I can’t thank my brilliant, dedicated, and astoundingly consistent partners Niko Henrichon and Fonografiks enough for over two straight years’ worth of artistic/calligraphic greatness.
And all three of us are very grateful to YOU, our first audience, for your ongoing support of Spectators, the epic NSFW graphic novel we’re excited to finally complete by the end of 2024 (presuming we all make it out of this harrowing year alive).
I’m not sure if or in what form Exploding Giraffe might continue after that, but we plan to pause any/all payments from you generous paid subscribers as soon as the story you’ve helped to underwrite is complete, thanks again.
Until then, if you’re a loyal free reader who’s interested in finally joining your fellow giraffes in The Tower before we close its ranks, we’re knocking 30% off our annual rate:
Tower membership unlocks all past, present and future bonus content from Niko and me, and some of our biggest and best prizes are still to come. For now, let’s rejoin our spectral protagonists, as Val regales Sam with a formative experience from her past…
Next week, Val’s first time viddying the old ultraviolence continues.
If you’re just joining us, you can catch up on all past installments of Spectators in our Archives, but I probably won’t be leaving my old screenplays and other extras up there indefinitely, so enjoy that bonus nonsense while you can, droogie ones.
In last week’s chat thread with you Tower types, we were discussing whether or not you gave a shit about the Academy Awards, and your responses were typically equanimous.
Longtime reader Nick said:
Not interested in award shows, but I’ve really started to enjoy some irreverent Oscar night alternatives. My current favorites are Tim Heidecker’s “On Cinema at the Cinema” series of unfortunate events and Joel Haver’s Make-a-Movie Challenge. Both are far more fun to watch than the red carpet and, I think, really highlight the breadth and depth of internet creativity.
While James K. politely countered:
I really do care about the Oscars. Because as much as I think their choices are flawed, they do matter as a statement of what the movie industry thinks of itself. And theoretically, what movies were meaningful or important that year. It’s absolutely imperfect though they’ve taken strides to make the voting body more international and more diverse. But it’s always interesting to see how what I think is great is not necessarily what the Academy thinks is great. For example - three of the best movies I saw last year, Asteroid City, The Iron Claw, and May December, weren’t nominated for anything.
I think May December got an original screenplay nod, but we hear you, James.
Regardless, only one reader could win my personal copy of this gargantuan Preacher Omnibus…
…and our intern Genesis the Exploded Giraffe randomly selected Kendel S., who wrote:
This was actually my first time watching the awards. I used to not care about these awards at all, still don’t really. But, I watched this year because I loved Oppenheimer, and I wanted to see what other films are being compared to it. I saw that Poor Things won so many awards and Emma Stone won best actresses, so last night I watched it. Really fucking weird but I enjoyed it. Later tonight, I’ll be watching those short films that Cumberbatch was in. I’m going to start using the awards as a way to find movies to watch. As a college student, I don’t really have time to watch movies when they come out so on my breaks, I’ll have me a list of movies to watch from these awards and stuff like that. Also really excited for Challengers with Zendaya and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare! Cheers, thanks for reading my comment!
Congrats, Kendel. I discovered Preacher as a college student, so I hope you dig it as much as I did back then (and still do, probably in no small part because its irreverent writer didn’t attend university).
If you’re looking for more free comics to enjoy today, I just received this update from my dear friend Marcos Martín over at Panel Syndicate:
MARTINE MOON Finale!
Here we are again, one week away from Panel Syndicate’s 11th Anniversary and what better way to celebrate than with the last and final issue of our glamorous action series MARTINE MOON by superstars Darko Macan and Goran Sudžuka!
Gods and monsters! Aliens and Nazis! Bad jokes and worse philosophy! The final issue of Martine Moon has it all, not to mention her secret origin! Well, one of those, anyway ... The ideal jumping-off point!
Yep, the final issue of MARTINE MOON has arrived and what a pleasure it has been to host such incredible creators as Darko Macan and Goran Sudžuka. Darko is the writer behind such powerful books as GRENDEL TALES: DEVILS AND DEATHS with beloved artist Edvin Biuković or SOLDIER-X with the amazing Igor Kordej. And Goran's art has graced the pages of titles like Y: THE LAST MAN, HELLBLAZER or WOLVERINE among many, many others. But you already know all of this. What you probably didn't know is that they’re also just as nice, funny and kind as they are talented. Having the chance of working with both of them, as well as all the other creators in Panel Syndicate, has been the real highlight of this 11 years and the thing that keeps me hanging on. Well, that and your round and shiny virtual coins. But who's counting?
