CIRCUS WINDOWS CONCLUDES!
Good to see Little Claire, Bad Machinery favourite and Lottie’s Wicked Things co-star, briefly back. I’m afraid you will have to wait to find out exactly what her wig-blowing news is but we will get to the Great British Bump-Off eventually.
The original version of this page had a note about the fate of John Cloake (left to perish in the snow earlier in the story), in the end I threw it away so we could see Claire, but here’s the relevant piece of the page to reassure Cloake fans…
Thanks for reading Circus Windows! If you want to see more Lottie adventures, let me know in the comments, and be sure to pick up Wicked Things Volume 1 from Boom Studios — wherever comics and books are sold.
Oh man, I’ve got so much to say about this page, like how much I love Claire’s evil face in the last panel…but I gotta know will we (here or on Patreon) see that original version in full? Can’t help but wonder how different it is!
There’s no final page, I just inked a bit of the rough to make that teaser for Cloake stans.
Bless you for this. I’ve been worried about Ole Cloaky.
Is that Shelly reading the paper?
Yes. I wonder if we will see her again very soon…
Alas, no answers to the central question here, so I’m just going to go with the head canon that the clowns are wielding the space stone.
I favor the hypothesis that the clowns were leveraging their fourth-wall-breaking powers to enter the stores by traveling in the space between comic panels.
Well however they were doing it they WERE breaking and entering, right? And she got footage of the crime.
I know how they get them in the doors… they tape two posters together and feed them through the top of the shop door (seldom insulated on retail premises for obvious reasons), then tape the poster to the outside top of the door. As for the windows, legally I can’t say.
“The Infinity Clown Mitten” just doesn’t inspire the level of fear and dread that Boozoo may have been going for.
Place a mirror opposite the window and hold the poster up in between. Then quickly whip the mirror away with a performance gesture; the universe will get confused causing the poster to jump from one piece of glass to the other.
I spy WAVES, did Lottie get her Japanese digital perm in the end?
Was just thinking the same thing. Looks like she did!
Plus the fact that Claire is reading “Take a Break” tells me Lottie sold the story and made enough for the perm!
In fact, I think I see the end of the word “clown” on the TAB cover.
Yes! A perm, a periodical and a plan (sort of). All the makings of a promising career in Tackleford, and who knows where else? Mr. Allison, you have set the bar with this one. Now, just what about Shauna with an X?
Moar Lottie Grote! I bought Wicked Things regularly from the local shop. (It was the reason I started going.)
How do you spell Shauna with an X? S-H-A-U-N-A-W-I-T-H-A-N-X.
I only sussed it out after seeing Lottie with her J.D.P., so I can only imagine her hair waves will be a great mystery-solving asset.
Careful with that X, Eugene
Applause! Well-struck, Klimmy!
Yes, goal achieved!
Thank goodness Cloake is alright. I absolutely adore anything with Charlotte Grote in it! I loved Wicked Things, and I re-read Bad Machinery regularly but Lottie especially has a special place in my heart. And I love her and LC together!! Would love to see more of them 🙂 Circus Windows was so fun, thanks for sharing!
I will always be sad that she and Shauna parted ways. They were more than the sum of their parts, an unstoppable duo!
Peaceful ending ♡. Good to know that Mildred is following her dreams. It’s nice to see how much Claire enjoys solving mysteries with Lottie ♡. Everything is so calm and relaxed. Yet, little Claire is able to go from the insecure and sweet gaze in panel three to looking like the secret twin of the sadistic doctor Frieda Boher of “Necron” at the end of the page. Great story ♡.
I note Claire has been working on her lisp.
She can now pronounce 1 s properly. Two or more in a row still produce the ol’ thorn.
Still an achievement. George VI would be proud.
It’s pretty well-controlled in Wicked Things, to the point that it only happens once or twice iirc
I noted this as well, good on her.
By the end of Bad Machinery, the lisp was only sometimes there, if I remember correctly.
