John Lees
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johnlees.bsky.social
John Lees
@johnlees.bsky.social
2.7K followers 570 following 6.7K posts
I write comics! ORLA!, SINK, GRAWLGORE & SHANKS, THE NASTY, THE CRIMSON CAGE, AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE, MOUNTAINHEAD, HOTELL.
Website/newsletter: johnleescomics.com
Online shop: johnleescomics.bigcartel.com
Patreon: patreon.com/johnlees
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johnlees.bsky.social
John Lees @johnlees.bsky.social · Nov 8
I see we're doing (re)intros here as more comics folk migrate to BlueSky, so here goes. I'm John Lees. I'm a writer based in Glasgow, Scotland. Credits include Sink, And Then Emily Was Gone, Hotell, The Crimson Cage, Mountainhead, The Standard, Oxymoron: The Loveliest Nightmare, TMNT and The Nasty.
Cover of SINK Vol 1: Welcome to Glasgow. Cover for And Then Emily Was Gone. Cover for The Crimson Cage. Cover for The Nasty.
Reposted by John Lees
justkeepskeeting.pro
this is mesmerizing
November 25, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Reposted by John Lees
tldrcomicbookclub.bsky.social
HAPPY NEW—wait…it’s not New Comic Book Day?

💥TLDR reviews came early this week!
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
NEW COMICS 11-26-25
Podcast Episode · TLDR Comic Book Club · 11/25/2025 · 39m
podcasts.apple.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:28 PM
johnlees.bsky.social
A huge thank you to Doc and Nick at TLDR Comic Book Club for their kind words on ORLA! #4 and continued support of the series. This issue took a couple of big swings I wasn't entirely sure would land, so seeing that it resonated so well with you guys is really gratifying and means a lot.
tldrcomicbookclub.bsky.social TLDR Comic Book Club @tldrcomicbookclub.bsky.social · 4h
HAPPY NEW—wait…it’s not New Comic Book Day?

💥TLDR reviews came early this week!
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
NEW COMICS 11-26-25
Podcast Episode · TLDR Comic Book Club · 11/25/2025 · 39m
podcasts.apple.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by John Lees
quatoria.bsky.social
I don't know what else to say except that it's clear if you live in the UK and are trans, the law can be used to bind you, restrict you, segregate you and harm you, but under no circumstances will the law be used to protect or shield you.
helenm40.bsky.social Helen @helenm40.bsky.social · 6h
Today I learned that stalking a 17 year old girl, writing up a 400 page 'dossier' about her, falsely reporting her to the police and smashing her phone does not constitute 'harassment'.

One wonders what *would*.
news.sky.com Sky News @news.sky.com · 7h
Graham Linehan cleared of harassment but guilty of criminal damage to trans activist's phone
November 25, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Reposted by John Lees
helenm40.bsky.social
Today I learned that stalking a 17 year old girl, writing up a 400 page 'dossier' about her, falsely reporting her to the police and smashing her phone does not constitute 'harassment'.

One wonders what *would*.
November 25, 2025 at 11:40 AM
johnlees.bsky.social
It’s galling to think that Glinner is still going to spend his days howling about how hard done to he is and how everyone is out to get him when the government have had to intervene to call for change of the definition of laws he’s clearly broken to help him skirt legal consequences for doing so.
November 25, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by John Lees
sudge.bsky.social
Wild that we tax sugar more than billionaires.
November 25, 2025 at 12:55 PM
johnlees.bsky.social
I’d just like to take a moment to declare that @letteringbear.bsky.social is a wizard of visual storytelling. His intuitive, immersive approach to the letters makes me feel like I’m reading my own story for the first time.



Art by @sallycantirino.bsky.social, colours by @dearbhlala.bsky.social.
Orla, looking radiant, reaches out to an off-panel Gwyn, saying, "You're shaking! Are you...? Gwyn? You know I'd never hurt YOU, right? I haven't all this time. I stopped myself. I mean..." The lettering divides across two panels, underlining the rift between the two.
November 25, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by John Lees
charredasperity.bsky.social
Modern fighting games' biggest problem is their being made for streamers who usually play fortnite instead of being made for perverts
November 25, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Reposted by John Lees
laurenbeukes.com
A reminder that the median book deal for a debut author in the UK is £7000, paid over 12-18 months. (from 2022 Society of Authors report). Some of your favourite writers are struggling. societyofauthors.org/2022/12/06/a....
A profession struggling to sustain itself - The Society of Authors
ALCS report on author incomes shows 60% drop in median incomes since 2006
societyofauthors.org
November 24, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by John Lees
katrafiy.bsky.social
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
November 24, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by John Lees
letteringbear.bsky.social
In honor of having just finished the last issue of Orla!, here's the lettering stack of #1!

