SPECTATORS - Part 94
Plus, Niko Henrichon talks DOCTOR STRANGE!
Could you watch any of the footage from inside that Alaska Airlines flight where the fucking door flew off?
Brian here, and sorry to come in hot, but I woke up this morning to a Washington Post article proclaiming: “The world is full of terrors! And yet we love watching videos of them.” A grim read, but it also reminded me of the rubbernecking protagonists of Spectators, brought to (after)life every single week by astonishing artist/co-creator Niko Henrichon and legendary letterer Fonografiks.
Now joined by the ghosts of President Theodore Roosevelt and an old friend named Rita, our voyeuristic specters Val and Sam continue to observe a future that remains as full of terrors as ever…
Next week, Exploding Giraffe celebrates the beginning of our improbable third year of existence.
Whether you’ve been with us since day one or only for one day, Niko, Fonografiks and I greatly appreciate your continued support of this weird weekly dispatch that’s become an important part of our lives.
In last Monday’s nostalgia-drenched installment, I offered a signed copy of Saga #1 to the first person who could help me get my hands on the audio cassette that was originally included with this Fisher-Price storybook from my distant past:
You generous paid subscribers in The Tower proved how completely useless I am at internet sleuthing by immediately discovering multiple options I’d missed.
Reader Megan H. found me a relatively inexpensive tape for sale online, while Andrew B. even offered to hand-deliver the cassette from his personal collection to me here in Los Angeles.
But Chris T. was first to link to this complete recording of the original audio, conveniently (if unofficially) uploaded to YouTube.
My sincere thanks to all three of you, and our intern Genesis the Exploded Giraffe will be reaching out to hook each of you up with something for your help.
Oh, and I also promised to give away a signed copy of this ancient text…
…to a commenter from last week’s chat thread with The Tower about which pop culture we’ve been feeling nostalgic for. Genesis randomly selected Kidar A., who cut many of us to the quick by responding:
I’m only 24, so I’ll stay away from mentioning things I’m nostalgic for, at the risk of making everyone feel old. 😅
Brutal.
Before we get to this week’s “Artistic Autopsy” from creative coroner Niko Henrichon, I wanted to share this cool update from my old friend and collaborator (and loyal contributor to The Tower) Goran Sudžuka:
Dear friends, colleagues, fans and family (yes, family!) -
Marjorie Finnegan is getting a new deluxe edition founded through this Kickstarter campaign! Please consider supporting us, subscribe (without obligation) and spread the word!
Thank you!
AWA presents GARTH ENNIS’ MARJORIE FINNEGAN — EXPANDED DIRECTOR’S CUT — a collectible edition of the hit series with new full-length story, wraparound cover by Amanda Conner, and rare backmatter.
Penned by two-time Eisner award-winning writer Garth Ennis (PREACHER, THE BOYS) with art by Goran Sudžuka (Y: THE LAST MAN, HELLBLAZER, A WALK THROUGH HELL) and new wraparound cover art by Amanda Conner (HARLEY QUINN), the Kickstarter exclusive will take readers along for a wild ride in a beautifully crafted collector’s edition of the original series, now with a brand-new 20-page issue of this sci-fi story with time travel elements and a range of new and back matter.
This new edition of MARJORIE FINNEGAN will be a Kickstarter exclusive and include premium, tiered rewards for Garth Ennis’ biggest fans, including the incredible opportunity to be drawn into a Garth Ennis comic book.The MARJORIE FINNEGAN Kickstarter will launch in early spring and those interested in learning more about the campaign should sign up to be notified when new information is available.
Can’t wait for the expanded edition of this excellent read, thanks again, Goran.
But how much do I have to pay to ensure that I’m NEVER drawn into a Garth Ennis comic? I know exactly what you assholes would do and I want no part of it…!
Time for me to turn things over to Niko for a magical collection of never-before-seen/behind-the-scenes artwork from Doctor Strange, but I’ll see you back here next Monday evening for a “very special” edition of Exploding Giraffe, cool?
Peace - BKV
Niko here again for a sequel to my “industrial” period.
Last time I showed the opening pages of my first run on Doctor Strange, written by Dennis Hopeless. This time, I’ll show something from the second run, with writer Donny Cates!
So this second run on the Sorcerer Supreme was done under the umbrella of the “Damnation Marvel” event. Doctor Strange suffers the experience of going to hell and has to fight his way back to the real world. I should mention that I really like Donny Cates’ way of writing Marvel comics. I like the pacing, the humor, the delicate balance between action scenes and fancy discussions. He knows what he’s doing.
That’s the nasty, monster-filled cover of issue 386. I’ll talk about it in more detail in a future Artopsy centered on covers. While digging through my archives, I found a whole bunch of unused cover layouts that you might be interested to see.
But for now, welcome to the Inferno Hotel Casino. With the following scene—where Steven Strange is damned after losing a slightly tricked card game to the evil Mephisto—I’ll show the classic three steps of comic art.
For the next two pages, notice how I conveniently made the panels into the shape of playing cards.
I don’t know if readers always catch these kinds of details, but Artopsy is a good occasion for me to point out the small things that contribute to making comics a unique form of art…