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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 6h

I love, love, LOVE the Wildstorm characters.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 23h

Drawing comics tonight with some old friends keeping me company. @rifftrax.com @mst3kofficial.bsky.social

THe iPad next to my Cintiq in my home studio, with the new episode of MST#K playing

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Considering how much the films of Jena-Pierre Jeunet influenced this book -- particularly AMÉLIE -- I'm pretty excited about it coming out in French. Hopefully people will like it.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY by Matthew Dow Smith Chapter 06 NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Tomorrow... THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY, Chapter 6! Right here!! For FREE!!!

Max and Striker banter. But it's Striker, so it's not so much banter as barely concealed contempt. And possibly a threat.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Behind The Scenes: The layouts for this week's chapter of THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY. I'll be tightening these up this afternoon and then inking and coloring it.

A bunch of ASVS pages with the layouts scribbled in

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

For the full "in the studio with me" experience -- here's me filling in the layouts, making a grumpy face because the character I'm drawing is grumpy. I didn't even know I was doing it while I was drawing.

A middle aged comic book creator with his pipe, drawing on a Cintiq

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Behind The Scenes: The next chapter of THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY after the writing is done. Next up, roughing in the panel layouts. #MakingComics #BehindTheScenes

Pages from ASVS. Just the panel borders and word balloons.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

IN 13 DAYS! THE OCTOBER GIRL Book Three. By me and @maverickogn.bsky.social. In stores October 20th, 2026.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Studio Selfie: At SoNo Comic Book Factory to write/layout Chapter Two of THE OCTOBER GIRL Book Five and work on the next chapter of THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY. After disturbing myself with the suburban soccer dad look yesterday, I went back to my usual Comic Book Dad look.

A middle aged comic book creator with a pipe and a cardigan

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I don’t know why this dog likes me so much, but it is very sweet.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Discussing heavy life stuff with the dog next door. All of her suggestions are some variation of ‘pet me more’.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Studio Selfie: Allowed myself to be at least a bit grubby today, which is rare for me, but now I look like a suburban dad who's about to argue with his kid's soccer coach for not putting them in the game more. #MakingComics

A middle aged comic book creator questioning the fashion choices he made that led to this day

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Behind The Scenes: Believe it or not, in a few months these blank pages are going to be filled with a bunch of strange creatures, teen angst, a little romance, and a final battle with a force of pure evil. #TheOctoberGirlBookFive #MakingComics #BehindTheScenes

All the blank pages that will be THE OCTOBER GIRL Book Five

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Making Comics Monday: Step-by-step process for a page from this week's chapter of THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY! Layouts Roughs Inks Colors #ASVS #KidsComics #BehindTheScenes

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Studio Selfie: Woke up with heavy life things on my mind, so I'm coping the only way I know how -- cozy sweater, my pipe, and making comics in the studio, possible with bagpipe music playing. At least until my studio mate gets here. #ComicBookDad

A middle aged comic book creator. With a pipe. Yes. I smoke a pipe.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

An October night at The Ministry of Brewing with an appropriate book for company.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY by Matthew Dow Smith Chapter 05 NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Tomorrow. THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY. Chapter 5. There will be cookies.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The hair is slowly getting floppier as I work this morning.

A middle aged comic book creator with a lot of hair, though slightly less hair then yesterday

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Coming this October! The next chapter in the critically-acclaimed series. THE OCTOBER GIRL Book Three, from me and @maverickogn.bsky.social. In stores October 20th, 2026. Pre-order now!

18-year-old Autumn Ackerman always dreamed of a more magical world, but ever since she learned that she was one of the Night Folk, the world has become a nightmare.

Strange powers, family secrets. ancient enemies, and now her father is gone for good, leaving Autumn with nothing but more questions about who she is and what the Night Folk really are.

But the one person who can answer those questions, Autumns' grandfather, the October King, is dying, and the only hope of saving him lies in a place Autumn has only seen in her dreams.

The place many of the Night Folk fled to centuries ago when humanity turned on them...

...the Night World.

The next chapter in the critically-acclaimed series from Matthew Dow Smith (DC's MISFITS OF MAGIC, AMELIA SHADOWS)

Pre-Order Now!

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Welcome to October. I live here all year round. And it's freaking awesome.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

(Home) Studio Selfie: After battling the studio computer all day (and ultimately losing), I'm working from home today. Have to finish this week's chapter of ASVS and some odds and ends for THE OCTOBER GIRL and AMELIA SHADOWS. Oh, and I gave myself a haircut last night. #MakingComics

A middle aged comic book creator in his home office. His hair is shorter than yesterday, but still wet, so it's not as goofy as it's gonna be later

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Behind The Scenes: Updated my project board at SoNo Comic Book Factory today. #MakingComics #SoManyComics

My active project board, listing Destiny Walker, The October GIrl 5 and ASVS

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It's a Tech Day at SoNo Comic Book Factory. Now that Amelia Shadows 4 and The October Girl 4 are both ready for print and we're on the other side of Baltimore Comic-Con (which was great!), I'm finally dealing with the mess the latest Mac OS update made of my computer.

A middle aged comic book creator who usually looks at least slightly presentable looking very NOT presentable because he might have to spend most of the morning under his desk plugging and unplugging computer cords.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

After a whirlwind weekend at Baltimore Comic-Con, already back at the desk to start work on THE OCTOBER GIRL Book Five. That's right. Book FIVE. And there's more to come. So much more. #TheOctoberGirl #MakingComics

A very VERY tired middle aged comic book creator

The template for the October Girl 5 cover

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This is it. This is everything I had left at the end of @baltimorecomiccon.bsky.social tonight. Just an insanely good show for me. Got to see so many friends I hadn't seen in years and sold out of pretty much everything I brought. I've never sold this many books at a show before. Ever.

