SPECTATORS - Part 30
Plus, BKV finally watches SEVERANCE
Part 30?!
Brian here, especially grateful for my partners Niko Henrichon and Fonografiks, who’ve been laboring on this thirtieth installment of Spectators all Labor Day.
No lowly U.S. holiday is going to stop us from obsessively compulsively showing up in your inbox with more free comics every Monday, so let’s get to it.
When last we left our ghostly protagonist sometime in New York City’s distant future, Val’s latest attempt at voyeurism was rudely interrupted by the arrival of a new spirit…
I spent the last week or so working on nothing but the next chunk of Spectators script pages for Niko, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the opportunity to write this batshit story we’ve been wanting to tell for years.
Niko and I literally wouldn’t be able to make this dream graphic novel of ours without the generous support of you paid subscribers in The Tower, so thanks very much again.
If you’ve been considering joining, for this week only, you can subscribe to the next 12 months of our bonus content/exclusive giveaways/private chats/etc. for 30% off the regular price!
Our annual subscription rate is normally $69, so if my dumb math is correct, this limited time offer makes that just 48 bucks and change, so get on that shit and help us make more pervy comics, thanks.
Our first poll from a few weeks back actually worked, and a commanding number of you kindly recommended that I check out Severance for my next dramatic slow-binge (though some of you in the chat were extremely persuasive about Station Eleven and write-in candidate Reservation Dogs, both of which I also plan to watch, thanks).
Because I was once a (very small) part of the old tv show LOST, I normally have a weird relationship with other “mystery box” series, but the terrific pilot of Severance immediately makes it clear that this story is very much its own thing (though is there maybe a dash of Dharma Initiative in Lumon Industries?).
Anyway, it’s a challenging, meaningful premise, delivered with clarity and style. Awesome cast, beautifully shot. I didn’t know how much I needed a drama about work-life balance, but I greatly look forward to the rest of the season, so thanks for the rec.
Speaking of work-life balance, this is a fairly personal question, so please feel free to ignore, but if you don’t mind me asking, how many days/weeks of actual vacation do you get per year?
Just curious, but I hope you’re able to get all the downtime you deserve.
Thanks again for being here, and I’ll see you generous paid subscribers again on Friday, as I finally reveal one of the oldest, least-pressing mysteries in comics… the secret identity of long-forgotten Batman villain THE SKELETON!
After more than twenty years, is the world finally ready for my underwhelming answer…?
Have a great week,
BKV
I'm about to take a paid month off to Italy, which feels criminal if I'm honest. I've never taken so long, but times being what they are, I will now and won't feel guilty for it.
On an unrelated note, I was in D.C. last week and was lucky enough to make an appointment to view the original Ditko artwork for Amazing Fantasy #15, which I knew was there because of BKV. It was awesome! The wonderful curator, Sara W. Duke said she noticed an uptick in requests to see the prints, and wondered if I knew why. I surmised it may have been because of Exploding Giraffe. I just said BKV’s Substack page. I also went down to the first floor (where I signed up for my Reader card) and had them pull Hulk 181, which I sat and read without worry of ruining it. The Library of Congress (Madison) is a MUST for any comic book fan, but see the main building (Jefferson) too!