SPECTATORS - Part 91
And we're back!
Guess who’s on the hook for jury duty this week?
Brian here, kicking off my 2024 with a steaming pile of civic responsibility. Thankfully, my presence wasn’t requested downtown this morning, so maybe I’ll continue to luck out through Friday?
Last time I had jury duty here in Los Angeles, during the final slot of voir dire, it came down to me and one other potential juror: actor Dan Lauria, the dad from The Wonder Years, who calmly explained to the judge that his character was so universally beloved, he would unduly sway everyone else’s opinions… and the entire courtroom loudly agreed, begging for photos with “Mr. Arnold” as he was quickly dismissed (while I ended up taking his place for several excruciating days on a slip-and-fall civil case).
Justice!
Anyway, Happy New Year? I really missed you these past two weeks. While I was loafing, my indefatigable partners Niko Henrichon and Fonografiks were hard at work on these new pages of Spectators, as spectral protagonists Val and Sam encounter another voyeuristic couple floating above our future Central Park.
And if none of that makes a lick of sense to you, you may be one of the many new subscribers we picked up over the break, so welcome, and please know that you can check out all previous installments of our story so far in our handy Exploding Giraffe Archives.
Right, let’s dive back in…
Respect to Tower member Tyler Danna for immediately figuring out who the “Commish” was when the character first appeared. More fun Teddy stuff next Monday evening!
The very first installment of Spectators debuted on January 31, 2022 (the ancient past, back when Val was nervously making her first return to a post-Covid movie theater), so our third year of Exploding Giraffe here at Substack won’t officially begin for a few weeks.
Stay tuned for more details, and thanks to you generous paid subscribers in The Tower for continuing to make our story possible. I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be offering our $40 annual subscription rate (33% cheaper than our already comically low $5 monthly tier), so get in while the getting’s good!
Speaking of you lovely Tower types, before the break, we promised to randomly select one of you to receive this impactful page of original art from Niko…
…and our intern Genesis the Exploded Giraffe has selected:
Jieron!
Congrats, Jieron, and the endlessly munificent Niko (whose hand-painted artwork is also available at Essential Sequential) will be reaching out for your mailing address soon.
Everyone else, I’ll be giving away a few more signed copies of Saga Volume 11 to some random responders to today’s Question of the Week: How was your winter break? Any surprises, delightful or otherwise?
Also, if you happen to be in the Los Angeles area, would you like two free tickets to see Michael Mann’s Heat at the New Beverly this Thursday night?
I’ve suddenly got another commitment that evening, but if you’re a Tower member who wants to go in my place, speak up in the comments, and I’ll see if I can have Genesis digitally transfer my tix to you.
Back in December, artist Cliff Chiang heard that our comic Paper Girls was referenced in a Hanukkah-themed Hallmark Channel movie called Round and Round, though we weren’t able to find any evidence of this allegedly real film.
But the Tower came to the rescue, as loyal reader Kelly discovered this clip. A signed Paper Girls collection is headed your way as thanks, Kelly!
I don’t know why being a pop culture reference in someone else’s show is somehow even more surreal than having an entire adaptation made of our actual series, but there you go.
Regardless, my old friend Daniel M. Kanemoto was inspired to create this deeply unsettling image of Cliff and me Photoshopped into the film’s original poster:
Damn, Cliff can even make a mullet look good!
While I’m on the subject of my awful/awfully talented pals from college, I also have to congratulate longtime roomie Jeff Yorkes, who brought home his first Emmy (!!!) for The Muppets Mayhem.
Disney, get this genius working on new Muppets at once!
In the mood for more comics?
Excellent news from our dear comrades at Panel Syndicate…
MARTIN MOON Returns!
Marcos Martín back here with a very quick update this time, I’m afraid, since I’ve come down with the flu and I believe I’m only able to type this thanks to being under the influence of a very healthy dose of Tylenol. So I’ll keep it brief and to the point: legendary creators Darko Macan and Goran Sudžuka are back with the second issue of their glamorous action adventure series MARTINE MOON! Is there anything sacred in the world of Martine Moon? Is anything there that is pure and sure? Do we even have to answer that?
So there you go, head up to panelsyndicate.com and check it out for whatever price you want to pay, including zero!
WHAT’S NEXT?
The third and final issue of MARTINE MOON will arrive in a few weeks and hopefully, not too long after that, the final issue of FRIDAY. Ed, Muntsa and myself are still working hard on this very special chapter and can't wait to get it done and over to you guys to enjoy... flu permitting, of course.
See you soon. Achoo.
Congrats on another fantastic issue, Goran and Darko, and feel better soon, Marcos!
What’s that, you’re still looking for more comics, but something for a younger reader?
If so, my pal Brad Meltzer and his artistic partner for over a decade, the great Christopher Eliopoulos, are back with their latest collaboration:
These “I Am…” books are really well done (my kids were particularly obsessed with the Lincoln volume when they were little), so I highly recommend them for any small humans in your life.
For our winter break this year, my family and I traveled to unseasonably balmy Cleveland, birthplace of Kid Cudi, whose hilarious takedown of people accusing him of not being loyal enough to his hometown was frequently quoted over the holidays:
Sorry to all the local friends and favorite Cleveland establishments I wasn’t able to visit this trip, but I had a blissfully lowkey week with my parents, siblings and their perfect families.
Hope you got to enjoy some chill time with the people you love, too.
To ease us into this year’s bonus nonsense, I thought I’d shamelessly flaunt a few of the cool presents I was lucky enough to receive from those fine folks and/or Santa.
And because I’m me, some of these gifts aren’t safe for work, so buckle up!
BKV’S TOP SEVEN NERDIEST CHRISTMAS PRESENTS OF 2023
7) Star Trek Advent Calendar
What better way to represent a hopeful future that’s moved beyond capitalism and organized religion than with a box full of crap celebrating the birth of Baby Jesus?
Seriously, some cool stuff in there!
My kids wanted to know why there were so many booze-themed items for an ostensibly family tv show, but I educated them that Star Trek has always been for problem drinkers of ALL ages.
6) Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz
Very clever format for this new biography of ol’ Sparky.
And the glowing quote on the back from For Better Or For Worse cartoonist and Schulz friend Lynn Johnston makes me excited to read.
5) Bird Buddy Solar-Powered Smart Bird Feeder
Please don’t “@” me if this wonderful machine is terrible for the environment or destroying migratory patterns or whatever.
Just let the sad old man look at birds on his phone.