SPECTATORS - Part 50
Plus, an exclusive first look at this week's new SAGA, and your chance to win a signed copy!
Happy Presidents Day?
Brian here, and no matter where in the world you reside, I hope you’re safely celebrating all past, present and future elected heads of republics, societies, councils or other organizations.
And that you’re buying shit at a deep discount!
Speaking of which, a final reminder that this week is your last chance to win one of these absurdly valuable copies of Saga #1…
….AND an original page of Spectators hand-painted artwork from the mighty Niko Henrichon.
All you have to do to be automatically entered in next Monday’s random drawing is subscribe to Exploding Giraffe at the annual level, currently only 40 bucks a year. We’ll award one prize package to a new subscriber, and another to an existing/resubscribed annual (or founding) member.
Whether or not you win this contest, ALL paid subscribers instantly unlock the last year’s worth of bonus material in our Archives, and get access to our weekly private chats, giveaways, signings, etc.
You generous members of The Tower make the ongoing independent creation of our weird graphic novel possible, so Niko, our dedicated letterer Fonografiks, and I can’t thank you enough for your support.
With that, let’s get to this week’s new pages, shall we?
What the hell kind of incorporeal showdown awaits? Stay tuned, Semi-constant Readers.
For now, let’s give away this glorious Niko sketch to one of you kind commenters from last week’s chat:
Inspired by my children crushing me at the tabletop game Scythe, I asked what (non-video) games folks were enjoying these days, and Tower member J Sapin suggested:
Codenames. Trying to mentally connect with your teammates is maddeningly fun.
I’d never heard of this one, but sounds cool, J! Regardless, our intern Genesis has selected YOU to receive Niko’s ursine masterpiece, so we’ll be reaching out for your mailing address shortly.
If you have some extra time to kill today, I recently did a fun interview with Zack Quaintance over at The Beat.
Here’s a taste, as I tone-deafly complain about the terrible burden of writing a comic book that occasionally makes some readers sad:
ZACK: Maybe it’s because we sat with the saddest moment in the story for years, but it feels to me like the audience now expects Saga to hurt them. Have you gotten that from readers, and if so, how do you feel about that?
BKV: It’s an incredible honor to write something that makes a reader feel anything, even if it’s just deep hatred for the asshole creators who did something terrible to their favorite character.
But I also recognize that whenever you have a story where major characters can and do unexpectedly die at any moment, some audience members will start to view each installment only through the lens of whether or not a character was “whacked.” If they weren’t, the episode is “filler,” and if a character does die, the episode is just the creators “keeping up the body count.” So it goes.
Death will always be part of all of our stories, but I hope it’s never the most important part. As a matter of fact, it’s been several years since a major character died in Saga, so maybe it will just be smooth sailing from here on out…?
Finally, Saga Chapter 62 hits comic stands this Wednesday, February 22, and I’ll have a (brief) sneak peek for you Tower members after the paywall, as well as an opportunity to win your own signed copy.
But first, a friendly reminder that the FIFTH SAGA COSTUME CONTEST is officially underway. It’s open to all readers, and this year’s prizes are bonkers, as detailed in last month’s first issue back from break:
If you’re a fellow fan of fantasy/sci-fi high fashion, you’re in luck, friendo, because it’s finally time for the FIFTH SAGA COSTUME CONTEST!
The rules are simple: using whatever materials you like, dress up as any character(s), major or miniscule, who have ever appeared in any issue of Saga, take a nice photo, and either send a hard copy to the To Be Continued offices at our physical address, OR (just for this contest, please), you can use something called “electronic mail” to email a digital picture of your entry to: SagaCostumeContest@gmail.com
My family dog/loyal correspondence dachshund Hamburger K. Vaughan will use what remains of his eyesight to select one GRAND PRIZE WINNER, who will receive:
*Your photo published in glorious color in an upcoming To Be Continued!
*An issue of Saga signed AND sketched on by the fabulous Fiona Staples!
*Oh, and ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS!
We’ll also be giving out some additional cool prizes to particularly hilarious entries and other good-effort runners-up, so please don’t be intimidated by the excellence of our past winners.
The deadline for us to receive your material will be Friday, April 28, 2023, so you’ve got about three months to make some magic, cool?
And here’s a reminder of some of that past excellence: Fourth Costume Contest Grand Prize Winner Kimberly Dickinson from Newnan, GA, whose awesome Ianthe getup had a homemade mask beneath another homemade mask.
People dressing up in their backyards as our characters will always be the greatest adaptation of Saga I could ever hope for, so thanks again to those of you working hard on your outfits now, and please feel free to tell your cosplaying cohorts:
Okay, Tower subscribers, stay tuned for your exclusive first look at new Saga, and everyone else, I’ll see you back here for more free Spectators next Monday!