Happy 2024/Birthday Updates

Hi all! I hope 2024 has been treating you… well, as well as it can be. It’s an understatement to say things have been going easy this year, and I mean that on the most global of levels. But no matter what your situation is, I hope you’ve been able to find moments of joy when and where you can.

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As for me, today is my 36th birthday. I’m very open about my age, I don’t know why. I just see no reason in not being. 36 is a strange number, it’s inching closer to 40 but it doesn’t really feel like anything. At least not yet. Minus the lower back pain, that is. I’ve also been showered all day with incredibly kind messages from some wonderful people. It makes me feel so very loved, and sometimes my silly little brain tries to trick me into thinking I don’t deserve that kindness. Today I’m allowing it, and I’m trying to allow it and pay it forward each and every day. I hope if you’re reading this, you experience that same kind of love on your birthday, and every day, and feel no shame in reaching out to the people you care about to let them know how you feel.

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Now, for some housekeeping. You may have noticed I revamped this website a bit. I came up with the new logo while working on some logo options for my husband’s solo music project (check that out here, btw!). I liked my new one so much I not only wanted to reskin the website with it (and, hopefully, make it a bit more accessible), but I’m even considering making it into stickers. Let me know if you’d buy one! And now, a few fun things of note since the New Year:

• I’ve started contributing to a local newspaper, the Yonkers Ledger. I’m really happy to get involved with my community in a new way. My first article ran last month and was about a fabulous art exhibit called “Out in Yonkers,” on display at the White Plains Public Library until 2/29. Check that out here: “Out in Yonkers” Exhibit Celebrates the LGBTQIA+ Community (theyonkersledger.com)

• I had my final “Archie’s House of Horror” article run on Daily Dead, about Archie’s last two modern releases of 2023, Darkling and Sabrina’s Holiday Special. In this one, I talk about Dark Academia and it’s proximity to horror: Archie’s House of Horror: SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH: HOLIDAY SPECIAL and DARKLING - Daily Dead (happy to announce I’ll be continuing this column in 2024)

• I’ve been moderately successful at continuing to update my Substack, though I’m eager to amp up my output there even more. My last few nostalgia-fueled pieces were about emo, Y2K, and snow days. Friendly reminder that you can subscribe for free (or for a nominal fee to unlock bonus content) here: https://jamielrotante.substack.com/

• My Razorcake articles raged on! My last two were about never shutting up and learning to make friends as an adult. Please be sure to also give my good friend Jenn’s art Insta some love, as she creates all the fabulous illustrations that accompany my pieces.

• TODAY is the Final Order Cut-off for Archie Horror’s first release of 2024: Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe of Horrors: Fresh Meat. Missed the chance to lock your order in at your local comic shop? You can still preorder on our website. And beat the crowds by preordering in advance for April’s horror title, The Cult of That Wilkin Boy: Initiation.

• Archie Comics also announced a major event miniseries launching in May, called ARCHIE COMICS: JUDGMENT DAY. I’m incredibly excited about this project and am fortunate to work with the stellar team of writer Aubrey Sitterson, artist Megan Hutchison, colorist Matt Herms, and letterer Jack Morelli. A dream team for a bonkers project that you absolutely can’t miss. Read all about it over at TheWrap. (You can even start preordering it now, if you so wish!)

• Minor plug, but I bit the bullet after debating it for a while and purchased myself a FreeWrite Traveler. I can’t recommend it enough, it absolutely helps with distraction-free writing, which I so often desperately need. No commission or anything for clicking that link/purchasing, I just wanted to shout out a cool as hell product!

• I learned “Zombie” by The Cranberries on bass guitar.

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Alright, gang, that’s all that’s fit to print. Now I’m going to indulge in a little video game-age and get some rest. I’ll try to make these less infrequent but, as always, I make no promises. Catch you on the next one!

September Updates

It’s been a pretty busy two weeks since I last checked in! If you’ve been following me on any of my socials, you probably already know the big Archie news. But if not, feast your eyes upon these two beauties:

These gorgeous pieces of art are both by the incredibly talented artist Matt Talbot, and feature Michael Myers from the iconic Halloween film franchise stalking Sabrina, Betty, and Veronica. These art prints are exclusive to the H45: 45 Years of Terror in Pasadena, CA the weekend of 9/30-10/1. This is Archie Horror’s first time tabling at a horror convention, and also my first time ever visiting California! If you’re on the West Coast and planning on attending, make sure to stop by the Archie Horror booth and say hi!

