SPECTATORS - Part 104
Plus, talking new music!
Well, I saw one of the best concerts of my life this past weekend.
Brian here, and I try to keep my family life private (if only because it sometimes becomes spoilers for future storylines of Saga), so I’ll just say that this performance involved a young member of my extended tribe flawlessly covering Radiohead for a packed house, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more in awe.
Inspired by this, I thought we could shake it up tonight by rambling about music. But first, what pays the bills: dirty comics, starting with some new Spectators from my squeaky clean collaborators, artist/co-creator Niko Henrichon and letterer Fonografiks.
Fair enough, Sam.
To be continued with a few new pages next week, as our spectral protagonists head in a different direction. And you can catch up with Val’s dissection of The Terminator anytime in our handy Archives.
Niko, Fonografiks and I now have roughly eight months of work left to do on Spectators, so we’ve lowered our annual subscription rate for this final (?) year of Exploding Giraffe to thirty bucks, still cheaper than our already low $5 monthly rate, and both options unlock the past two years-plus of exclusive content AND make you eligible for future contests/giveaways/etc., so thanks for considering joining your fellow generous giraffes in The Tower.
In last week’s chat thread, inspired by the recent eclipse and the upcoming release of the new volume of Phenomena, we were discussing various natural phenomena we’ve encountered, and you all had such interesting memories.
Reader “a closer listen” wrote:
Luckily found myself within the totality here in Montreal, on the edge in fact. The suburbs north of the city were just outside the totality. I vaguely recall watching a partial eclipse in NY as a kid, in 1994, but as Annie Dillard writes in “Total Eclipse,” a beautiful 1982 essay that has been circulating, “Although the one experience precedes the other, it in no way prepares you for it.” Last week we had an April snowstorm, more than 8 inches, and today it was in the 60s as we gathered in the park to cheer as the moon temporarily blocked the sun.
And Rocky P. shared:
Tornadoes are a natural phenomena with which we are very familiar. Watching “permanent” structures vanish in an instant is simply unforgettable. On three separate occasions we have lost the north, east, and west sections of fence enclosing our backyard. Fortunately we had the foresight to bring in our Huskies beforehand - Niko and Shilo love to run, so the challenge afterward was keeping them contained until we could make repairs. In the most recent case they escaped four times. I chased and retrieved them 3x but the 4th they totally ignored me and vanished into a nearby neighborhood. Eventually a kind neighbor delivered them to a local vet clinic who contacted us. So at this point, tornadoes are more awe-inspiring than terrifying, reminding us that 1) everything around us is only temporary and 2) we need to treasure every moment together.
Batten down those hatches, Rocky.
Sorry only one lucky commenter could receive my personal copy of Phenomena, but our semi-fictional intern Genesis the Exploded Giraffe randomly selected LisaCee:
I didn’t get to see the eclipse due to a cloudy day but I would have only been able to see about 20% anyway. I did catch the one in 2017 and that was pretty cool.
As far as natural phenomena though, I get to see some pretty amazing skies in western Washington. We don’t get the crazy storms and wild weather that I hear about elsewhere, but I see a beautiful sunrise or sunset a few times a week. My favorite weather phenomenon is a rainstorm on a sunny day, though. There’s something magical about the contrast that is really special.
Amen, Lisa, and thanks to everyone who responded.
Before we get to the music chatter, I had to take a moment to recognize legendary comic creator and feminist icon Trina Robbins, who we lost last week.
I’m still catching up on all of the thoughtful essays and remembrances about her life and career, but I’d recommend at least reading her impressive obituary in The New York Times as well as this touching tribute from her friend Heidi MacDonald over at The Beat.
I’m sorry I never got to know Ms. Robbins, but as I’ve mentioned in past installments, whenever I’ve researched important but unappreciated female cartoonists (like Mopsy creator Gladys Parker), I’ve inevitably discovered that Trina Robbins had literally written the book on them:
Along with being one of our medium’s most important historians (herstorian, she preferred) and cartoonists, Robbins was obviously an incredible artist and designer, and I feel so fortunate that I was finally able to add a small piece of her original work to my wall of inspiration last year.
What a fucking colossus she was.
My deepest condolences to her family, friends and many fans around the world.
I had no idea that Trina Robbins once designed clothes for musicians like David Crosby, but I suppose there’s always been a lot of cross-pollination between comics and music.
Readers of Y: The Last Man (and now Spectators, thanks to the ever-present t-shirt Niko wisely suggested for Val’s ghostly form) might have guessed that I’m a huge fan of Mark Oliver Everett and Eels, and their new album, out this June, already sounds like it’ll be their best yet.
While I love music, I’ve never been one of those writers who includes playlists to accompany comics I’ve worked on, mostly because I’m a weirdo who thinks that comic art already has its own “musicality,” and outside accompaniment will probably just clash with the storytelling.
As if that didn’t already make me enough of a buzzkill, my easily scattered brain requires as much silence as I can gather while writing, so whenever I’m juggling multiple deadlines, I often end up working all day without listening to anything but my own horrifying thoughts.
Thankfully, my family is much cooler than I, and whenever I’m lucky enough to be stuck in Los Angeles traffic with them (not infrequently), I finally get to eavesdrop on some new music, and my middle-aged nerd-dad horizons are greatly expanded by their eclectic tastes.
Anyway, after today’s pesky paywall, I’ll share a few more of my recent favorite songs… but I’m much more interested in YOU. What are you listening to these days? And have you had a chance to see any live music yet this year?
Genesis will randomly select a few responders to receive a signed copy of the hard-rocking eleventh volume of Saga (and yes, your first look at Chapter 67 is coming very, very soon!).
Everyone else, stay safe this week, try to be kind to your fellow humans online and off, and I’ll see you back here next Monday evening for more free Spectators.