Look, they got a mattress! Sort of! You can stop worrying now.
Apologies (?) for the absence of an April Fool’s gag; my normal penchant for silliness has been on the fritz lately. Maybe I’ll catch you all by surprise in August! Besides, I’d feel rude interrupting the characters when they’re actually having a nice time.
Only 15 hours (as of this posting) left to bid on my piece for the Periscope Studio Japan benefit auction! Thank you to those of you who’ve already put in bids. The remaining pieces are all available for viewing at http://tinyurl.com/PS4Japan; go look even if you’re broke, as they’re all quite lovely.
And, if you don’t know what Ariana is referencing, you’ll have to go to the Facebook page to find out. (Or wait until I put up another round of notes…)
Every so often in this comic I have to employ some tricks that don’t translate very well when read online at a page-a-week. Just pay attention to the moon and you’ll catch on to the actual pace at which this conversation is being held. (And yes. There will be sexy times again. I promise.)
Just two weeks until I’ll be at Portland’s own Stumptown Comics Fest, and just a little over a month until you can find me in Toronto at TCAF (first time ever!). I’m looking forward to both, and there’s a good chance I’ll be speaking on panels. If you have never seen me speak in public: do. I am a giant ham.
Meanwhile, please check the Periscope Studio Tumblr for updates on some gorgeous Japan-themed artwork going up for charity auction on eBay. A piece of mine will be included!
This week’s page: definitely not for viewing at the office or in the presence of your mom! I warned you all that this book would contain sex, violence, and maybe werewolves.
Lettering’s a little tricky to read this week; I’ll see if I can’t tidy that up over the weekend. That word Luther’s saying in panel 3? It’s “indelicate.” Appropriately enough.
For those of you looking for further Not Safe For Work delights; beloved studiomates Jeff Parker and Erika Moen took time out of their busy lives to make this horrible, horrible joke at my (and Luther’s…) expense over at Bucko. Friends, I am an only child, but Monday through Friday you wouldn’t be able to tell.
And I’m already having the Tarot posters reprinted – thank you to everybody who bought a set, and if you’re waiting on yours, it should be on its way just as soon as I receive them!
Here’s a higher-res image of Luther as the Fool.
Adding the book, the watch, and swapping the little dog for the wolf were all fun notions to carry out, as was swapping the mountains for the treeline.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of people who are mostly familiar with the Rider Waite tarot assume that the little white dog is this handsome young troubadour’s loyal pet. In the history of tarot depictions of this card, however, the dog is an angry local mutt actively trying to bite the Fool. The Fool isn’t always a happy young Bohemian, either.
Here’s the original, by Pamela Coleman Smith, under the art direction of Rider and Waite:
And here’s the Fool from the version of the older Tarot de Marseille deck, by Jean Dodal:
Here is an early page, in honor of Emerald City Comic-Con! I’ll be at Table #208 with Erika Moen. ECCC is a really fun show with something for every nerd, so please come say hello if you haunt the Seattle area.
Also debuting there, I have a new set of giclee prints for sale. Luther and Ariana in tarot card incarnations. I won’t put them online until next week, so come snag yours!
Click to see at full(er) size.