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A process piece for this week's free update on Patreon, unpacking a tricky bit of reworking I had with a script currently in development, and the theory of the Horror Triangle that emerged from my struggles. www.patreon.com/johnlees/pos...

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Thoughts on the Horror Triangle | John Lees

Earlier this year, one of my big writing jobs was redrafting a project following feedback from my writing group, and it got me thinking a lo

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 16h

What frightens me is that pandemic response has become so needlessly politicised when it should be a bipartisan safety issue that I fear it would be impossible to convince a sufficient portion of the public to adopt safety measures like masking, social distancing etc again if required.

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Pookleblinky @pookleblinky.bsky.social · 19h

Elon Musk, who is estimated to have ensured the mass deaths of 16 million people by 2030, most of whom will be children, is also history's most prolific creator and distributor of CSAM. He has basically infinite money to avoid facing any legal consequences whatsoever for his vast, vast crimes.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 17h

If there’s a society left afterwards to make meaningful retrospectives, I am already seething at the thought of the Netflix documentary where the architects of this economic disaster - themselves insulated from the consequences - will opine on “EVERYONE loved AI! NOBODY saw this collapse coming!”

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mcc @dryad.technology · 04/10/2026

Have you noticed, lately, or noticed people around you commenting, that there just seems to be no money anymore. There's no money for companies to make the tv shows you like, the video games you like, the local diner you like shut down, no one you know can find a job. Think about that in context of

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Labour apparently want us to believe that the key to curbing support for Neo-Nazis is proscribing Palestine Action, as opposed to so much as sternly admonishing the actual Neo-Nazis running rampant.

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ceej @ceej.online · 04/10/2026

“how do we win back trump voters in 2026” we don’t. we create an environment where admitting to voting for trump is so socially embarrassing as to render them completely inert. you don’t “win back” trump voters. you demoralize them into staying home. you make it a dunce cap

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

You can be kind of engaged with a film and what it’s doing, and a scene like this is like a record-scratch that makes you think, “What even is the purpose of this? Who is this for?” And sadly, when you go through the history of horror, so much of it is laced with odious shit like this.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

And I’m not even talking about the constant background noise of exploitation-coded female objectification that comes with so much horror of the era, I mean like the baffling decision to spice up an exposition scene by needlessly having it delivered during a protracted, arduous sexual assault.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Rewatching 1998 giallo-infused Japanese horror Evil Dead Trap for the first time in a while, and it actually makes me angry how vastly better and easier to recommend this otherwise stylish and sinister film would be if it wasn’t so fucking rapey.

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David J Prokopetz @prokopetz.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

In spite of being of the correct generation to have grown up while "Peanuts" was still in active publication, it's always a little surreal to be reminded that the most popular comic strip in the English-speaking world for fifty solid years was about an eight-year-old with clinical depression.

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Josh Crews @joshcrewsreally.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Spider-Man by Barry Kitson. #comics #art

Lovely watercolor Spidey with a little cityscape background action in bg.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I had this little guy when I was a kid.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Wild to think there are people out there who are like, “Wow, can’t wait to vote for Trump and get my $5000 that I’m definitely going to actually receive, I’ve never saw any of the other sums of money he promised I’d be getting but I have a good feeling about this one.”

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AgonyFlips @agonyflips.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

When you're ticked off and a friend sends you something to make you feel better. 🐑🔊

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It's Abby. Yep @itsabbyyep.bsky.social · 30/10/2023

Be careful! During Halloween, the veil between our world and the great beyond is at its thinnest. You will never be in more danger of becoming an actual slutty nurse

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J. L. Westover @mrlovenstein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

So grateful I get to include this comic in my book as a way of saying thanks ❤️ kickstarter.com/projects/mrlovenstein/mr-lovenstein-presents-fun

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I’ve written about this before in the newsletter, but it’s striking how rare it is for the comics that made people of our generation want to make comics to even get released in the direct market: long-running indie ongoings that could become your perennial top-of-the-pile read.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I feel very fortunate that in the past year I've been just about the busiest I've ever been with work-for-hire and licensed stuff, as I feel it's allowed me to kick the can down the road a year or two for what feels like an existential-level crisis for the state of the creator-owned comics market.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I feel this so hard. I feel like I'm at my strongest creatively I've ever been and developing some of my best work, but while in the past there could be a half-dozen places to be pitching different things to, now it's more like 1-2 and ideas and pitches rot on the vine with nowhere to take them.

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Zac Thompson @zacthompson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Despite record sales across the industry the state of the creator-owned market seems dire right now. Multiple publishers are scaling back their line, a few don't seem to know what they want, others have pretty much shifted focused to entirely licensed books. It's weird!

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Alex Winter @alexwinter.com · 02/10/2026

Please keep the displaced and suffering Gazans in your hearts. Bear witness. They need us now as much as ever to survive and rely on donations to survive. Give to my dear friend Tasneem so she can take care of her family. No amount is too small. And give to others. 🙏💕 chuffed.org/project/1981...

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

No. When you start conceding ground to AI, you’re opening the door and giving it a foothold, and that “slop-free space” will keep getting smaller. But even if it was somehow contained to only romance novels, I believe those readers deserve more respect than an assumption they’ll gulp down anything.

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Gavin Mitchell @bobgoblynn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Man, I'm so fucking proud of that hellraiser comic.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It’s October, and spooky season is upon us! Here is a 31-day lineup of horror films I have assembled for this year’s viewing, if you’re looking for a watchlist! boxd.it/XFr7C/detail

boxd.it

Halloween 2026 Watchlist

I don't have any set themes in mind for this year's lineup of Halloween viewing. More just a general "great films I want to revisit/films I want to check out" spread. List is also a work in progress, ...

