Wayne Rée (he/they)

@waynereewrites.com

1093 Followers 449 Following

Singaporean writer of prose, comics, podcasts, television, and even that one game. waynereewrites.com (Banner and author illustration by @charsiewspace.bsky.social)

David Byrne on stage. Behind him, three large screens showing spots he visited in Singapore.
David Byrne standing on stage with his guitar. A picture of the earth taken from space is projected behind him.
A grey cat sleeping on a cushion on a chair. Behind the chair is an original piece of art, a brush illustration of Spider-Man.
A pin-up by Steve Ditko that's vertically split into two. On the left is Peter Parker in his home laboratory. On the right is Spider-Man shooting webs from both hands. The headline is A MARVEL MASTERWORK PIN-UP and the sub-headline is PETER PARKER and OL' WEBHEAD.
The banner for Massive Attack's show in Singapore displayed on a curved screen.
A bottle of hand sanitiser, the brand of which is Softa-Man.
The space also features a local sci-fi collection by authors such as Judith Huang and Vivian Teo, and an interactive generative AI station where visitors can create their own sci-fi stories.
The words "Ultimate" and "Absolute".
A page from PHONOGRAM: THW SINGLES CLUB #4. Six panels of Seth Bingo and Silent Girl dancing and singing along to the bridge of Blondie's "Atomic".
A post from Alex de Campi that reads, "I read WORK-LIFE BALANCE last night, which is a mix of novella and comic about Southeast Asian mythical spirits coping with modernization and the Westernizing of the culture that gave birth to them. That makes it sound more serious than it is—a multi-stranded delight you'll burn through with a smile"
A screen shot of the opening screen for a game. A white diamond shape encircles the title and a call to action, all of which is in white. The title, INTERNAL DAMNATION, is in the middle of the screen. Above it, in much smaller type are the words, "Work-Life Balance presents," while below it, the sub-headline, in only smaller type reads, "PICK YOUR HELL". Further below the sub-headline, closer to the bottom of the diamond, is the call-to-action, "Click here to begin". The background is filled with a mix of Asian mythological creatures and office workers, illustrated in an isometric style. The characters are either in an office setting with computers and cubicles, or in settings that look like old temples.
An image of all the SCOTT PILGRIM characters, but the headline is, "WORK-LIFE BALANCE" and the sub-headline is, "ASK YOUR LIBRARY TO SHELVE IT".
My hand holding up a copy of THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS by Stephanie Campisi, in front of racks of comics and framed newspaper articles hung on a wall.
The cover to PHONOGRAM: THE SINGLES CLUB #4, titled KONICHIWA BITCHES, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie.
A screen shot of an Instagram story. It's a white background with black text. In the middle of the screen shot is another screen shot, this one of part of a press release's annex that reads: "There will also be StoryGen, where patrons can discover well-loved stories using Generative AI and see how these stories come alive in an immersive visual experience. To help patrons understand both the benefits and challenges of AI, a display panel will explain how Generative AI works and also provide NLB resources such as Read to be S.U.R.E. (Source, Understand, Research, Evaluate)." The text above the screen shot reads, "This screen shot below is from the annex of the National Library Board's press release for their Sci-Fi Pop-Up Library. The pop-up itself mostly sounds like a great idea—which makes the inclusion of a gen A.I. feature all the more unsavoury for me. "In January 2025, many local writers issued a collective statement about our concerns regarding the library's approach to gen A.I. What followed was a dialogue with NLB in which, for me at least, they didn't adequately assuage my concerns. A year later, it seems little has changed." Below the screen shot, the text reads, "I'm far from the biggest name in local literature, and it's not like NLB and I have an ongoing working relationship, but I've decided that I can't work with an organisation that continues to push generative A.I. Therefore, I won't be accepting any offers—assuming there were going to be any offers down the road—to directly work with NLB on events or workshops. if another organisation (like SingLit Station or the Singapore Book Council) puts together an event held at the library, then I'm game. But nothing organised by NLB itself. "I wanna make this clear: NLB is free to do whatever they want, push whatever trend they want. I don't expect my decision to change their approach. This is a personal choice, aligned with my own stance towards generative A.I."
