SPECTATORS - The First 180 Pages

Plus, win a bunch of cool shit!

Making comics can be so goddamn lonely.

Brian here, and when artist Niko Henrichon and I started remotely collaborating on our original graphic novel Pride of Baghdad almost twenty years ago, we were sequestered in different countries, working in solitude for months on end, unsure what readers (would there even be any?) might eventually make of our ultra-violent talking animal book.

The panels that launched a thousand memes; lettering by Todd Klein.

Thankfully, everything turned out okay with that one (well, not with the Iraq War…), but with our next project, Niko and I hoped to tackle an even longer and significantly more graphic story, one we wanted to create in a slightly less antisocial manner.

Enter our new friends at Substack, who’ve given us a format to produce this work more or less in “real time,” a few lettered/colored pages per week, so loyal readers like you won’t have to wait until this entire 300-plus page epic is finished before joining us.

And the best part is that this work-in-progress is 100% free to read, something we here at Exploding Giraffe are only able to offer because of you generous paid subscribers in The Tower (what a group of giraffes is called, or at least that’s what the zoo placard claimed).

Not only have you Tower-types made this a much less lonely experience, you’ve also turned out to be a lovely group of human beings who enjoy spectating in all its forms just as much as Niko and I do.

We have weekly private chat threads to discuss what we’ve all been watching/reading/listening to/etc., and we’ve given out hundreds of wacky prizes to random commenters. Our intern Genesis the Exploded Giraffe just got back from safari and mailed out the most recent batch of signed comics to some lucky Tower pals:

Thanks to whoever recommended these sturdy mailers!

Paid subscribers also get tons of exclusive bonus content, as well as access to our increasingly vast Archives, where you can catch up on past installments of popular segments like Artopsy, where Niko takes you behind the scenes of his artistic process with video tutorials, never-before-seen images, and even the occasional diary comic. He’s the fucking best.

And for you aspiring writers, those Archives also contain all of my past interviews with fellow creators, multiple scripts from my various comics, as well as screenplays, teaser trailers, and more from some of my “lost” film and tv projects. It’s a gas.

All that extra awesomeness normally runs you five bucks a month (or just $40 for an entire year)…

…but for one last time, we’re knocking 25% off the regular annual price, making membership for a full year just THIRTY BUCKS.

This obscenely special offer is only good until next Monday, August 14th, after which our annual price will likely only go up, so if you’ve been thinking about joining your fellow giraffes, now’s the time.

We gave away the last of our “Founder” rewards last year, but Genesis just dug up the last two remaining $250 Prize Packs (which have resold for many multiples of that on eBay), and we’ll be giving away one to a random CURRENT annual subscriber, and another one to a random NEW subscriber who joins at the annual level anytime this week.

Each prize pack contains one limited edition copy of my original 45-page script to Saga #1, which has never been published anywhere…

…plus a signed issue of an early first printing of Saga, including a particularly strong doodle by yours truly…

…and most importantly, one of these extraordinary hand-drawn color sketches by Niko Henrichon, whose luxurious original artwork is normally only available for purchase over at Essential Sequential:

Good luck!

And I know times are tough, so if you’re only able to check out our comic for free at the moment, that’s more than cool by me, thanks so much for being here.

Lettered by Saga’s own Fonografiks, Spectators is a story about sex and violence, and why so many of us spend so much of our lives watching those things happen to other people.

My friends and I have been working blissfully free of any content restrictions or editorial mandates, so expect loads of full-frontal nudity, offensive language, sexual content, and graphic bloodshed.

Seriously, don’t read this one at work, kids.

With that, Niko, Fonografiks and I greatly hope you enjoy the first 180 pages of Spectators (available to download and own as either a PDF or CBZ file), which we hope you’ll read on the biggest/brightest screen you’ve got:

Spectators 001 180

88MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Spectators 001 180

190MB ∙ CBZ file

Read now

Read now

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To be continued.

Well, what do you think so far?

If this is your first time reading our filthy sci-fi/romance/western/horror/drama thing, and you think there’s some other weirdo in your life who might also dig it, please feel free to spread our plague far and wide, thanks again:

And yes, we hope to eventually release Spectators in some kind of print edition, but not until after the entire story is complete, which probably won’t be for at least another year, so why wait…?

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Inspired by last week’s missive about comic books adapting Hollywood, our most recent Tower chat thread involved favorite adaptations from any media, and you had so many boss suggestions.

Ryan J. wrote:

I would have to say Pee-wee’s Playhouse is my favorite (loose) adaptation. The stage show is incredible but also geared towards adults, and I think it’s fascinating they turned it into a kid’s show.

R.I.P. to the legend himself, Paul Reubens. Gonna pour one out over my Mr. T cereal.

Ugh, that news broke just as I was publishing last week, and I’m still reeling. When it aired on early HBO, I watched Pee-wee’s deliciously subversive stage show (written with and co-starring my beloved Phil Hartman) a billion times as a too-young kid.

Sleep tight, boys.

Changing gears, Leah recommended:

I’m in the first crush of love with Nimona. I was crazy about ND Stevenson's webcomic, and I am loving how they captured all the vibes with an adapted story that was right for a movie. Plus, my 3-yr-old is obsessed and lets me read the comic to her now, and there’s nothing so cute as her running around calling her father “Ambrosius Goldenloin.”

Good call, Leah. ND Stevenson is making the best comics via Substack (and maybe the best autobio comics anywhere), so I hope everyone is reading:

But Genesis could only pick one of you lucky Tower members to receive some signed copies of my own past adaptation work, and they randomly selected… Jake R.:

My favorite adaptations are the Viz Media manga adaptations of the Legend of Zelda games I read as a kid, where the artists beautifully rendered worlds from graphically simple, pixeley Game Boy games. A lot of old video games have cool covers, but disappointing visuals. But the visuals on the covers of these comics matched the insides, which is one of the reasons I fell in love with comics.

Killer choice, Jake. Genesis will be reaching out for your mailing address ASAP.

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My aesthetic is “troubled.”

I’m finally headed home after my latest adventure in the land of insane local politics, Guardians misery, and consistently wonderful food, and it reminded me to ask:

Where are you from originally, and are you anywhere near there now?

These chat threads are usually reserved for The Tower, but I’ll throw the comments open to everyone this week, so whether you’re a regular reader or a longtime lurker, I hope you’ll drop in and say hello.

And as thanks for putting up with all of today’s pledge-drive bullshit, I’ll even award a couple random commenters an obligatory TOTE BAG (but a pretty one, designed by Paper Girls co-creator Cliff Chiang for Threadless):

Have a great week, get into some good trouble, and I’ll see you back here next Monday for more new Spectators.

Thanks for keeping us company,

BKV