And remember, #4 is out this week! From the minds of @johnlees.bsky.social @sallycantirino.bsky.social @dearbhlala.bsky.social & myself, edited by Jon Moisan, published by @madcavestudios.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Reposted by John Lees
johnlees.bsky.social
ORLA! #4, from me, @sallycantirino.bsky.social, @dearbhlala.bsky.social, @letteringbear.bsky.social & @madcavestudios.com, is out this week! If you don’t mind SPOILERS for last issue’s shock cliffhanger ending, here’s a preview of the opening pages…
Gwyn Shalloway, dressed in a nurse Halloween costume with a white dress, red boots and fishnets, stands frozen in terror at the doorway of a bedroom filled with gore and body parts, compulsively scratching at his thigh to the point that he's breaking the skin. Inside the room, The Ick transforms from monster back into her human form of Orla Bard. Orla panics, trying to explain that the man she killed was a danger to her. Gwyn snaps out of his trance to say they're going to need to lock the room door, and he'll need dead Doug's jacket. Quisch's agent enters the party, looking for Orla, unaware that she is passing Gwyn, in disguise wearing Doug's coat and cowboy hat and boots. Gwyn goes outside, moves a bin across to under the bedroom window, then climbs up the trellis back to the bedroom window, where he's dragged inside, saying "Fuck Fuck Fuck" the whole way. Gwyn takes off his Doug disguise, then rolls Doug's remains up in the bloodied carpet, remarking it's like a "gory burrito." Orla then helps him carry the carpet over to the window. Gwyn dramatically shouts "GET IN THE TRASH!" as he tosses the carpet out of the window. But it misses the bin, hitting the edge with a "BONK!" then falling onto the ground nearby. Orla and Gwyn frantically clean the bedroom of bloodstains. Quisch's agent reaches the bedroom, but only finds Gwyn there lounging in a seemingly clean room. Orla is in the shower, the blood from her body rinsing off into the drain.
November 24, 2025 at 2:14 PM
johnlees.bsky.social
I love superheroes and superhero stories, and I really enjoy indie superhero stuff. I'm currently reading The Pedestrian and it's wonderful. But part of the problem is that superhero as a "genre" is still so nascent that it's hard for many to disassociate it from "IP of two mega corporations."
November 24, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by John Lees
graphicpolicy.com
Orla! #4 preview. Following the disastrous events of Halloween, Orla is in freefall, and has never felt more alone. #comics #comicbooks
Preview: Orla! #4
Following the disastrous events of Halloween, Orla is in freefall, and has never felt more alone.
graphicpolicy.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:01 PM
johnlees.bsky.social
I've just updated my online shop to reflect the stock I cleared at Thought Bubble. I now only have a couple each of Orla! #2 and #3 left in my inventory, so if you'd like signed copies from me, get your orders in now before they're gone!

johnleescomics.bigcartel.com
Orla! #1-#3 (including both variants of issue #1) laid out in a row.
November 24, 2025 at 3:55 PM
johnlees.bsky.social
And then they'll wonder why there's piracy.
November 24, 2025 at 3:48 PM
johnlees.bsky.social
Thanks for staying with us this far!
November 24, 2025 at 2:31 PM
johnlees.bsky.social
Spring-cleaning with your butt out is now what's classified as an explicit sexual image?! 😤
November 24, 2025 at 2:16 PM
johnlees.bsky.social
ORLA! #4, from me, @sallycantirino.bsky.social, @dearbhlala.bsky.social, @letteringbear.bsky.social & @madcavestudios.com, is out this week! If you don’t mind SPOILERS for last issue’s shock cliffhanger ending, here’s a preview of the opening pages…
Gwyn Shalloway, dressed in a nurse Halloween costume with a white dress, red boots and fishnets, stands frozen in terror at the doorway of a bedroom filled with gore and body parts, compulsively scratching at his thigh to the point that he's breaking the skin. Inside the room, The Ick transforms from monster back into her human form of Orla Bard. Orla panics, trying to explain that the man she killed was a danger to her. Gwyn snaps out of his trance to say they're going to need to lock the room door, and he'll need dead Doug's jacket. Quisch's agent enters the party, looking for Orla, unaware that she is passing Gwyn, in disguise wearing Doug's coat and cowboy hat and boots. Gwyn goes outside, moves a bin across to under the bedroom window, then climbs up the trellis back to the bedroom window, where he's dragged inside, saying "Fuck Fuck Fuck" the whole way. Gwyn takes off his Doug disguise, then rolls Doug's remains up in the bloodied carpet, remarking it's like a "gory burrito." Orla then helps him carry the carpet over to the window. Gwyn dramatically shouts "GET IN THE TRASH!" as he tosses the carpet out of the window. But it misses the bin, hitting the edge with a "BONK!" then falling onto the ground nearby. Orla and Gwyn frantically clean the bedroom of bloodstains. Quisch's agent reaches the bedroom, but only finds Gwyn there lounging in a seemingly clean room. Orla is in the shower, the blood from her body rinsing off into the drain.
November 24, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Reposted by John Lees
bijoutype.com
This reminds me: I also had a (mini) stroke a few years back, and one incident increases the odds other being another. So, please keep an eye out for these warning signs with me (or anyone else you might know know): www.cdc.gov/stroke/signs...
November 23, 2025 at 8:26 PM
johnlees.bsky.social
Rewatching IT for the first time in several years. I am increasingly convinced that an alternate cut of the film which makes the single change of removing all the laughing children effects from the sound mix would improve the film by a solid 10-20%.
November 23, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Reposted by John Lees
alexwinter.com
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
carlquintanilla.bsky.social Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 2d
Bye bye, “DOGE”.

It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
johnlees.bsky.social
I’m honoured to be part of that milestone!
November 23, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by John Lees
backcrackah.bsky.social
If you listen to or watch @tldrcomicbookclub.bsky.social you may be aware of my quest to read at least 1k comics this year. Well…I DID IT BAYBAY! You may be asking “Doc what book was 1000?” great question and the answer is ORLA! from @madcavestudios.com written by friend @johnlees.bsky.social
November 23, 2025 at 12:11 PM