A few behind-the-scenes notes… The “Dilton’s Lab” sign we see in Panel 2 is something I designed… along with the little glasses wearing Dilton skull… and used in Dilton-themed stories back when I was writing and drawing for Archie Comics. The sign most often turned up in the lead ten-page stories used in the Tales From Riverdale and Jughead & Friends digests. I used to write and draw the new stories in those digests so regularly that I considered them my regular assignments. After those digests, I’d use the Dilton’s Lab sign any time I had to feature Dilton’s lab in a story. I usually included an exterior shot similar to Panel 2.
Panel 3 features a number of notable elements and Easter eggs. We see a comic book white box and on top of it we see a stack of comics topped off with a copy of the reboot Jughead. That was a very controversial book due to its highly stylized and divisive art and perhaps not coincidentally, it was also the first casualty of the Archie reboot.
Up on the shelf, we can see a Silver-Age Ant-Man helmet. This, along with Green Lantern’s power battery and Dr. Fate’s helmet, is a regular item I’d toss into my backgrounds whenever I was drawing a hi-tech lab setting, super hero headquarters or other such environments laden with exotic clutter.
Take note of the broken glass and the large stain on the floor. These are going to matter significantly in upcoming chapters!
Next week though… “Reggie & Me!”
Have you been enjoying this serialized fan fiction? Should I continue? Please let me know in the comments below.
And in case anyone has missed the previous chapters, here you go…!
