Spencer & Locke, a spin on Bill Watterson’s Calvin & Hobbes, was originally unveiled by The Hollywood Reporter before New York Comic Con in 2016. Now the third installment of the popular comic is getting the same treatment ahead of NYCC 2019, which begins on Thursday October 3.
Created by David Pepose and Jorge Santiago Jr., the acclaimed series is a parody of familiar, iconic newspaper strips, but in this world, the characters are set in a noir world where crime is just around every corner.
The writer and artist are staying hush hush about what this third run will feature, having only released a teaser image (see below) and a tagline: “His partner was imaginary… but the reckoning is all real.”
Spencer & Locke 1 was a five-time Ringo Award-nominated comic that followed hard-boiled Detective Locke as he investigated a brutal murder thanks to the help of his six-foot-tall imaginary talking panther Spencer.
In the sequel, the team expanded their world across the funny pages, pitting Spencer and Locke against a murderous soldier named Roach Riley, a dark parody of Mort Walker’s Beetle Bailey. The series ended with Spencer taking over Locke’s body to kill Roach before his reign of terror could continue. Fired from the police force, Locke then throws the Spencer doll into the trash before walking off into the night.
As a nod to the cover of the first issues of both previous series, the third series features the toy version of Spencer, battered and holding a smoking gun, but this version adds an orange cat’s head scrawled on a brick wall, a rat peeking around Spencer’s foot, and some discarded peanut shells, giving fans a hint at what parodies may lie ahead.
Spencer and Locke 3 will be coming soon. If you’re heading to NYCC this year, swing by Action Lab Comics’ booth #3044 for more. The show will be held from Oct. 3 through Oct. 6 in the Javits Center.
