SPECTATORS - Part 68
Plus, BKV/Q&A: The Sequel!
Are you stranded at the airport, too?
Brian here, and if you also happen to be crowded into Montréal’s Maple Leaf Lounge this busy travel Monday, please come say hi to the haggard bald man hoarding all the complimentary gin by the one available power outlet.
Wherever you might be this fine-ish Monday, I hope you enjoy today’s installment of Spectators from my internationally renowned collaborators artist/co-creator Niko Henrichon and letterer Fonografiks, as Val reveals an uncomfortable truth to her spectral pal Sam:
More on Sam’s cinematic past in next week’s vignette.
For now, thanks to my Canadian friends and family for showing me such a grand time during my too-brief trip to your nation.
Here am I being an obnoxious tourist in front of Ottawa’s Peace Tower, which artist Steve Skroce and I callously destroyed in the opening scene of our Image Comic miniseries We Stand on Guard (still available at finer comic-book establishments).
I also got to visit the National Gallery of Canada, and while I was walking through a terrific exhibit called Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Moment, I happened to get some amazing new art emailed to me by none other than Calgary’s own Fiona Staples, whose work unquestionably belongs next to her fellow masters:
I loved every minute of my stay here, despite the unfortunate smoke.
Never thought I’d be excited to return to the relatively clean air of Los Angeles.
All right, I haven’t done one of these Q&As since last October (when I was apparently also drinking in an airport)…
…so let’s dive back into the digital mailbag and answer a few more questions posed by you generous paid subscribers from The Tower.
And to tackle the two most-common queries upfront: yes, I always have the ending in mind when I start writing any lengthy comic series, and no, sorry, I won’t be coming to San Diego Comic-Con (or any conventions) for at least the next year.
If you’d like to get something scribbled on by me, the only place you’ll be able to do that for the foreseeable future is through The Tower, where members get periodic windows to send me their stuff to be autographed, if that’s of any interest.
Along with making our serialized graphic novel possible, Tower members also get exclusive content and prize opportunities like this one, where every commenter whose question was selected will receive a signed copy of the latest issue of Saga:
And the above photo apparently helped inspire our first question, from commenter Will Smith (NOT the actor/assaulter), who was kind enough to write: “BKV, nice hat - but nicer manicure - where do you get those btw? (Would have never noticed before (like ever) but wifey is a cosmetologist and owns a salon, so surprisingly it is now subconsciously ingrained in my little brain to notice, forgive the intrusion if too personal…).”
This question made my month, Will… because I have never in my life received a manicure.
That mint-condition thumbnail you noted is merely the byproduct of fingers that have never performed an honest day’s labor in their existence. My hands are so soft, you might suspect that I keep them in gloves filled with Vaseline, like Curley in Of Mice and Men, but no, my mitts are just unsullied by real work, having only ever gently typed my precious thoughts.
Next up, Tower member Jordan Brailean comes in hot with some numbered questions, my fave:
“I’m gonna toss out the first things that come to mind while I reheat some leftovers.
1) When can we learn about new merch opportunities!?
2) Any news coming down the pipe about the potential video game idea you said you were mulling over?
3) Popeyes or KFC?
Thanks for all the awesome content you continue to put out, and I hope all is well on the picket lines (all things considered). ☺️”
Thanks, Jordan! No picketing for the next two days, but I’ll be back on the line this Wednesday, hoping that my sisters and brothers in SAG will have gotten the contract they deserve (or else be joining us with their own strike, as thousands of brave Southern California hotel workers just did).
Anyway, some numbered responses:
Exciting news about new merch is coming in the very next issue of Saga! Fiona and I (and our pal Ben Rankel) have been working on this for a really long time, so we’re excited for you to see all the bespoke awesomeness we’ve cooked up. Sorry circumstances beyond our control pushed Chapter 66 to next month, but I swear it’ll be worth the wait, especially because that issue also features the brain-exploding results of the Fifth Saga Costume Contest. Stay tuned.
Since I last mentioned it, we’ve been approached by some more cool companies about that idea Fiona and I came up with for a possible video game set in the Saga universe, but unfortunately, most major studios seem to want all rights (including film/television) when spending millions to develop other people’s intellectual property as a game, and that’s not something we’re ready to share. So for now, we’re very happy to just keep telling our story like we always have, in comics, still the best medium for visual storytelling on the planet.
I’m mildly ashamed to admit that I don’t think I’ve ever eaten at either establishment? But I finally tried Raising Cane’s, and those chicken fingers are fucking boss.
Changing gears to Y the Last Man, reader Miles writes, “Holy shit, 355’s real name would be a gem.”
That’s not exactly a question, Miles, and twenty years later, I’m still not ready to reveal the answer, but after the jump, I’ll finally entrust you and your fellow Tower members with maybe your strongest clue yet to Agent 355’s birth name…