SPECTATORS - Part 135 (and a SAGA update!)
Including your advance first look at the upcoming Chapter 71!
“Where the hell is my next issue of Saga?!”
Brian here, and I promise to give you the full scoop on that front later in today’s dispatch, but first, we have more pressing matters to discuss, including this bombshell comment that loyal Tower member Rob S. dropped during our Thanksgiving week chat:
I need to let everyone know about Stuffing Waffles. Take your uncooked stuffing mix (or leftovers) and spoon it into a waffle iron and cook it up that way. Everything is the crispy corner part! Then pile up your good stuff on top, pour some gravy over it, and your life is changed forever. You’re welcome.
I hope you all still have some cold Stove Top in the fridge, because this magical formula has indeed forever changed my life. Or at least my future Black Friday lunches. Thanks for the tip, Rob.
There are many more similarly significant subjects to get to this evening, but if you’re just here for the Saga update, and you’re not yet caught up on Spectators (which you can still read for free in our Archives), I’d encourage you to avoid major spoilers and please scroll past today’s transcendently NSFW installment from my extraordinary collaborators, artist/co-creator Niko Henrichon and letterer Fonografiks.
Niko is something else, huh?
And he’s not done yet. Our story still has several remaining pages, which we hope to get you before Christmas, when all current paid subscribers will also be sent an exclusive digital file (in whichever format you prefer) containing our entire 330+ page graphic novel.
That means we only have a few more Mondays together, so if you’ve been thinking about finally joining The Tower, you’ll probably just want to sign up at the monthly level.
For a measly five bucks, along with receiving your digital copy of the complete Spectators at the end of the month, new subscribers will also be able to access all three years’ worth of our past bonus contest AND participate in our final contests and giveaways.
In early January, we’ll pause all future billing indefinitely, and readers will no longer be able to sign up as paid members. Still, Niko and I don’t plan to abandon Exploding Giraffe completely, and if you don’t mind, we’ll probably still send out a free version of this dispatch a few times a year to let you know about new projects, etcetera (or just because we’re lonely).
And I know some of you analog hardliners are still waiting for a print edition of Spectators before you read a word of our story, so let me ask everyone a hypothetical question…
Your response is anonymous, so thanks for clicking!
Along with waffle recipes, last week’s chat thread with The Tower delved into various things we’re running away from (or running towards), inspired by the inclusion of Runaways #1 in this lovely hardcover collection from the Folio Society.
Reader Nathan L. set the moral bar high, writing:
Running towards purpose, making sure the work I do aligns with my values is really important. I’ve been lucky to work in the energy transition space over the last 5 years, helping to decarbonise one of Australia’s biggest distribution networks. I’m now looking for a new challenge in the same space, to ensure I continue to help contribute to solving climate change and ensure our four kids have a livable planet where they and their descendants can read BKV into the 25th Century.
Equally impressive, Reena shared:
As a working mother of two with zero family support I am always running around, not necessarily running away from anything, but always late/rushing/having to do stuff quickly. I am so looking forward to Christmas, it’s the only time where the world seems to stop collectively for a bit.
Meanwhile, Roberto A. asked a loaded question:
I am running away from my home country, Peru, which is being taken over by organized crime while we are helpless to stop it. Do you recommend any non-fascist countries to migrate to?
Hope you’re staying safe, Roberto, and that you’ve found some options.
Sadly, your most secure bet probably won’t be Ukraine, where I was relieved to hear from a reader named Vitalii (who Saga readers might know from his moving letter to the latest “To Be Continued”):
Every day I am now running from work one hour earlier to pick up my first kid from school, because my wife has her hands full with our newborn.
Every day I dread that air alert will happen exactly on time of my return, which means the bridges will be closed and I won’t be able to make it to the other side. Statistics-wise it is bound to happen sooner or later, but so far luck has favoured me immensely.
Nothing left to do but keep on running every day, guessing if those five minutes you lingered in the office will play you a fool in the end.
Thinking about you, pal.
Changing gears, John M. shared:
I’m running away from the ubiquitous Black Friday sales adverts that are coming at me from all sides!
I’m running towards... running! I want to be able to run (jog... slowly) 5km without stopping. I’m using an app to train, and progress is slow. Aspirational goals are good though!
Wish me luck.