You can read all about it over on Bloody Disgusting: EXCLUSIVE: Michael Myers Stalks Archie Icons on Special Prints for "Halloween: 45 Years of Terror" Event! - Bloody Disgusting (bloody-disgusting.com)

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In personal writing news, my newest essay for Razorcake is live now! It’s about navigating other people’s issues and crises while also maintaining my mental health. I’m always grateful to have a safe space in Razorcake to share these personal thoughts and mental health and anxiety analyses. Art below from my dear friend Jenn Martinez-Flood.

And in one last bit of personal writing news, I will be returning with a new article on my Substack this week. If you haven’t subscribed, it’s called “Streams of Unconsciousness,” and I use the space to wax poetic and write critical analyses and essays about pop culture and life in the 1990s and 2000s. It’s an ode to nostalgia and, without giving too much away, here’s a little sneak peek at what this week’s article will be about:

You won’t want to miss this one. That goes live on Friday.

But before that, I'm trying something new on my Substack. Moving forward, paid subscribers will get some additional content, including album reviews—where I revisit formative albums from my youth and teen years as an adult—and diary entries. These diary entries are either plucked straight from my online journals from my teenage years or written in the current day as a recollection of key moments in my youth - early 20s. These will be a bit more freeform and personal, hence the paywall. The first one is called “Manic Girl Summer,” and goes live tomorrow, so if you’re interested, now’s the time to sign up!

That’s all that’s fit to print. Now it’s time to get some sleep!

Spooky Season is Upon Us!

Happy September, friends, or as it’s better known: Halloween-Eve!

If you know anything about me, it’s that I live for Halloween. My husband’s birthday is on Halloween. We were engaged on Halloween. It’s the best holiday there is, and I’m all for the idea of expanding its celebrations throughout October and September.

So you can imagine how grateful I am to work at a company that’s also all-in on celebrating Halloween. Heck, Archie celebrates it pretty much year-round! But to kick off the more official Spooky Season, I wanted to update you on a few new titles that’ll get you into the spirit!

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First, out RIGHT NOW (if you can still manage to nab a copy) is the SABRINA ANNUAL SPECTACULAR comic, featuring a brand new story I wrote!

It’s always a thrill to work on these fun, classic stories. It’s even more thrilling when I get to work with the fantastic Holly G! Her unbridled enthusiasm for all things Archie, but especially for everyone’s favorite teenage witch, is unmatched—and it shows in every page of art she turns in! The unstoppable group of Jim Amash on inks, Jack Morelli on letters, and Glenn Whitmore on colors are rounding out the team. It’s always neat to work with such a legendary crew!

Editor-in-Chief Mike Pellerito had the brilliant idea to bring more magical characters into the Archieverse, starting with Sabrina’s new nemesis, Amber Nightstone, who was introduced in last year’s Sabrina Anniversary Spectacular. He expanded on that even further by giving her two nefarious sidekicks: Jade and Sapphire. Together, the three have powers of fire, wind, and water. It was a blast getting to work with these new characters and bring them to life! Expect to see more of them in the future!

If your local comic shop is out of stock on this one (which it very well might be!) you can grab a copy on the Archie webstore while supplies last.

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Next up, on sale in bookstores everywhere 9/12, is probably one of the projects I’m the proudest to have ever worked on: the ARCHIE HORROR PRESENTS…. CHILLING ADVENTURES GRAPHIC NOVEL.

This graphic novel anthology collection features the first seven one-shot/anthology style comics Archie Horror has released. This is a bit of a testament to the start of my tenure as Senior Director of Editorial at Archie, and to see it all together in such a beautiful package (with striking cover art from horror master Robert Hack), is kind of jaw-dropping. For more info on the stories inside, check out this infographic:

This beauty is available in comic shops right now (since 8/23, as you can see) and, as mentioned earlier, in bookstores everywhere 9/12. Archie Horror is here in a big way this Halloween, and if you’re looking for a great jumping-on point, this is the perfect book for it. As always, you can also purchase this easily from the Archie Webstore. (Psst… if you order now, there’s a special sale going on, too!).

If you find the lovely Madam Satan gracing the cover and interiors of Archie Horror Presents… Chilling Adventures rather alluring, then fear not! Her story also continues this month with the MADAM SATAN: HELL ON EARTH one-shot comic, on sale 9/20!

