Survivor

Yeah, I know, another really long gap between updates. In case you’ve forgotten me, I’m David Taylor, the comic creator behind DECADES, Wild Nature and Her Hardboiled Heart.

Before I get into the life/creative update, can I get a little business out the way?

Getting collected

The third and final issue of Her Hardboiled Heart, my neo-noir spy thriller, is coming to Kickstarter soon, along with the hardback collected edition. And you can follow the page to find out when it goes live.

You can see the cover above. It was a lot of fun to make.

This book is the best thing I’ve ever done and I’m proud that you’ve chosen to help me make it happen.

Her Ghosts

And I suppose this is a good moment to share that I’m working on a prequel to Her Hardboiled Heart (HHH). Her Ghosts is set in Berlin, 18 months before Estelle and Paul meet in London. I don’t want to give too much away but it’s a much harder-edged spy thriller that expands the bigger themes of the series.

I visited Berlin to get a feel for the city and lots of photos. The graffiti there is incredible, and has already inspired ideas about the visuals. As did visiting the Stasi Museum. A dark time in history, but the psychology of it and the constant fear tie in very well with what I’m writing.

There’s still a lot to do, as I’m only starting the script, but I’ve planned it out and the bones two other stories. It’s going to be a bigger epic than Wild Nature. I’m excited!

The life stuff

It’s fair to say 2024 was incredibly hard. The comics were great, with Her Hardboiled Heart doing lovely business, but most importantly me making new friends in the scene.

After that though, I took a long break to decide if I wanted to keep making comics, and actually have a life again. I focused back on my fitness and mental health, and tried to create healthier patterns.

My work situation finally stabilised into a permanent role, which was essential because I do not do well with instability. I felt like I’d been in prison, unable to make many plans for the future. So that stress lifting was a lot to process. Floodgates opened, etc.

And that’s why, after August, I pretty much disappeared other than appearing at a few conventions. I didn’t want to splurge all that angst and sadness over a Substack, and I didn’t want to spend every conversation explaining quite what had been happening. This was a good choice in a year where I didn’t make many of those.

But the good news is, 2025 is going pretty well so far. My attitude to life is a lot more positive, and I’m making more of those good choices on purpose, rather than by accident.

So the goal now is to get the next HER story out into the world towards the end of this year. It’s an even darker, more twisty spy thriller than Hardboiled Heart, and I can’t wait to get drawing it.

That’s it for now. Thanks as always for your support and patience.

Speak soon,

David