Part of a press release's annex that reads: "There will also be StoryGen, where patrons can discover well-loved stories using Generative AI and see how these stories come alive in an immersive visual experience. To help patrons understand both the benefits and challenges of AI, a display panel will explain how Generative AI works and also provide NLB resources such as Read to be S.U.R.E. (Source, Understand, Research, Evaluate)."
A screen shot of the order page for a cup of watermelon juice. The description of the drink reads, "Refreshing blend of orange and carrot juice," followed by the caveat, "This description is AI-generated".
A photo of MTV Asia VJ and host, Utt, together with me and Nadia.
Two calendar events, one starting at 4.30pm and ending at 6pm, the other starting at 7.30pm and ending just a little after 9pm. Both are listed as being at Filmhouse Singapore. The first event is for a screening of EMPIRE RECORDS. The second is for a screening of SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD.
A grey cat sitting on a table, with a bit of his tongue sticking out.
A sign painted on the ground outside a door that reads: WARNING DOOR OPENS MINDS EXPAND ENTER WITH CAUTION
A quote from Alan Moore that reads: "When I became a magician at the age of 40, I took it very seriously, and it has transformed my life. There’s no difference between magic and creativity. One part of magic is changing the consciousness of other people. Writing has always been the best way of doing that. If a wizard puts a curse on you, maybe your hands weigh too much, big deal. If you offended a bard they might put a satire on you, destroy you in the eyes of everybody who knows you, your own eyes, and if it’s good enough people might still be laughing at you in 200 years’ time. I think a lot of us have forgotten what art is for. It’s an engine of human progress. Art and culture stay with us. It’s the wars we’re ashamed of."
A screen shot of Marsha Brady from the "Sure, Jan" scene of THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE.
Me, sitting next to Kyle, against a dark blue curtain with microphones and water bottles in front of us. I'm wearing a flower-print blue shirt, Kyle's wearing a black shirt. My eyes are wide-open and I have a nervous smile.
The epilogue page of the Spider-Man story, "The Goblin's Last Stand", in which Peter Parker tries to chase Mary Jane away after Gwen Stacy's death, but she chooses to stay instead.
“A modern workplace intrigue using a gorgeously mythical setting, a story so visionary it took two talented artists to tell it. There is nothing like this book anywhere else.” – Anton Hur Author of Toward Eternity & Translator of Cursed Bunny and Your Utopia “A multi-stranded delight you’ll burn through with a smile.” – Alex de Campi Co-creator of Parasocial, Bad Karma, and Reversal
A photo of myself and Nadia. Her head is shaved. We're both wearing blue masks covering our mouths and noses. I'm throwing up the metal horns.
Jock speaking with me on stage. Behind us are his character designs for THE LAST JEDI.
Two scenes from THE PENGUIN. The one on top is of Vic dancing with Oz's mother. The bottom one shows Sofia Gigante watching them. In between the two scenes is the caption, "How I Met Your Mother".
The cover to the soundtrack for the movie SUBURBIA, where a bunch of characters are standing in front of a convenience store.
A painting of chubby dog with kind of a smile on a table with a pink table cloth. Beside her is a cup. In front of the cup are biscuits.
A photo of me from when I was very young, in a Spider-Man costume and posing dramatically.
A photo of me with uncut hair and a scruffy beard.
The cover for sydney khoo's THE SPIDER AND HER DEMONS.
The cover for Nicolas Verstappen's THE ART OF THAI COMICS: A CENTURY OF STRIPS AND STRIPES.
The cover of GOETHE'S FAUST translated by Walter Kaufmann.
The cover for Jessie Tu's A LONELY GIRL IS A DANGEROUS THING.
The cover for Hester Steel's THE FACELESS THING WE ADORE.
Myself and three friends in a comic shop.
A WhatsApp conversation between my nephew and me. The first message from me reads, "Got a sketch variant from the Ultimate Endgame blind bag!", followed by a photo of me holding the blank cover variant and the message, "... But minus the sketch." My nephew responds first with, "Ooo," then "Awwww".
A photo of my friends, Kyle and Chris, and myself. Chris is leaning on Kyle's shoulder and I'm leaning on Chris's.
A photo of me in a car. I'm wearing a black t-shirt and a green jacket.
