NEWSLETTER 10: SUPER PARANOID OLD MAN POWERS ACTIVATE!
Instead of words of wisdom it's jsut me shaking my head nowadays
Hello from El CHuco, where I toil away behind the scenes on things I hope to show later. Right now, I have to keep my head down and keep grinding because what's coming is a real question. It's hard to be like excited about making comics without looking around and saying what the fuck.
America’s neon "For Sale" sign hums like a bug zapper in the night, and the global elite are the mosquitoes, stuffing cash into democracy like it’s a stripper’s birthday. Corruption used to be a secret handshake, a hushed deal in a smoky room. Now, it’s a flashing Times Square billboard with a promo code. We’ve gone from Watergate to "Yeah, and what?" in record time.
And the latest innovation in legal fraud? Branded cryptocurrency. Because nothing says "serious political movement" like a $TRUMP coin. Even the crypto bros—men who willingly spent their rent money on digital rocks—are clutching their hardware wallets and whispering, "This is too much." When the Ponzi scheme pros start getting nervous, you know you’ve left reality behind.
Then there’s the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—and if that name doesn’t make you laugh, you haven’t been paying attention. A government agency with “efficiency” in the title is like a fast-food salad—it exists, but nobody trusts it. The whole thing sounds like a front for something shady, like a money-laundering operation run by an AI chatbot. What do they do? Streamline bureaucracy? Find new ways to automate grift? Probably both. I wouldn't be surprised if their idea of “efficiency” is replacing democracy with a subscription model and loot boxes.
And TikTok? What used to be a harmless app for dance trends and public humiliation has evolved into a geopolitical Swiss Army knife. The Cold War used to be spies and coded messages. Now, it’s meme warfare, where a 14-year-old can scroll from a thirst trap to full-blown Chinese propaganda in five swipes. Trump tried banning it, failed, and proved one thing: TikTok isn’t just a distraction—it’s an army. If China ever moves on Taiwan, they won’t send tanks—they’ll deploy hashtags and Gen Z activists with Canva skills.
But wait, it gets worse! While we bicker over gas prices and oat milk lattes, billionaires are preparing for the apocalypse—one they plan to survive and rule over. They’re not just stockpiling bunkers and farmland. They’re funding AI-controlled drone armies to ensure they stay kings while we till the scorched earth of Whole Foods. They’re not escaping the collapse; they’re manufacturing it.
And now? Now, I’m extra paranoid. Because I went to Sam’s Club this weekend, and there were NO EGGS. Zero. Not one sad little carton. And then we had an earthquake in El Paso. The Horsemen are saddling up, or Elon has pressed the wrong button in his bunker.
There are no standards anymore. Everything is a scam, a joke, a sad TikTok trend. Institutions? Bought. Sold and packaged as a subscription service.
I sound like an old man ranting, but when every dystopian novel from the last 50 years unfolds in real time, am I crazy—or just early?
So what do we do? We create, connect, make art, and find our people. While the billionaires hoard bunkers and AI, we still have creativity, community, and memes.
And if all else fails? The solar flare will come through.
WIP shot of a page from PACHANGA part 2!
I have FWACATA #3 up for finishing and hope to do a Kickstarter for two soon. I hope. Other than that, working, working, and working. So much shit going on while studying and doing classes.
On the bright side, my wife made CROQUETAS!
3 Quotes to keep in Mind in this day and age:
“The law does not determine what you can and cannot do. It determines what could happen if you get caught.”
- Richard Nixon
"People are always looking for the single magic bullet that will completely change everything. There is no single magic bullet. Progress is about bridging the gap between what we observe and what we can imagine — one careful step at a time.”
-Temple Grandin
"The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness and for the great bulk of mankind, happiness is better."
-George Orwell’s 1984
2 Links
Been on Discord a bit more lately. I think it might the place to dig for osme art and people. You check out there two for comic nerds:
INKPULP podcast with Shawn White and company is pretty cool. I have listened to this podcast for a good while now and love to see it expand form there it is. After Cartoonist Kayfabe ended we kind of need that real comic podcast and place to go, and there is more, out there, but this one is art focused enough to keep my attention. Check it out and support the Patreon:
On a lesser note but still fucking Mahdi Khene and ZUPERHERO COMICS has a discord too for all these underground fuckers making comics so I’m digging it:
Use these links soon as I think they may be shit in a week.
1 Awesome note
A great author and great help to my work, Alex Segura, is writing Star Wars! The comic series! Wow, just remembering him working the cons with him and seeing him at book fair to get to these heights? Awesome just awesome, it’s like aw in for the home team, you know? Check it out as the first issue will be offered on FCBD this year which coincide with may the 4th be with you, how kismet is that!?! Check out more of his stuff here:
All in all, things are still good. The sky still burns pink at sunset, coffee still tastes like salvation in the morning, and dogs still wag their tails like they know a secret about happiness that we don’t. Yeah, the world is on fire, but the human spirit is flameproof—we’ve been through worse and still found ways to laugh, love, and make questionable life choices at 2 AM.
Don’t let the doom machine of social media convince you otherwise. The algorithm thrives on panic; it wants you angry, scared, and scrolling. Instead, look to your own. Your people, your life, your little corner of the world—that’s what matters. Be present. Breathe deep. Appreciate what’s in front of you. And if life has kicked you in the teeth, then get up, spit out the blood, and change what needs to be changed.
You are not a victim unless you say so. The world isn’t fair, but it’s never been fair—and still, people rise. So rise. Find the humor, find the fight, and if all else fails, find a good sandwich. Because sometimes, a good sandwich is all you need to keep going.
BE GOOD
