SPECTATORS - The First 225 Pages

Plus, win a signed copy of SAGA #1!

Do you think any of your dearly departed loved ones are watching over you?

Brian here, and I sure as shit hope not, but for the voyeuristic protagonists of Spectators, being able to join an eternal watch party after passing is pretty close to heaven, even as the world they left behind goes to hell.

For the last two years, I’ve been collaborating on this unconventional ghost story for adults with my dear friends Niko Henrichon (the internationally renowned artist of Pride of Baghdad, which is where the phrase/horrific image “Exploding Giraffe” originated) and beloved Saga letterer/man of mystery Fonografiks.

Our goal was to create a truly independent, 300-plus-page standalone graphic novel—one with absolutely no content restrictions or other creative restraints—that hopefully looks and feels unlike any comic you’ve ever read, an exquisitely rendered, leisurely paced, ultra-violent, sexually explicit, sci-fi/supernatural romance about two spirits from very different pasts haunting the same troubled future.

Steadily serializing a few hand-painted pages every Monday, we’ve so far managed to tell the first two-thirds of our epic story, which we continue to share for FREE. And this year, we plan to finally complete Spectators, something that wouldn’t be possible without you generous giraffes in The Tower.

These paid subscribers get full access to all of our past and future bonus content, including some of my “lost” Hollywood work…

…hand-drawn visual diaries and other behind-the-scenes artistic greatness from process maestro Niko Henrichon…

…and even the occasional podcast-thing with superstar creators like Robert Kirkman (and yes, a new installment of “Mature Readers” is coming!):

We’ve also given away thousands of dollars worth of prizes, including one-of-a-kind pieces of original art from Niko. And I’ll be offering one last signing opportunity exclusively for all Tower members later this year. Since I won’t be able to make any conventions in 2024, Exploding Giraffe will be the ONLY place where you’ll be able to get issues of Saga or what have you scribbled on by me for the foreseeable future.

(And never fear, Fiona Staples and I are both very hard at work on this year’s new chapters of Saga! Stay tuned to this space for more details about our book’s return…)

Which reminds me, when our loyal intern Genesis the Exploded Giraffe galloped over to the BKVault to see if we had any copies of Saga #1 left (for the Tower members who helped out with my recent Batman cassette tape search), they unearthed a whole stack of pristine first printings, untouched by human hands since the printer sent me these hot-off-the-press comps twelve years ago (so naturally, I already ruined a few with my terrible version of Lying Cat):

And yet, perhaps my finest artwork to date.

Next Monday, Genesis will randomly select THREE NEW PAID SUBSCRIBERS WHO SIGN UP THIS WEEK and THREE EXISTING PAID SUBSCRIBERS to each win one of those signed copies, so if you’ve been considering joining our friendly Tower (or re-upping your subscription), this is a swell time.

Membership is $5 per month, or just 40 bucks if you sign up for a whole year, and we saved some of our best bonus surprises and giveaways for this home stretch, so we promise to give you your money’s worth.

Spectators is always free to read, though normally, only paid subscribers can download/own the attached files. But this week, we’re making our first 225 pages available to ALL readers in easy-to-read PDF and CBZ formats, so if there’s an adventuresome reader in your life who you think might be intrigued by this NSFW madness, please give them a heads-up.

Okay, thanks again for indulging this pledge drive nonsense. I know a lot of us are drowning in subscriptions these days, so Niko, Fonografiks and I truly appreciate all of you who welcome us into your crowded inboxes. Happy spectating.

Spectators 000 225

170MB ∙ PDF file

Download

A PDF of the first 225 pages of SPECTATORS, a NSFW graphic novel serialized at Exploding Giraffe by Brian K. Vaughan, Niko Henrichon and Fonografiks.

Download

Spectators 000 225

236MB ∙ CBZ file

Read now

A CBZ file of the first 225 pages of SPECTATORS, a NSFW graphic novel serialized at Exploding Giraffe by Brian K. Vaughan, Niko Henrichon and Fonografiks.

Read now

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Wait, what was up with Val’s Terminator VHS tape from like a hundred pages ago? Find out in our very next scene, maybe my favorite of our entire story.

But what if you’d rather wait to read Spectators in print? We definitely hope to release a physical version someday, but it won’t be until after we’ve completed telling our story our way here at Exploding Giraffe, so I wouldn’t expect to see a print edition of Spectators on shelves until the end of 2025 at the earliest.

For now, why not join us weekly as we finish bringing Spectators to its explosive climax? Working on a project of this scope can be a lonely endeavor, but having so many lovely first readers watching us create in “real time” has made this an A+ experience.

Anyway, you Constant Readers may have noticed that we ended this latest digital collection at the visual cliffhanger/memorable number of Page 225, but Niko’s actually already finished up to 228, all of which you can read below, and which we’ll also include with next week’s new pages for your reading convenience:

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Our weekly chat thread is usually reserved for Tower members, but I wanted to open this question up to all readers: How was your commute today?

I’m very lucky that I get to walk to “work,” especially because our neighborhood here in the Valley just got hit my more mudslides during this massive storm (we’ve thankfully avoided any damage so far, knock soggy wood).

How about you? Do you work/study/exist out of the home? If so, do you drive, bike, use public transportation, what? And is commuting the worst part of your day or (could this even be possible) the best?

I swear I’m not compiling a detailed dossier to eventually be utilized against each and every one of you. Just curious.

Over the last two years, Exploding Giraffe has herded together a spectacular group of very personable fellow spectators, so if you’re a reader who’s never stopped by, I hope you’ll de-lurk and say hello this week by hitting the bright blue button below:

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I’m slowly making my way through this year’s already towering to-read stack of new comics, but I read a few excellent books over the weekend by friends/colleagues/nemeses that I thought you might also dig:

Gorgeously gross cover by Declan Shalvey

The penultimate issue of this horror miniseries from the amazing Jacen Burrows and my “mate” (sounds wrong when we septics say it) Garth Ennis just came out, and it’s as great-slash-unsettling as anything these two have ever done.

And yes, that includes Punisher Soviet, which still gives me literal nightmares.

I’ve never worked with Nick Pitarra, but I’m a gigantic fan, so I was an early backer of his new creator-owned book Ax-Wielder Jon.

I just got the finished hardcover, and it’s an early contender for most beautiful comic of the year, a blood-soaked fantasy story told with real passion, which you can feel in every joyously detailed panel.

And sorry to brag (no I’m not), but look at this awesome art I was lucky enough to get with my signed copy:

Finally, in the nemesis category, it pains me to say how much I enjoyed the latest from my longtime foil Ed Brubaker and (let’s face it, the actual star of the show) Sean Phillips.

The fact that these two criminal masterminds continue to evolve as creators and collaborators—while also remaining true to their idiosyncratic and deeply personal visions—is fucking inspiring.

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My apologies if I haven’t gotten to your comic yet, old pals and/or complete strangers. I’ll have many more recommendations (and a few more sabotage interviews) in upcoming installments.

For now, please get to wherever you’re headed next safely, and I’ll see you in the chat and/or back here next Monday evening for more free Spectators.

Peace,

BKV

PS - If you’ve made it this far, would you object if all future bonus content was just grainy pictures from my new bird-feeder camera? Thank you in advance - Intensely Middle-aged Man