ITC 25. Two Years
Yearly reflections plus recommendations
We are in the final stretch of the year! 25 issues of ITC so far. This newsletter is two years old now. So, as last year, today’s introduction is a personal yearly recap! I’ll try to be brief, but you can skip it if you’re looking for this month’s recommendations ;-)
Yearly recap
Things haven’t changed much for me compared to last year. I don’t usually like stasis, but experience tells me that moments of active contemplation are necessary for evolution.
The negative stuff
I think we can say without much doubt that the world, this year, is a much worse place, in general. And I don’t think things are going to get better anytime soon. I can feel the decline, and I admire anyone who has hope for the future. We are clearly being dragged with impunity into a darker place, one that absolutely no one wants.
The not-good part
Health issues: this year hasn’t been good for loved ones in terms of health, physical and mental. But that’s a story for another time. At a personal level, I’ve solved some little problems and, along the way, I have found (or caused) others in my hamstrings and hip flexors. And entering this loop of healing-not-healing is starting to get tiring. Don’t get old, muchachos.
The positive part
We’ve reached a point where simply being able to live a peaceful and uneventful life is an enormous privilege. Peace is in the air at our home, I can shop without worrying about the price of basic products, and we have a roof over our heads. I couldn’t be more grateful. And this could be it. But:
I’ve been able to share a great amount of time with my family, every day. And some exciting artistic side projects are starting to shape (weekly conversation in a cafe at a time). By the way, MªCarmen and I celebrated our 20th anniversary, quite a feat for these times!
I took another course with Mol, whom I respect and admire. And I was also able to say hello to his friend James Castillo at the Sitges Film Festival. His newest short film, El Fantasma de la Quinta, was breathtaking… Spending time at Sitges with my friends David and Miguel Ángel (yes, like the masterpiece and the artist) is a mandatory yearly ritual.
Some of our most veteran taekwondo students have reached second and third dan ranks, and it’s nice to lend a humble hand in the evolution of the younger ones.
Once again, I went to Reedsy’s annual retreat, which was in faraway and strange... Spain! But I got the chance to visit parts of my country I’d never been to. I hope I’m not being biased when I say it’s the best retreat I’ve ever been to, and I felt right at home in the south of the country. I wouldn’t mind moving there tomorrow.
The most satisfying project of the year has been sketching, as you probably know if you usually read this newsletter. Simple, non-goal-oriented drawings with free themes that take me to new places, help me improve, and sustain my enthusiasm.
Other points
My social media presence has been almost non-existent, and I’m glad.
I haven’t used any AI stuff despite suffering a new AI product ad every fifteen seconds. And I’m glad.
The economic fabric that sustains the AI market is a beast that is bleeding rapidly. And I’m glad. It seems that people are so happy with their toys that they don’t realise (or don’t want to see) what’s going on behind the scenes.
Thank you, once again, for being there :-)
🔖 Recommendations
1 → A game: Absolum
During my childhood, I played dozens of beat’em ups and hack‘n’slash games, especially those developed by Capcom or Sega’s own Bare Knuckle series. But it has to be said that at a certain point, the formula for this genre stagnated: basic mechanics, enemies repeated ad nauseam, little variety in environments… although some projects certainly made an effort to offer something more (Battle Circuit? Dragon’s Crown?).
I was pleasantly surprised by Streets of Rage 4, developed by, among others, the French team Guard Crash. Especially by its Survival mode, which added continuous variables that allowed for character progression during the game, approaching other genres.
So, a few years later, and building on these roguelite elements, they bring us their new project: Absolum, a fantasy game with beautiful 2D graphics, also an old-school beat‘em up, BUT full of interesting features, options and variables that make every run feel fresh and exciting.
The result is, in my opinion, one of the top 3 games ever made for its genre. Without a doubt, one of the best games of 2025.
2 → A book: Filterworld
I received this recommendation through Arun Venkatesan’s great blog and found its premise very interesting. It’s an essay written in 2024 by Kyle Chayka, and based on almost ten years of observations around the effect of algorithms on global culture. Spoiler: expect a world of sameness.
3 → A series: The Mighty Nein
From the creators of The Legend of Vox Machina comes this new series, also based on its corresponding D&D campaigns, where we are introduced to a completely different, but equally diverse, team of protagonists.
The epic scale of the last season of Vox Machina was such that I frankly didn’t expect this new series to reach the same level, but the truth is, I’ve loved the first episodes of this new adventure (Season 1 is still ongoing), and I’m tempted to say that I like the main group more than the one in Vox Machina, despite the affection I’ve grown to have for Grog, Pike, Scanlan, and company.