Don’t forget to grab a copy of this gorgeous Madam Satan: Hell on Earth variant by artist Soo Lee!

Madam Satan has become a horror icon for us, and her journey is far from over. Pick up this comic in comic shops or on the Archie webstore to experience another frightful leg of our journey.

And show your love of all things Madam Satan with our brand new collection! T-shirts? Coffee mugs? Water bottles? We’ve got it all!

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And if you’re going all-in on Halloween now, too, we’ve got a whole section for your happy haunting needs!

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Ok, folks! That’s all the news that’s fit to print! Be back with more updates in the very near future.

Stay cool, and stay spooky!

From the Vault: This is the Worst September 11th Ever!

This post was originally written on 9/11/15.

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Of course I had to start this off with a tasteless joke. It’s what I do best.

Sometime last week I decided that I’m going to make the most out of my time. I’m going to get up early work on personal projects, go to the gym, get energized, get to work early, and then have the night for myself. After finding it hard to wake up early, or even on time, I delayed this idea for about a week and a half. Then, after reading some inspiring words on another blog, I decided it was time to stop making excuses and start making changes happen. So when my alarm clock rang at 6:45 AM this morning, I knew hitting the snooze wasn’t an option: hopping out of bed and getting my ass in gear was the only course of action.

Ok, so I still hit the snooze button once or twice and maybe laid in bed checking Instagram for a few minutes, but then I was up and at ’em. I reasoned that, as long as I get to the gym by 7:30 AM, I could still get up to a solid hour of gym time (though, realistically I usually cap out at 45 mins) and still have enough time to shower and get to work on time. So I finally get to my car at about 7:26 (the gym is only about a four minute drive away) and I’m ready to go… but my car isn’t. I have one of those nifty push-to-start FOB keys, and my car wasn’t detecting it. Dead battery? Weird Glitch? Who knows, but between debating whether I should forgo the gym altogether and instead walk around the neighborhood, make a stop off at my mom’s to grab my other FOB key and hope that it works, and then browsing through my driver’s manual and searching the internet until I FINALLY found an answer on a message board that informed me that apparently there’s a “charging station” for my key in the center console (thanks for the tip, KIA!) I was able to get my car up and running…10 minutes later. “Ok, so if I get to the gym at around 7:40, work out for 45 minutes, then it will be 8:25. If I take a quick 5 minute shower then it will be 8:30 which will still be enough time to get to work.” I rationalized with myself. I can do this. I’M GOING to do this.

I forgot that school bus traffic hell occurs every day at approximately 7:40 AM. Of course I forgot that, since I’ve been sleeping later every day I always miss it.

I finally got to the gym at 7:55. The parking lot was PACKED. Apparently, people get their gym time in at approximately 7:55 every day. After parking my car and getting out to get all of my stuff together, I glanced at the clock again/ 7:58. “If I get in there by 8:00 I can work out for 15-20 minutes and then…” I slammed the door and hopped back into the front seat. This morning was giving me every sign that gym wasn’t in the cards, so maybe just going to early and getting a head start on my projects would be for the best.

I got to work and got changed out of my gym clothes in the bathroom. I found a bag of earrings in my purse, with one missing a back. I managed to (miraculously) locate the back at the bottom of my bag. Then I dropped said-earring back onto the floor, where it vanished completely. ARG. I washed my hands and thought, “God, please don’t let this be one of those days.”

I got to my desk to find out we were nowhere near ready for our hard deadline that was approaching and I had more work piling up, making it difficult to finish the project I wanted to complete, nor get cracking on a personal project before the work day started. Double arg. I opened up my Facebook messenger to shoot my mom a quick “good morning” message, as per my usual morning routine, and let her know about the crap day I was having so far, when I noticed that she changed her profile picture to one of the American flag. “Oh, geez, what happened now?” I thought to myself, and then it finally hit me. It hadn’t even occurred to me what the date was since I was so in my own head. Then, I realized something else:

It was approximately 8:46 AM on September 11, and I was about to complain about what a terrible day I was having.