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This week's newsletter is a look back at my history with Resident Evil, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the famed survival horror game franchise. I've now reached the Resident Evil 4 remake, talking about how it's one of my fave games ever. Read it tomorrow by subscribing at johnleescomics.com!

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Darkest Dungeon launches on BackerKit on 6th October! Our project already has north of 12,000 followers, but there's always room for more. Join us on a dark, disturbing adventure! Art by @maanhouse.bsky.social, colours by @stevecanon.bsky.social. www.backerkit.com/c/projects/v...

The Highwayman approaches and raises his pistol.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

If you ask me, “let AI replace other writers, but it won’t replace me, a Proper Writer, because I’m built different” people belong on the trash-heap right alongside the most ardent AI evangelists.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

“It’s okay to let AI write trashy formulaic books while humans handle the proper literary fiction” is such a shitty, insidious take, not least because we know what is defined as “not real literature” can shift. For one snob it’s romance, for another it’s horror, fantasy, all genre fiction.

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Good Old Claire @illusclaire.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Anyway, just for the culture, formulaic fiction does need to be written by hand. People who want something predictable also deserve something of quality and curiosity. Formula can carry an author’s freak as well as literary fiction can; that doesn’t come from averaged-out slop.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I feel it’s sadly under-appreciated but for my money, Negative Space is one of THE comics of the 2010s. Ryan and Owen both tapped into a whole other level on this one, both an emotional powerhouse and an aesthetic masterclass.

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Shaun Sunday - Brainbeast Studios next @M.A.K.E Comics Fest! @brainbeaststudios.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Negative Space is an incredible look into depression, wrapped up in some cosmic horror. I love this book, and I think you will too.

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Jess @jesscamnj.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Bros hug. Bros tell each other they love them. It’s normal. The Death Riders are out here hugging each other every week. Be like them

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Jess @jesscamnj.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

AEW memorial shows showing men that yeah actually you should be in touch with your emotions and cry and hug your friends actually.

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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 30/09/2026

Jesus Christ Cornell

What use was it to bring the writer and activist Chanel Miller to campus in the spring just for fraternity brothers to scroll, bored, on their phones as she movingly shared her experience as Emily Doe, the victim of Brock Turner? As I wrote at the time, I was floored and dismayed as I sat in the audience with one of my brilliant undergraduates; we heard Miller’s shattering account of being sexually assaulted by Turner behind a dumpster at Stanford University after a fraternity party. Her talk was riveting, and there was so much to learn from it. And yet many of the male students who hailed predominantly from fraternities — 15 percent of each chapter was required to be in attendance — were so tuned out that Miller commented ruefully: “You know, this has been my hardest gig, because they didn’t turn down the house lights. I’m not sure how you professors do it, because it’s so hard looking out at this sea of mildly disgruntled faces. I mean, I’m sure you’re all very moved, but …,” Miller smiled. The implication being, it didn’t seem like it, from her angle.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Just wrote a panel description in this script about a character doing sad pelvic thrusts while a single tear rolls down his cheek, a productive day at the office.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This is just outright saying, “Why listen to important advice informed by knowledge and research and scientific fact when you can have a sycophant in your pocket that will tell you whatever you want to hear that you can listen to instead?”

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Heather Palmer @heatherpalmer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

FantasyCon is just around the corner and I am very excited to be on such cool panels with such brilliant people!

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Fuck WWE, man. An evil company.

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mad-swilliams.bsky.social @mad-swilliams.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Very anxious about posting this, but I feel strongly compelled to share. I know it’s a lot to take in for a Saturday morning and I appreciate anyone for taking the time to read it.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I fit in a longer ride this morning after not getting much of a cycle on my birthday with the weather, stopped by a local bike shop for a health check - all looking fine. Will likely be scaling back cycling a little as winter approaches. Time to start planning the 2027 cycle route wishlist!

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I really enjoyed that 80s Marvel supervillain team-up crossover where every other villain from Magneto to Dr. Doom to The Kingpin took a look at Red Skull and was like “Ugh, FUCK this guy.” Then The Joker came over from the DC Universe and was like “Ugh, FUCK this guy.”

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Stellbound: Stellraiser II @antlervel.vet · 23/01/2026

Gotcha—let’s dig into that step by step. 1. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵, because I turned you into an amorphous lump of flesh. You’re not just immobile—you’re immortal, and you feel only anguish. 2. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺. That makes total sense—it’s a natural human impulse, and you’ve been through a lot.

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John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

How is it that every time I crack an egg over a pan to fry it, I always fuck it up and the yolk bursts, making my fried egg a mess, but whenever I crack an egg into a bowl to mix, they are always flawless?

Three perfectly formed egg yolks in a glass bowl.

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Tom. @notthattomgreen.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Someone was talking about PAC being stoic at meet & greets on Twitter, so it reminded me of this anecdote.

Small child in red flannel and blue jeans standing next to PAC with long hair, wearing black AEW hoodie and shorts. Both are wearing facemasks.

Nolie met PAC at a Dynamite, when AEW was still doing preshow meet and greets.

They both looked each other up and down. Then PAC stoically says “How is your day, little child?”.

When it was picture time, he plainly said “Stand with me in battle” to Nolie.

It was perfect.

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dearbhla @dearbhlala.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

ok i've changed my mind and i would like more comics work, hire me please dearbhlala.com

dearbhlala.com

Dearbhla Kelly | Design and illustration

Portolio website of comic colourist Dearbhla Kelly.

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