Best of luck, John. And I hear you about those wretched Black Friday ads…
…but everybody loves Cyber Monday deals, right?!?!?!?!
I’ll be sharing my updated Favorite Comics of 2024 in an upcoming installment, and many of my past faves have come from the legendary publisher Fantagraphics, which is having a huge sale at their site for the next few hours.
Ditto for popular brick-and-mortar/online comics retailer Third Eye.
And while I always prefer that you support your local comic/book store, if they happen to be sold out of any titles I’ve worked on (that gigantic Ex Machina omnibus is a beast to keep on shelves), Gamespot reports that Ol’ You Know Who is apparently having a massive sale of just about my entire bibliography tonight.
For shame, BKV. Slipping an Amazon plug into the middle of a conversation with people suffering from global strife?
Welcome to end-stage capitalism!
Anyway, our intern Genesis the Exploded Giraffe promised to give away a copy of Marvel: Unforgettable Stories, and we even sprung for one of the sold-out editions signed by celebrity curators Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum.
Today’s ridiculously lucky reader randomly selected by Genesis is… Wayne B., who wrote:
For more than two years, my wife and I have been Death Doulas. I’ve taken this journey, not only to share this journey with my Missus of 34 years, but as a means of running toward my fear of death. And, it’s working.
Congrats, Wayne, and thanks to you (and your wife) for the important work. Please keep running.
Speaking of our fabulous readers, Al Wurst wrote in to tell us how things went at that Paper Girls book club he was able to attend…
The book club was amazing, but I expected nothing less from fabulous Ferndale. I was the oldest by far so it was interesting getting a young perspective on a decade I have mixed feeling about. It was nice helping add context to some of the 80s references. The stats were 12 to 14 loving the story, and I was thrilled my comic went to a fan and not one of the two individuals I can only assume didn’t actually read it and was there for free coffee. I could go on way too long, but I just wanted to add how much they loved the color pallet of the story. What I loved most was how there was not one overlap of a favorite part/moment of the story from anyone. You connected with 12 different unique individuals all in different ways. I found that special.
Thanks again, and a happy Thanksgiving to all, go Lions!
You rule, Al.
And if anyone happens to be in the Chula Vista area, maybe you can pull a Wurst next Tuesday at the Comic-Con Book Club: Chula Vista Chapter:
Calling all graphic novel enthusiasts to the Civic Center Library! Join us for Comic-Con Book Club on Tuesday, December 10 at 6:30 PM, where we’ll discuss Saga Vol. 6 by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan AND Batman: Noel by Lee Bermejo. Both are available on Hoopla, FREE with your CVPL library card. This group is for ages 18 and older and does require approval by application process. If this will be your first meeting, don’t worry! Applications are free to complete and will be available at your first meeting. See you then!
Before we get to that update about Saga Chapter 71 (quit stalling, baldy!), a reminder that you can still pick up limited edition merch featuring Fiona’s beautiful cover image to the previous issue of Saga exclusively at The Official Saga Threadless Shop.
And today, we’ll be giving away not one, but TWO killer prizes to a couple of random members of The Tower: Saga Book One (a hardcover collection of our first 18 issues with tons of extras) and the first Saga Compendium (a softcover collection of our first 54 issues!), each signed/sketched in by yours truly.
Either makes an outstanding gift for that reader in your life who doesn’t yet know they love comics, so if you’d like a shot at possibly winning one, please just let us know: What’s the last great gift YOU received?
Genesis will randomly select some commenters from this week’s chat, where I look forward to stealing all your best gifting ideas.
Right, at last, time to talk about Saga Chapter 71, which was originally supposed to be on stands around now.
First of all, the good news: this issue is completely done, 100% written, drawn, colored and lettered (including perhaps the longest letter column yet designed by Fonografiks), and I think it’s pretty fucking wonderful.
The less awesome news: our patient friends at Image Comics will do their best to get this issue into your hands as soon as humanly possible, but after some unavoidable delays on our end, we now have to wait our turn at the printer, and with the holidays approaching, this next chapter likely won’t make it to stores until early January.
I’m terribly sorry. We take our solicitation dates extremely seriously, and I feel like shit the handful of times in my nearly 30-year career that comics have ever missed them, but as I’ve mentioned in the past, Saga’s entire creative team is still just Fiona, Fonografiks and me, and when unforeseen circumstances arise behind the scenes, everyone’s well-being has to take precedence over scheduling.