A small stack of THE OCTOBER GIRL Book Two and a small stack of the Amelia Shadows hardcover.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Last day of @baltimorecomiccon.bsky.social and I am quickly running out of books. If you want any OCTOBER GIRL or AMELIA SHADOWS, you’d better stop by booth 318 kinda soon!

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Great @baltimorecomiccon.bsky.social yesterday! Sold out of all my copies of DC’s MISFITS OF MAGIC! My buddy Derek grabbed the very last one before they were all gone.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY by Matthew Dow Smith Chapter 04 NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Tomorrow... THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY! Right here. On Bluesky. For free*. *Because a bunch of amazing people donated to my Ko-Fi so I could pay my bills, so everybody gets a free serialized comic!

Max sits up and says, "Okay. You have my attention."

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Got my things together for tomorrow’s first day of @baltimorecomiccon.bsky.social with some help from my SoNo Comic Book Factory studiomate, @plasticfarm.bsky.social

A bunch of stuff for my trip to Baltimore Comic Con

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Thanks to the shipping team at @madcavestudios.com, I WILL have copies of THE OCTOBER GIRL Book One to show off and sell at Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend. Which is good, because I would feel silly sitting there with just a stack of Book Two!

A middle aged book creator with the comic book that he created

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Even after cleaning out app caches, making sure there are no saved Time Machine snapshots or anything, there's almost 150 GBs of system data, the secret behind-the-scenes files Apple uses to make things run smoothly. And that's a problem.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Studio Selfie: At SoNo Comic Book Factory to do this week's chapter of THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY. I at least got it started yesterday, but my hard-working editor knocked out the final round of notes for AMELIA SHADOWS 4 and I needed to jump back on that for a bit. #MakingComics

Middle aged comic book creator with a sweater and stubble

My cintiq with all the ASVS pages so far

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

MAJOR LIFE UPDATE: My years-long plan to get the hardware store cat to like me has paid off MASSIVELY. When I went in the store today, the cat leapt out of his bed on the counter, ran over to me, flopped on my shoes and demanded pets!!! And yes, I took photos of this important moment...

It's the hardware store cat! On my foot!

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

(Not Home) Studio Selfie: Back at SoNo Comic Book Factory to take care of any less minute print stuff for THE OCTOBER GIRL Book Four and AMELIA SHADOWS AND THE HALLOWEEN BEAST. Very excited for the first proper sweater day of the season. Bring on the autumn leaves!

A middle aged comic book creator who is probably way more excited about getting to wear sweaters again than he should be

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

With THE OCTOBER GIRL Book Four finally wrapped up and in final print prep with the publisher, you know what that means... ...now I'm racing to get AMELIA SHADOWS Book Four, AMELIA SHADOWS AND THE HALLOWEEN BEAST ready for print. I'm going to need to make more coffee. #MakingComics #SoManyComics

A bunch of Amelia Shadows pages on my computer

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Zoe has one of my favorite albums they've done yet as an exclusive on there. It's so good!!! I have it on all the time while I'm drawing.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Making Comics Monday: Step-by-step process for a page from this week's chapter of THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY! Layouts Roughs Inks Colors #ASVS #KidsComics #BehindTheScenes

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

IN ONE MONTH! The October Cycle continues!! THE OCTOBER GIRL Book Three!!! October 20th, from me and @maverickogn.bsky.social!!!!

The cover for THE OCTOBER GIRL Book Three with the words "In One Month!" across it!

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I get the scam book group emails pretty much every day now, but this morning I got my first "I'm a big publishing person and I would love to talk to you about maybe publishing you" and I'm reminded of just how evil and cruel this whole scam approach is.

My name is Catherine Richards, and I am a VP, Associate Publisher / Editorial Director at St. Martin's Publishing Group.
In looking more closely at your work, I was particularly struck by Amelia Shadows and the Monster in the Box and the way you turn a simple childhood rule-breaking moment into an adventure filled with magic, danger, and humor. Amelia's decision to open the mysterious box in her father's trophy room immediately creates a strong narrative engine, particularly because the consequences are complicated by the fact that her father is one of the most powerful dark magicians in the world.
I was especially interested in the worldbuilding potential created by Amelia's unusual family life, the magical artifacts surrounding her, and the presence of Hans, the head ghost. The combination gives the series a playful sense of mayhem while leaving plenty of room for Amelia to develop as a character as she learns to navigate a world where the things adults consider dangerous are often exactly what she finds most fascinating.
The blend of middle-grade fantasy, magical adventure, humor, and series-driven worldbuilding caught my attention. I would be very interested to know what you are currently working on or have forthcoming, as well as whether you are presently represented by a literary agent.
If you do have representation, I would be pleased to continue any discussion through your agent. If not, I would be happy to outline how the process typically works, should there be interest in taking the conversation further. Subject to reviewing additional material, there may be scope for a broader discussion regarding potential fit within St.
Martin's publishing program, particularly around middle-grade fantasy, magical adventure, and character-driven series fiction.
If this is of interest, I would be delighted to hear from you.

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

THE AFTER SCHOOL VILLAIN SOCIETY by Matthew Dow Smith Chapter 03 NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!

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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Just because I find this amusing... This is how floppy my hair gets once it's dry. I start the day having relatively normal, if a little long, hair and by lunchtime I hit the full floppy --

Middle aged comic book creator with VERY floppy hair

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