 years ... we see the wealthiest country -- one where children go to sleep hungry while the world's first trillionaire hungers for more ... we see masked agents terrorizing our streets, eating food cooked by undocumented neighbors before spiriting them away in unmarked vans"

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Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 26/06/2026

"We should not be telling our kids they are nothing... and replacing their own cognition, their own joy, with trash" No "A.i" in the schools. From at the @aimoratoriumnyc.bsky.social rally with @comixaction.com at City Hall. h/t AMNY - full clip here: www.instagram.com/p/DZ_BLWRlT5H/

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

New Making Stuff Newsletter—the newsletter where I try to, once a month, write mildly in depth about something I made. This month's topic is collage! Check out the article below and/or sign up to receive monthly updates in your inbox at pencilbooth.com/downpourdw pencilbooth.com/posts/1adca7...

pencilbooth.com

011. Making Stuff / Collage Time

David Wilson Newsletter / 011. Making Stuff / Collage Time

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Anne Trubek @atrubek.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Maybe you don’t care about Lake Erie or Ohio, fine, I get it, but @beltpublishing.bsky.social did publish a book that goes deep on the science of algae just a few months ago and WHAT OTHER PUBLISHER worked on an algae cover, I ask you!

bookshop.org

The Great Black Swamp: Toxic Algae, Toxic Relationships, and the Most Interesting Place in America That Nobody's Ever Heard of

Toxic Algae, Toxic Relationships, and the Most Interesting Place in America That Nobody's Ever Heard of

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Still geeking out that Camille DeAngelis (author of Bones and All) blurbed Soulmates. 😭

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Misty Wilson @mistywilsonwrites.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

COVER REVEAL for my new middle grade graphic novel with @downpourdw.bsky.social!!! a fictionalized version of my real-life story, when i found out the person i grew up believing was my dad wasn't actually my bio dad. releases 2/23/27 with harpercollins!

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

COVER REVEAL for Misty and my next middle grade graphic novel Penny Out Of Place -- a fictionalized version of Misty's real life story when she found out the secret thag her dad wasn't her real dad and she had another family states away.

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Anne Trubek @atrubek.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

THRILLED to announce this book by @jaykaydee.bsky.social, coming from @beltpublishing.bsky.social in February. Cover by @downpourdw.bsky.social

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Karla Ortiz @kortizart.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

3/ So shame on Mr. Scorsese and any big name creative, who uses their name and power to throw every single one of their creative peers under the bus, to sanitize the most outrageous and egregious acts that these companies have and continue to engage in. You sully your legacy and your reputation.

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Karla Ortiz @kortizart.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

2/ To make matters worse, Scorsese throws every single storyboard artist he’s ever worked with under the bus, as he talks about demolishing their livelihoods with models that are likely trained on those story board artist’s same works. To use his legacy and power for this is just so gross.

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Jake Steinberg @jakesteinberg.com · 02/06/2026

I'm thrilled to announce that I will soon be an author! My book, The Twin Cities in 50 Maps, is a cartographic portrait of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The book includes 50 painstakingly designed maps and deeply researched essays that trace the Cities' urbanity, history, ecology, and culture.

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

The Kirkus review for Soulmates is in. Appreciate the kind words! You can check out the whole review... www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Book release art show! August!

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

My graphic novel, SOULMATES got a starred review from the School Library Journal @slj.com ! 😁 Available for pre-order from your local bookstore now! Coming out August 4!

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Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Here's a video explainer for the now THREE federal book banning bills that could impact EVERY PUBLIC SCHOOL IN THE NATION.

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Anne Trubek @atrubek.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Now, at last, you can look forward to next January (cover by @downpourdw.bsky.social, from @beltpublishing.bsky.social)

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Boni Ashburn @boniashburn.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Is there anything more depressing than fighting for funding for a library? Because that’s what I’m doing this week. And it’s depressing. Libraries MATTER!!!

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Sara Century @saracentury.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I understand why people watch a superhero movie and dismiss all superheroes as "lone cowboy with bazooka saves the day" but my early understanding of showing up for a community came from superhero comics. There's fights, but Batman brings Solomon Grundy food and leaves him alone when possible, etc.

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

New newsletter post on the Rust Belt Arcana book and tarot deck. pencilbooth.com/posts/4bc04e...

pencilbooth.com

010. Making Stuff / Rust Belt Arcana

We're talking Tarot!

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Pulled this frame from a video I took in 2000 from an 8mm Sony handicam. I dig it.

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Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Ok. We all had our day to talk shit and be angry. But it's Wednesday now and I'd love to encourage the kidlit community to focus on our real fight. There are now 2 book banning bills introduced on the federal level. 7661, which we largely know about but now 2616, too. It's call your reps o'clock!

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evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Adulthood is just cycling between "If I don't say yes to every opportunity, no new opportunities will ever be offered to me" and "Oh no, I have said yes to too many things" over and over until you die.

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Keezy Young🌼 @keezyyoung.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

honestly I want the met gala where a bunch of broke professional artists get funding to come up with their own costumes and the money to get them made. I feel like everybody would sit up fast

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David Wilson @downpourdw.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

There would be a lot of newly funded independent films happening 😄

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