Chapter 4: Page 3

One Vision: Page 3

NOTES FROM RANDY

Hey, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

This is my partner’s and my favorite “holiday,” as it is with many of you spooky people out there. Thankfully, our two kids are following suit as they both LOVE scary stuff. It’s weird and beautiful all at once.

But hey, we’re back! Chapter 4’s page 3 is still just setting the table for the main course of this chapter. For now, Colton is just gifted THE COMPANY CAR, which is bound to be the best thing the Agency has in its garage, I’m SURE of it. It has to be one of those fancy, futuristic cars like we saw Harry and Ricki drive (and crash) in Munn’s Last Stand, right?

…right?

Either way, Colton is now on the trail of Penelope Fortescue. Now that they’ve had 2 brief run-ins before, it’ll be interesting to see if the third time is the charm for them both. Doubtful, but we can always hope.

---

SUB ROSA

Jason and I have, for as long as I can remember, been into secrets, conspiracies, hidden meanings, etc. We also LOVE old languages, words, and phrases, especially slipping them into The Jacket. So I decided to call this “behind the scenes” section, SUB ROSA, an ancient Greek/ Roman phrase directly meaning “under the rose,” but colloquially used as meaning “in secret.” I just…like it so much more.

So today’s sub rosa deals with an unreleased page and time.

This page right here is a re-imagining of Chapter 1: Page 4. Here’s the original I completed years ago:

So while I’m not going to discuss the differences or why I did X, Y, or Z, instead I wanted to give a bit of background to Colton. Though I would like to mention that if I ever redo Chapter 1 like that, I would absolutely include more Harker posters in the background like I did in that last panel of the redone page.

Years and years ago, Jason and I would regularly hit up our local mall, Park City. Now, Jason may remember this differently, but that’s one cool thing about the intersection of origin stories and memories. Sometimes you get multiple stories and points of view.

Actual photo of Park City Center’s H&M Store from Google. Copyright the person that took it, I guess?

One day at the mall, Jason followed me into H&M Clothing Store and we happened upon a black, denim-like blazer with shoulder epaulettes. I tried it on. I loved it. I handed it to Jason, and he tried it on. He loved it. We both stared at this thing.

A jacket, that fit us both, PERFECTLY?

That’s absolutely crazy. Why? Because Jason and I are like this:

I’ve always told Jason, who is tall and thin like Luigi, that he’s just one mustache away from he and I attending cons as the Mario Bros. I, like the short, chubby Mario that I am, could not believe that the same jacket in a store could fit us both so perfectly.

So, I bought it.

Reference photo of Jason and I, and THE jacket

In this shot above, you can see Jason “kicking” me down the stairs in a parking garage in downtown Lancaster. This was taken in January 2010. Yeah, almost 14 years ago now. I actually used some of the references we took that day, but this wasn’t one of them. I also know Jason is averse to cameras, so I made sure to share one he was only *kind of* in.

Okay, okay, so I got sidetracked a little bit. Sorry about that.

Back to the Colton and time stuff. When we were originally plotting The Jacket, Colton needed a background. And that’s where my real-life job at the time came into play.

I worked at Fossil, mostly known at the time for their watches. Though I sold handbags, men’s bags, and accessories like wallets. What a life that was. One of the key features that Jason and I would always talk about with my job is how I would literally watch the time go by.

Every watch I set, which was A LOT per shift, whether it was a new purchase or a battery change, meant I was constantly aware of the time. It isn’t something you’d think about when you are considering taking a job around watches, but it becomes painfully clear quite quickly.

And that, I think, started to help Jason form the basis for time and Colton’s apathy in the watch shop he starts in. The only real escape in the early pages can be found in Colton’s dreams. But even then, the ticking away of time follows.

Okay, that’s enough sub rosa for today. Jason will be back with you on Thursday!

-Randy