While Lottie did not end up taking a lover in this storyline after all, I think that recent events have definitively established that she is “down to clown”, so long as the clowning is taking place on her terms.
I suspect she gave car wash guy her number. 😉
Since the carwash incident appeared to be prearranged, I surmised that she and carwash guy were already known to each other.
The Smokey the Bear sticker is a lovely touch.
It makes me want to go back and reread The Case of the Simple Soul again.
Ha! I was going to comment on the irony.
Of course, her father IS the fire chief, so she probably felt a bit of pressure to display the sticker somewhere.
Unless her father has retired now, after being shamed by too many computer-savvy youths.
BTW, I believe the Case of the Simple Soul is about to begin on GoComics.
And for those who want to read the whole thing in one go, it’s also available on http://scarygoround.com/badmachinery/?date=20101122
It can also be found on Comixology as well, if that’s your thing, but it costs money there (even if you subscribe to Unlimited, as I do). Hopefully some of that money will find its way back to Mr. Allison.
And to answer your query, John: YES! More Charlotte Grote stories please.
Agreed!
I’m facing a sad empty place in my days until Lottie returns. Thank you, Mr. Allison.
That orange strikes me as one of the little ones whose skin almost falls off and are just right when you’re both hungry and thirsty… mouth waterin’ just thinking about it.
Perhaps a clementine from Spain!
The citrus formerly known as a tangerine, now called a mandarin. Not, strictly speaking, an orange. They come in a variety of types.
Hurrah and excellente on another case concluded. More Grote would be great.
A resounding yes on the continuing adventures of Lottie & Co!!!
Also intrigued by the Great British Bumpoff…GASP…Does that mean Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig are going to guest star in the next installment?!
Awww. Little Claire preparing herself for potential disappointment in panel two. Love her facial reaction in the final panel. Can’t wait to hear what her exciting news is!
“If you want to see more Lottie adventures”? Ha! John, you toy with us. Surely you must know, for all the Shelley Winterses, all the Ryan Beckwiths, the Shauna Wickle Finches, yea all the Desmond Fishmen, they’ve all been either leading up to or revolving around Lottie. It’s her world; the rest of us are just reading it.
I’m weeping tears of relief right now. Thank GOODNESS Cloake is okay. I have been at the edge of my seat up til now.
Hair permed. Lovers (as far as we can tell) unsatisfied. Mildred comes in at 1-1 on her “100% confident prediction”.
Wonderful story John! Do hope to see more Lottie and Claire some day.
It’s been a wonderful story. Do I detect subtle hints that Claire’s still a bit fire-obsessed?
Good to see Claire again, but also good to see that the Tackleford Cormorant is still in business! (Though with headlines like that, how can it not?)
All the news that fits, we print!
I mean obviously I want more Lottie adventures. I bought and read Wicked Things and enjoyed it a lot when this arc started. There’s definitely a different vibe, though, when you write and illustrate the comic. It might be interesting to read some stuff on how that changes the creative process.
HE’S FINE
So…. what is your next project?
You might find out at steeple.church.
I believe Lottie will be involved.
There’s a post under the comic on the front page – as Joe says, head to https://steeple.church from Monday for a new story featuring all (some of) your favourites (worsties).
Claire!!!!!
Obviously I want more Lottie stories!
Somewhat related note: Volumes 1 – 13 of Giant Days is in my local library! On display even – imagine the joy I felt when I saw John Allison’s work on the modest graphic novel shelves. 🙂
When Claire smiles like that, the denizens of Tackleford Fire Station feel an icy chill….
IF we want to see more Lottie adventures? OF COURSE WE DO!!! (Well, at least I do. And I’m assuming anyone else here would, since, y’know… they’re here.)
LOTTIE GROTE FOREVER! (Unless you’re going to ditch Lottie for the long-awaited Desmond Fishman/Robert Cop team-up.)
Giant Days still the fav, but Lottie even shows up there, so the universe is all still connected. While we can’t go back and relive University days, we can continue on viewing the world from the current generation. So, yes, more Lottie!
I want to see more!!!