But I believe our next collection (Volume 12) is still on target for its original release date in April, and I’m already hard at work on next year’s arc, as our tale heads in an intriguing new direction.
I know how much delays like these hurt momentum with readers, so I completely understand if folks want to jump off the ongoing issues and instead wait for our collections (or if they just want to quit reading Saga entirely!), but this story means the world to us, so I hope you’ll stick around in whichever capacity is most enjoyable/least maddening.
After our midpoint hiatus, I realize some people are also worried we might not reach our planned conclusion for decades, but as I mentioned in this recent guest essay I wrote for Barnes & Noble Reads, Fiona and I continue to work diligently on Saga every single day, and we’re both fully committed to finishing this 108-chapter epic we set out to tell twelve years ago, not long after my two kids were born.
Artist/co-creator Fiona Staples and I (and our loyal letterer, a man of mystery who goes by Fonografiks) have been collaborating on SAGA for over a dozen years now. We’re working on our 12th volume at the moment, and unless one of us falls out of a hot-air balloon or something, there will be a total of 18 volumes (each containing six “chapters”) when our star-crossed family’s epic tale finally reaches its planned ending in a few years, probably just as my real-life offspring—who were born right before our series began–will be leaving for college.
Or Martian battle training. Or whatever the hell might be going on in that terrifyingly not-too-distant future.
So yeah, I hope to be finishing our final script around the time that my second teenager will be—I don’t even like writing these words—leaving home, roughly five years from now, which probably sounds like an eternity to you young people, but which my fellow parents know will fly by with a frightening quickness.
Look, I don’t know if anyone will still be reading Saga when we finally reach the last line of the last page, but our goal was never to sell the most copies (we’d do a dozen variant covers each issue if that were the case) or to have the largest audience possible (we’d put in a lot fewer penises if so), but just to tell an extremely personal story in our own weird way.
I’m very sorry again that we occasionally need some extra time to get it right, but I like to think that the real world experiences we’ve gained with our families over the years have only enriched the series, so I really appreciate those of you who’ve expressed your concern (we’re all okay, thanks) and/or continued support.
But enough of my useless blathering!
I know what you’re really after: some of that sweet, sweet Fiona Staples storytelling. I normally hate any kind of spoilers too far in advance, but because you’ve been so kind, here’s a sneak peek at the first TWO pages of our next issue, and we’re making both available to ALL readers today, paid subscribers or otherwise, so feel free to tell a friend, thanks.
If you’d rather experience these pages in context, please skip this small taster, and Niko and I will see you back here next Monday evening for more free Spectators, cool?
Everyone else, strap in.
SPOILER SPACE!!!!!
I MEAN IT, MINOR SPOILERS BELOW!!!!
ARE YOU READY, TRUE BELIEVERS?!?!
Oh, wait, that’s just an excerpt from the latest issue of Vanity Fair that a friend was nice enough to forward me.
Much obliged, Ms. Nyong’o! I really enjoy your work, too.
Where was I…?
FOR REAL THIS TIME, THE OPENING TWO PAGES FROM NEXT MONTH’S SAGA #71 ARE BELOW.
AND JUST THIS ONCE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THEM FAR AND WIDE, THANKS AGAIN!
END OF OMINOUS PREVIEW!!!
What’s about to go down with the other shady characters gathered in our circus galley? Find out in a few (relatively) short weeks.
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to catching up with you in this evening’s chat thread…
Peace,
BKV
I love and collect foreign cast recordings of musicals on LP, but almost never talk about it with my wife as it’s just a private thing I’ve done for a while. Japanese Hair, Italian Fiddler On The Roof, Korean Guys and Dolls, stuff like that. Without my knowledge, She cataloged my entire collection, identified the languages I don’t currently have, and then dug deep to find records of these. So now I have a Hebrew Threepenny Opera, Finnish Annie, and Urdu Phantom of the Opera, among others.
The greatest gift our family got was 10 years ago, when my wife’s father (who’s health was failing) was given a new liver. He’s still around doing better than ever and an amazing grandpa to our kids.
I also got a Nintendo 64 when I was 11, and it was even better than a liver.