Tales of Syzpense #18
An otherworldly preview of the next ToS comic, a Spinner Rack sob story, and a return visit to Groom Lake
In the midst of finalizing the Tales of Syzpense #3 comic due out in mid-October, it occurred to me that we set the rules for this comic, so we could break ‘em whenever we wanted.
The comic was set up as a split book with two 12-pages stories (Ashley Wood’s Les Mort 13 and Dreamweaver by me and Nelson Daniel). But it’s a 40-page comic and we’ve been doing them ad-free to maximize the value for everyone.
But they don’t have to only include two stories. In fact, you could argue that issue 3 is exactly the right place to offer three tales instead. And so we will. In addition to the third chapter of our respective stories (in mine: Dreamweaver has passed his on his magic powers to someone younger, which ends up wrecking both his life and hers, at exactly the worst time), issue 3 will feature the return of a series I co-created called Groom Lake.
Groom Lake was a 4-issue series created by me and artist Ben Templesmith. It was a fun take on the kinds of alien stories and UFO conspiracies I loved as a kid, and worked in lots of lore amidst a story of a group of aliens attempting to escape from a base under Groom Lake in Area 51.
Groom Lake introduced a grey alien called Archibald, a fun-loving if very odd little guy who I really enjoyed spending time with. I brought him back a couple times in little ways (his role in this big multi-property crossover event was to sit in a bar alongside The Weekly World News’ Bat Boy and comment on the ridiculousness of big comic-book events and crossovers.
But he hadn’t returned in a full sequel — until now, anyway.
Archibald and Groom Lake are back in a new 8-page story in the back of Tales of Syzpense #3 that will lead into a longer Groom Lake series, Groom Lake: Grey Skies Above, in 2024. The story, drawn and colored by Dreamweaver co-creator Nelson Daniel and lettered by Shawn Lee, doesn’t rely on anyone’s familiarity with the original series. It picks up with Archibald and his two handlers just trying to live a normal life, albeit in a very different world, one filled with modern conspiracies involving Tic-Tac videos and whistleblowers and UAP grifters. Like the first Groom Lake, though, both Archibald and the story have a lightness about them, even as the world darkens around them.
It’s been a blast to revisit these characters even just in this first chapter. So I hope anyone who picks up Tales of Syz 3 enjoys this little bonus ahead of the full Groom Lake: Grey Skies Above series coming at you next year. Like with my other story in Tales of Syz, Nelson’s otherworldly art alone is worth the price of admission.
Archibald even makes a little appearance in the corner box on Nelson’s issue 3 homage cover.
As a little bonus for paid subscribers, a PDF of the original Groom Lake #1 is below, too.
The Suspense-Syzpense Crossover
With each issue of our Tales of Syzpense—so named for it employing the same two-story approach as Marvel’s old Tales of Suspense series—Nelson has been doing a cover that pays homage to those great old Suspense covers. Since the first four covers are now complete, I thought it’d be fun to showcase both his covers and the originals to whom he’s paying tribute:
I recently stumbled across this homage to ToS 66, too. It’s by an artist named Wayne Barnes, who posts his stuff on IG under the name BarnDog. It’s fun. And just goes to show how those great old Kirby cover designs work well with pretty much any characters and any artist.
One final Jack Kirby note: Jack’s 106th birthday was on August 28, and as I’ve been doing with a few other artists, I put together a “13 covers” piece at 13th Dimension. When I do those, I try to find a unique way to spotlight an artist instead of showing, say, their 13 best-known images. Nothing wrong with that by any means—anything that showcases their greatness is the right approach—but I like trying to share lesser-seen pieces where possible. So my 13th D piece celebrating Jack shared 13 unpublished covers, along with the published versions, too. You can check ‘em out here.
Spinner Rack of Tears
This theme is again courtesy of Jordan Hart (whose graphic novel Ripple Effects is now both an Eisner nominee and a Harvey Award nominee, too). He suggested a theme of Sad Superman , of which there are a surprising number of covers. Some, like the ones that involve Super experiencing losses like his cousin Kara going down during Crisis On Infinite Earths, seem well-earned. Others, well… Clark always was a sensitive soul and these covers do not shy away from showcasing that very human side of him. A couple of them might also make him think twice about his friendship with Jimmy Olsen.
As the Calendar Turns
The 1978 Spider-Man calendar hanging on my office wall turns to a new (well, old) month today — see, 1978 dates line up with 2023, so I re-use those great old Marvel calendars whenever the years align — and September 1 is also the day that the book I wrote that collects and celebrates these calendars from yesteryear is officially being sent to the printer.
I opened Amazon earlier today and saw my book among one of their recommendations for me, and it will never cease to make me feel good seeing my stuff stacked alongside the other great books on display below. The calendar book, a big, beautiful 13” x 13” hardcover, is officially up for pre-order now and lands in stores and on porches in January 2024. And if you end up with Amazon holiday gift cards, well, it’s the perfect thing to pick up that way, too.
Okay—and now all of this week’s Tales are told. (I’m clearly still experimenting with some kind of proper closing line for these newsletters…)
For those who can access it, please enjoy the Groom Lake #1 PDF below. Otherwise, see you back here soon.
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