A young woman's face is broken up into nine panels. She's got dark hair that comes down just past her shoulders. She's wearing a simple necklace, a plain top, and an unbuttoned shirt over it. In the first panel, we also see a disapproving elderly man and woman. In the sixth panel, we see the man again; in the eighth, we see the elderly woman. The young woman's speech bubbles are in panels one, three, seven and nine. Those speech bubbles contain the following text: Panel 1: I guess everyone's got different reasons. Panel 3: Some people don't think mental health is a "real thing". Panel 7: Some people are ashamed to talk about it. Panel 9: But not talking about it doesn't mean it's not there...
A photo of a grey cat sleeping peacefully on a light grey chair, with a rack of comics in the background.
The cover of THE SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #8 by Mike Wieringo and Richard Case, with Spider-Man leaping out of the way of Looter's attack. The cover caption reads, "THE LOOTER: ARMED TO THE TEETH! SPIDER-MAN: WISHING HE'D STAYED IN BED!"
A screen grab from the first stage of STREETS OF RAGE 2, with Axel giving R. Signal and upper-cut, while another enemy looks on.
Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross in tuxedos at the Oscars. Jon Batiste is in a dynamic pose with the Oscar statue.
Single issues of CRIMINAL and FATALE signed by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.
A photo of Nadia and me from when we were younger.
A selfie of me in a t-shirt with the words, "TRANS RIGHTS" printed on it, side-eyeing my cat sitting on his cat tree behind me.
The "he's probably thinking about other girls" meme, but with the man thinking about two options for how a brontosaurus would wear a neck tie: 1. below its chin, or 2. at the base of its neck.
The poster for "Imaginarium II Dystopian Hope". The event's title is at the top, along with the date, 30th Nov 2025. Below it is a drawing of a green snake intertwined within a plant with green leaves and a light purple flower. Below the illustration is the "Our sponsors" section, which lists the logos of the following organisations: Difference Engine Publishing SG, Li’l Factory, Writing Our Legacy, and British Fantasy Society.
Four comic panels, each of the same young woman. She's got dark hair that comes down just past her shoulders. She's wearing a simple pendant on a necklace, a plain top, and an unbuttoned shirt over it. The breakdown of the panels is as follows: Panel 1: The woman's head is tilted to the left. She looks upset. She is saying, "Why do I have to 'describe' myself though? Why can't I just be... normal?" Panel 2: Her eyes are shut and she's waving someone off. She's saying, "It's just that labels--no matter how much of a compliment they're supposed to be, they make me feel..." Panel 3: The woman's eyes are shut. She looks pained. She's saying, "Different." Panel 4: She's looking to the left of the panel. She's saying, "But my condition doesn't make me different."
The cover for the book, WORK-LIFE BALANCE: MALEVOLENT MANAGERS AND FOLKLORIC FREELANCERS. The title is in the centre of the cover, with the subtitle below it in smaller font. Near the bottom of the cover are the names BENJAMIN CHEE and WAYNE RÉE. All text are in white. Visually, the cover is filled with a mix of Asian mythological creatures and office workers, illustrated in an isometric style. The characters are either in an office setting with computers and cubicles, or in settings that look like old temples.
A young woman's face is broken up into nine panels. She's got dark hair that comes down just past her shoulders. She's wearing a simple necklace, a plain top, and an unbuttoned shirt over it. In the first panel, we also see a disapproving elderly man and woman. In the sixth panel, we see the man again; in the eighth, we see the elderly woman. The young woman's speech bubbles are in panels one, three, seven and nine. Those speech bubbles contain the following text: Panel 1: I guess everyone's got different reasons. Panel 3: Some people don't think mental health is a "real thing". Panel 7: Some people are ashamed to talk about it. Panel 9: But not talking about it doesn't mean it's not there...
A selfie of a whole bunch of us at a hawker centre in the evening.
A four-panel page where Captain America's shield is reflected in Iron Patriot's faceplate and is progressively getting closer to impact.
Vivian Balakrishan posing in a selfie with Kim Jong-un and Ong Ye Kung.
A photo of my grey cat, Luca, sitting in front of two racks of single-issue comics and a reading lamp. Above the racks are framed three framed newspaper articles. To the left of those articles is a framed BLUE MONDAY and SCOOTER GIRL print by Chynna Clugston-Flores. On the floor below that print is a framed piece of original Spider-Man art by David Mack.
A pin-up by Steve Ditko of Peter Parker on the right surrounded by his books and lab equipment and Spider-Man on the left, firing two nets of webbing.