Titmouse’s technical achievement is incredible. I hope both series have a long run on Prime. Remember that season 4 of Vox Machina is confirmed for 2026.
4 → An essay: Beyond the Machine by Frank Chimero
Based on a talk given on October 14, 2025 at Kinference in Brooklyn, Frank offers us this fantastic essay around AI. I first encountered Frank’s work when it revolved primarily around illustration (always sharp with his concepts), but his work as a graphic designer is and has been equally impeccable, if not more so.
However, for years now I’ve enjoyed his writing more. Don’t miss any of his previous essays. They’re among the most insightful you’ll find in the world of design.
5 → A comic book: American Parano by Hervé Bourhis & Lucas Varela
This comic offers a glimpse into the era of Satanic paranoia in the US, employing numerous references to the situation at the time and drawing numerous parallels with real people, such as Anton LaVey himself, whose alter ego in this work becomes one of the main characters.
Essentially, it’s a story about crimes to be solved with an esoteric backdrop and investigations into matters buried in the past. Lucas Varela’s artwork remains as beautiful, effective, and versatile as ever. The limited color palette works wonderfully here.
This is a comic book that leaves you feeling good. One of those that makes you think the journey was worthwhile. I wouldn’t have minded if it were three times longer. Fortunately, new material (Manhattan Trauma) has already been published in France!
You can read it in perfect French (Dupuis) and/or Spanish (La Cúpula). I’m sure we’ll have an English version soon.
6 → Quotes
“It was apparent that materialism was in complete control of the economic structure, the final objective of which was for the individual to become part of a system providing an economic security at the expense of the human soul, mind, and body.”
“All things manifesting in the lower worlds exist first in the intangible rings of the upper spheres, so that creation is, in truth, the process of making tangible the intangible by extending the intangible into various vibratory rates.”
—Manly Palmer Hall
7 → A website: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
I discovered this project through Honos, Máximo’s newsletter, which I’ve recommended on multiple occasions. This project names complex or difficult-to-explain emotions, using invented terms that make conceptual sense and possess undeniable aesthetic beauty (at least for me, as a non-native English speaker). As Máximo said, “The result is an emotional dictionary that blends linguistics, philosophy, and contemporary culture.”
Here’s an example:
Wildred
adj. feeling the haunting solitude of extremely remote places—a clearing in the forest, a windswept field of snow, a rest area in the middle of nowhere—which makes you feel like you’ve just intruded on a conversation that had nothing to do with you, where even the gravel beneath your feet and the trees overhead are holding themselves back to a pointed, inhospitable silence.
From wild + dread. Pronounced “wil-drid.”
8 → Artists
Jon McNaught
Jon has a great ability to find moments of serene beauty in the most mundane situations imaginable. His covers for the London Review of Books are already synonymous with good taste and inspired snapshots. And his comics... they’re certainly not for everyone, but I personally love his way of fragmenting the narrative into hundreds of micro-observations. Vignettes that are nuances and more nuances of a scene, forming beautiful mosaics.
Nuria Tamarit
Nuria is now one of the most well-known and successful comic book authors in Spain. I think she’s three things at the same time: a good artist, a good illustrator, and a good author. It’s hard to be all of those at once. Most of her works have elements in common, but they’re all beautiful, and I think the tone and type of narration used in her book The Tale of the Juniper Tree, where her sense of humor is particularly sharp, suits her really well.
9 → Songs
It seems fitting to end the year with the best genre in the history of music: trip-hop. Especially when they’re represented by bands of this caliber:
Atlas Air (2010) by Massive Attack
So Far Gone (2021) by Sneaker Pimps
Enjoy them while sipping on whatever’s common in your country while you (or others around you) celebrate Christmas.
Thank you for reading In the Cave. Currently, I’m using social media just to promote this newsletter, share other people’s work or send memes to friends. Nothing else. So if you like this newsletter, please share it and recommend it. You can also find me on my website.
See you soon!
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¡Felicidades por ese 25! Asomarse a esta cueva siempre resulta estimulante por la cuidada selección de obras, artistas y recursos que ofreces, pero también por esas reflexiones personales que se sienten tan humanas. Las necesitamos más que nunca. Gracias por compartir tanto y tan bueno, R. Como siempre, me han llamado la atención muchas cosas de las que comentas, pero The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows me ha tocado especialmente la patata. Qué una obra así se haya convertido en un bestseller dice mucho sobre los tiempos que vivimos.