So anyway, head up to panelsyndicate.com and check out the series finale for whatever price you want to pay, including zero!
JUST A QUICK NOTE...
Talking about Goran, he and legendary writer Garth Ennis have started a Kickstarter campaign for a Deluxe Extended Edition of their insanely entertaining book MARJORIE FINNEGAN, TEMPORAL CRIMINAL, so please, click the link below and check it out. And of course, feel free to pledge whatever you want if you want to support the project.
You know the answer to that, right? Yes, the final chapter of FRIDAY is almost done, but we're obviously running late because of... well, reasons. One of them being this issue's larger page count than usual. But worry not, Ed has promised the big story climax will occur in a big black void of nothingness so we should be done in no time.
And while we wait for that inevitable wave of blackness here's a taste of Muntsa's pretty colors.
Congrats to The Tower’s own Goran Sudžuka, and happy anniversary to all my loved ones back at Panel Syndicate!
Last week, Saga had the honor of being named “Book of the Day” by the New York Public Library and their 2.4 million readers.
Twelve years after we started this adventure together, Fiona Staples, Fonografiks and I remain as dedicated to Saga as ever, and we can’t wait to show you where Hazel & co. are headed next.
Yes, our twelfth “season” of Saga begins this summer, so full solicit info and your first look at Fiona’s instant classic cover for Chapter 67 will be coming very soon… but for today, some other bits of Saga news!
First up, in order to make room for all-new merch, the Official Saga Threadless Shop is going to be “retiring” a few of Fiona Staples’ deep-cut designs, including Bombazine’s Barracooler t-shirt, Douglas L. Zaapy’s Rave-taurant (my fave), and most topically, this anti-Robot gem:
After this week, they go back into Fiona’s vault, so don’t miss out, fellow wearers of shirts.
More importantly, our good pals at Image Comics just shared this awesome announcement:
Image Comics is pleased to announce exciting new 6x9 trim size editions of the multiple award winning, bestselling series Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples slated to begin hitting shelves this September. This upcoming Saga, Vol. 1 in 6x9 trim size paperback format will feature new, never-before-seen cover art by Staples.
Vaughan said, “How cool is it to see Fiona revisiting our heroes at the beginning of their journey? While we’re hard at work on new chapters of Saga, we hope these lovely editions from Image will help introduce a whole new audience to the ongoing adventures of Hazel and her star-crossed family.”
The series will remain available in single issue, standard trim size trade paperback, deluxe hardcover, and compendium trade paperback editions—as well as digital formats—offering readers a variety of options to suit any reader’s tastes.
Saga has sold ten million copies to date across all formats and has been translated into 20 languages. The series also boasts multiple Eisner Awards, Harvey Awards, a Hugo Award, British Fantasy Award, Goodreads Choice Award, Shuster Award, Inkwell Award, Ringo Award, and more. It has been featured in such mainstream media outlets as TIME, Entertainment Weekly, The Atlantic, NPR, and more. The series has become a pop culture phenomenon and has been immortalized with references and easter eggs appearing in such popular TV shows as Supernatural, The Big Bang Theory, The Simpsons, and even a Taco Bell commercial. Saga is a critically acclaimed masterpiece and one of the most iconic, bestselling comic book series of its time.
Perhaps best described as Romeo & Juliet meets Star Wars, this genre-blending, sci-fi/fantasy space opera follows star-crossed lovers from enemy worlds. An epic for mature readers, Saga, Vol. 1 introduces readers to new parents Marko and Alana as they risk everything to raise their child amidst a never-ending galactic war.
The new 6x9 trim size Saga, Vol. 1 paperback edition (ISBN: 9781534370548) will hit shelves on Tuesday, September 10.
It’s true: a fun new format to revisit Marko and Alana’s earliest adventures—or to start your Saga journey for the first time—will be coming to your local comic/book shops later this year, with more volumes (and more new covers from Fiona) to follow.
After the paywall, I’ll be sharing that first new cover image from Fiona Staples with you Tower members, as well as giving away some more Saga merch to a few random commenters in our chat thread.
Today’s question(s) of the week: If you’re a Saga reader, how did you first learn about our series, and in what format did you read it? Individual issues or collected editions? Print or digital…?
