Hello there!

Been a minute. We’re figuring out when the next issue is gonna come out. It’s mostly (80%?) done, but don’t want to rush it. The cover is beautiful. The internal art is glorious. I’m excited about the theme. The writing is getting there — we’re in edit mode — and then we need to figure out exactly what goes where, so not an inch of space is wasted. I’m also chasing down a few last-minute additions artistically and sponsorially. Herding cats! My beloved cats. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

Anyway, it’s 100% my fault we’re behind. I got a new gig and I’ve been swinging my nine-pound hammer a bit too hard this summer, leaving the zine a bit neglected. I fear I over-rotated towards a “real job,” in a not-very-chill-working-seven-days-a-week sort of way. I’d venture to say I’m like three times busier than I was with my old gig. So it goes. As real work “pays the bills” and the zine is a “passion project,” I’ve had to put a few too many coals in the professional engine over the last two months. Give to Ceasar what belongs to Caesar, or whatever. (I will sort this out and find my way back to a more traditional work week sooner than later.)

This whole situation has been exacerbated because it’s not just a new job at a new place, as I’ve always done. I made the choice to “work for myself,” meaning do what I do in a solo capacity and find clients and such. So there’s a whole slew of other things to do outside of a work-for-someone-else situation. You gotta make your own paperwork, find your own clients, etc. We’ll see if it’s for me. To be determined. Didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. Still don’t. (Help.)

This all being said, I appreciate your patience. Ideally the zine was gonna go out Friday, 8-1. 8-1 has come and gone, although we did accidentally go viral. (Thanks, John Mayer.) This Friday might be rushing it for a release date, too. Just know we’re working hard, but the train’s a bit slower than usual. I like to think we’re usually a Print Media Shinkansen, but this issue is sponsored by Amtrak.

So #7 will be out when it’s out, and we’ll have one more issue this year in November or December. And then we’ll do it all again. And again. And again. I’ll figure it out. We’ll figure it out. See you in your mailbox soon.

Thanks, as always, for your support and interest in what we do.

—The Conductor