It’s Fan Fiction Friday once again, Everybody… and this week, we return to Dilton’s lab to catch up with Archie and Betty. We also we find out what secrets Dilton has been hiding in his cellar. What has Dilton been doing? Has he been building his own army of undead Betties? After this page we’re looking at TWO more pages in this first issue!
On a personal note, I’ve been enjoying this fun little experiment. I want to thank everyone who’s been following along and has replied on social media and encouraged me to keep going. I didn’t know when I started if I’d be able to get a whole twenty-page issue under my belt, but here we are! Thanks again, Faithful Followers! Your support has opened many possibilities! Remember! This is fan fiction! That means we can do anything we want! I’ve got ideas! Some interesting things are coming up! I hope everybody will hang in there for the ride!
Now for this week’s Director’s Cut Commentary… Panel One starts us off with an exterior establishing shot of Dilton’s lab. Since we’re switching scenes from last week’s big moment with Moose and Reggie, we needed to clearly re-establish the return to this setting. An exterior is really the best way to do that. I didn’t include the “Dilton’s Lab” sign this time since I felt I’ve shown it enough times already this issue.
Panel One does include another appearance by Archie’s iconic jalopy, Betsy although the Ol’ Gal is silhouetted this time. This panel also features my trademark initials carved into the tree trunk of the foreground tree all the way on the right. As I’ve explained previously, this was an old habit of mine from back when I was drawing stories for Archie Comics. It was my way of sneaking my name into the art so I could claim credit in perpetuity. Often times inkers like Rich Koslowski and Rudy Lapick would add their own initials right underneath mine! I always loved that! Look for those in Archie’s endless reprints!
In Panel Two, we see a few scattered snapshots of Betty from Dilton’s dubious collection of Betty pics! What was he doing with those? Was it as creepy as it seems? We’ll find out. I promise!
That’s it for this week’s Easter eggs and commentary. Don’t forget! Tomorrow is Secret Origin Saturday and I’m on track to avoid another Secret Origin Sunday! Tomorrow’s page is almost done so look for it to be posted late tonight or more likely, early tomorrow morning!
See you tomorrow, Everybody!!
