As usual, I spend far too much time nattering on “here’s what I was thinking in mid-2014” and far too little appreciating John’s amazing artwork, but every once in a while, appreciation for the images pierces even my self-regard. That first panel, whoa. RIP, Shanna’s big-hat era.

If Guilded Age were a movie (haha, like we could ever cut this story down to even Snyder-Cut-length onscreen), we’d use some version of that image on a variant poster, maybe tilted and tinted blue. (Credit for the below image should go to the master of diagnosing movie-poster tropes, Christophe Courtois, though several English-language blogs have tried taking credit for his work.)

Not sure if keeping his car keys on the same chain as that huge switchblade counts as a dumb move or merely eccentric on JJ’s part, but I think it’s safe to assume no one’s ever run off with his knife in them before. That little smile of Xan’s in panel 2 is also a great touch. Poor guy should relish this victory, since he just burned his entire database to a crisp. As soon as he can use both his hands again, he’s not gonna know what to do with them.