While I was busy pitying myself, I forgot about the fact that, for A LOT of people early in the morning of September 11th, it really was the worst— and for many, last— day of their lives.There’s nothing that snaps you back to reality more than realizing how much worse things could be. That day, for all those who lost and suffer thanks to the reminders every year, all of those who are still barely living, but suffer from health complications and PTSD from being there, for all those who have been targeted and hurt every day since because of the color of their skin— this day has a lot of different meanings to a lot of different people. But there’s one string that ties them all together: for everyone, the earth stood still the morning of September 11th. And every year when we have those moments of silence, the earth stands still again. And in that silence, we are one. And our problems— no matter what size— disappear, even for just a few moments.

I’m not going to recount where I was and what I was doing when it happened. I’ve already done that. But I want everyone instead to think about where they are now. What they’re doing. What they’re spending their time and exhausting their both physical and mental on. Think about the amount of time you spend worrying and stressing about things that, in the bigger picture, are insignificant. Budget your emotional time accordingly. Time is fleeting and can be taken from us in the blink of an eye. In a New York minute. Don’t waste it on beating yourself up over things that go wrong. Don’t waste them worrying about other people’s problems. Take a few moments of silence every now and then to focus on the good things out there. Because they are there, even if they’re hard to see.

Sure as time goes on we grow more bitter and cynical toward a lot of things: the meaning of patriotism, the actions of our government and law officials, the different questions that have arisen since, and sometimes we even channel the confusion and anger into humor, throwing around callous 9/11 jokes when we can (I’ll admit it, I’m guilty of it). But when the dust has settled but the fog is still overhead, don’t let it cloud your judgment. On this day, it’s always okay to stop and thank those who worked tirelessly and put their lives in harm’s way to help their fellow man. Not all of us can be that courageous, but there’s still things we can do. Be a little bit kinder to a stranger. Think of those around you. Get outside of your own head and just be one in the silence.

AUGUST: A Reflection

It's September and though I've been out of school for a long time, I still feel the end of summer/back to school blues. The weird thing is, I love fall. I've finally come to terms with the fact that it's officially my favorite season. For the longest time I held onto the hope of summer and it's whimsy, feeling this sort of heartbreak about acknowledging that it might no longer be my favorite. Maybe it's the fact that there's such a pressure to accomplish so much in the summer months. Maybe it's the constant berating myself when I don't spend enough time outside in the sun. Maybe it's because I puke if I'm in direct sunlight for more than 10 minutes--either way, it's fallen on my list of favorites.

September has a sullen air about it, an end of freedom for kids. The beaches close, giving us one less way to appreciate the earth in all its glory. But it also brings with it the promise of autumn, the crisp air that refreshes, the changing leaves that remind us of the beauty in each season. This entire past weekend was dreary and gray and chilly and I was living for it. I'm excited for fall, I always am. Always will be. 

But one thing I will do is reflect on the summer--namely, August. This whole summer was like a whirlwind for my family and friends. Massive changes, both good and bad. Beginnings, endings, uncertainty--it was stressful, to say the least. August meant I finally could hold a firm grip on things after the insanity that flew at me from June and July, but that also came with a mounting schedule and time divided. 

As you may have noticed, my #31playsin31days challenge fell a little short. I didn't keep up on them consecutively and I maxed out at day 10 (which was posted on day 30--whoops). However, I don't consider that a failure, and not because I often fall off writing challenges by day 3. As I mentioned, August was incredibly busy. I'm doing more volunteer work, helped my mom move, tried my best to keep up with friends as much as I could. These are all things I hope to do even more of--and better--in the upcoming months. Because of all that, I couldn't complete all 31 days of playwriting.

But I also learned something--writing a play a day is hard, man. After a while I just didn't want to write plays anymore. A few of those prompts, too, got my brain circulating ideas about short stories or poetry--just not another Godforsaken play! 

One thing I'll also pat myself on the back for: I WROTE 10 PLAYS. I haven't written that many plays in the better part of a decade. Were they my best work? Absolutely not. Were they fully fleshed out and articulate? Nah. But, it felt good to write for myself with some regularity again. And that's something I'd like to carry over into fall--and beyond. Maybe not a challenge with strict rules and timelines, but just reminders that it's ok, and even fun, to write for myself. Create like no one's watching. But do it on MY terms. Make it a form of self-care, NOT an imposition I have to fulfill that creates stress and anxiety. Write for me. Right for me. 

And that's what I hope you'll all do for this coming seasonal shift. Help others. Be there for those you love. Reach out and give a hand to someone in need. And then when all is said and done, do something that's right for you. 

xoxo,

Jamie