How is it still open?
A lot going on here, so you might as well take your time. This isn’t the Slag Pit’s first appearance in my comics, as it featured in Giant Days on April 17th, 2013. A mere 11.5 years ago. There are lots of nice venues in Sheffield but I didn’t do any of them the favour of inclusion.
When I worked in Manchester city centre in the early 2000s , a club called “Satan’s Hollow” was constructed in the basement of the building I worked in, 101 Princess Street. The centrepiece of this nightclub was a big old Satan. All good fun, I’m sure you will agree, but at the time of construction we had no idea what business they were building down there, so when they started carting in the Great Deceiver, it was a confusing day.
Satan’s Hollow is still there. The business I worked for is most definitely not.
ADDENDUM: Claire and Glenn are dressed as characters from The Lady Eve. Though Glenn has editorialised with a moustache. I don’t remember where I got Lottie’s costume from as it was designed a bit before.
ADDENDUM 2: I have been reminded who Lottie’s costume is. Rita Hayworth in Gilda!
Is someone else dressed up as the nacelles or is there a pair of nacelle-shaped boots just behind that barricade?
Looks like the arms are the nacelles.
yes the arms do that job!
Satan’s Hollow! I lived in Manchester 2003-2007 and I used to go there all the time (though not as much as to the Ritz on a Monday)! What a delightful surprise that one of my favourite comic writers was part of creating one of my favourite clubs! All the thanks!
I only ever really went to Satan’s when they had bands on, I spent more time at Jllys’ (obviously.) But I saw some bloody good gigs in there.
I am stealing “sexy Worf” for a future Halloween costume.
The place is great, Claire and Lottie are beautiful, Glenn looks really good with mustache and the trio seems to have a lot of fun. But that girl on the right with the skeleton costume that looks a bit like Lottie has something creepy.
Didn’t another “Lottie” send Claire a friend request earlier in this season? Hmm…
Gasp! Lottie’s secret evil twin sister? An admirer gone mad?
*Slowly (and possibly incorrectly) putting 2 + 2 together*
Isn’t this arc supposed to tie up the loose ends from Wicked Things?
John’s full-page party panoramas are the best.
That’s the lottie from the cover!
Desmond is loose and exploring the local color again! Or it’s a die-hard Desmond cosplayer.
Obviously it’s the popular Des costume.
The Sexy Desmond costume always sells out the first week of October.
Which is impressive, since every Desmond costume is, by definition, a sexy Desmond costume
Goodness, a PowerMac G3! I had one of those – used it for 7 or 8 years (though after 5 years I replaced the processor with a G4). I’m guessing the Mac’s dance partner is supposed to be Steve Jobs.
Horny Steve Jobs!
I would imagine that they considered coming as Horny Lord Sugar and Sexy Amstrad CPC 464 but rejected the idea as too hopelessly mainstream.
A Sexy Amstrad CPC 464 is just an Amstrad CPC 6128.
The other dancer with the G3 is Sexy Steve Wozniak
I met The Woz at the Bridge School Concert in 2001 or 2002. He had just lost half his fortune in a bitter divorce. I said “It’s nice to meet you, sir” and he looked down at my hand in contempt and looked away. I actually find this anecdote kind of hilarious these days.
Lottie kind of looks like Lust from Fullmetal Alchemist. Probably not the intended reference, though?
I was thinking Rita Hayworth in Gilda. It is not exactly the dress she wears when singing “Put the blame on Mame”, but it is rather close.
Then again, Lust in Fullmetal Alchemist is probably a Gilda reference in itself
Yes, this was it!!
Have to say, that costume on the middle right side is very enterprising.
It’s my fave in this scene!
I love The Lady Eve. Haven’t seen it in decades, but it’s still one of my favorites.
“Sexy Worf!”
Is that a person dressed up as Desmond? Or is it Desmond himself?
Maybe it’s Desmond dressed up as Desmond?
If Desmond TRIED to dress up as Desmond, I suspect he would somehow manage to get it completely wrong and would wind up looking like someone else.
It’s Desmond, accompanied by his amphibian CFO Paul Scoville
And here I was thinking his companion was Mr. The Toad from Zippy.
Maybe it’s nneither! Maybe it’s an Atlantean! Am I the only one who remembers the Atlanteans from Scary Go Round, who wore helmets that looked like Des’s head?
I seem to remember Shelley bringing down that entire civilization single-handedly.
I once began a very successful birthday expedition on Canal street, and concluded it in Satan’s Hollow.
This was many years ago, but the memories of that night still put a huge grin on my face.
(Best place for a grin in my opinion)
The shop fitter’s testimonial for Satan’s Hollow is very charming in a “might make you reminisce about the old internet” way. https://www.equityconstruction.co.uk/satanshollow
This is so great! I remember them reinforcing the lobby around the lift shaft.
I’m curious about the svelte figure in the skeleton costume under the balcony on the right
I love everything about this page. The giant surtur, everyone looking dapper, Glenn and Claire getting close, Desmond fushmans Dracula, the frank Reynolds guy. And the beautiful way the motion is done. Fantastic. Also loving the implication lottie and Esther stay in touch. I’m happy Lottie kept up with her old mentor, friend and fashion icon. And not just because I’m knee deep in re reading giant days.
I’m curious about that figure, as well. Especially considering the cover of this story.
Hmmmmmm. I had assumed both the skellington Lotties and the gown Lottie on the cover were all Miss Grote when the cover dropped. Now I’m more inclined to the (wishful thinking?) notion that skellington Lottie is the Chibus Vampirellum in its next form… possibly now tangible to others beyond Carlotta herself?
I bet it’s LottieGrote412
And maybe this doppelgänger has something to do with Lottie being framed for murder in the first place
That really sounds like you’re a Patreon reader who can’t keep quiet about possible spoilers – if so, please desist forthwith!
Really? I haven’t read ahead (even though I am a Patreon subscriber), and I’d been thinking the doppelganger could be connected to Lottie being framed, as well (though I admit I’d forgotten about LottieGrote412). Given that John announced this story as finally addressing the Wicked Things loose ends, it’s not that unlikely a connection to make.
If I were to read the story in advance I would certainly not drop spoilers
What if “our” Lottie’s the doppelganger? Maybe that’s why she’s been getting Glenn’s name right….
(Not really serious. I doubt Mildred would have been fooled. Still…)
Weren’t the Japanese detectives last words “There are two of them”?
Love this panel! So much going on. Sadly the lighting means we cannot tell which Tackleford Mutant Ninja Turtle is which.
Are they…SEXY Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
All TMNT are sexy if you’ve got your priorities right.
I was going to give the costume prize to the Sexy Worf, but then I saw the Enterprise Saucy Sextion.
Hmm. Someone dressed up as Des in a cape, or actually Des dressed up in a cape? I’m just glad it’s not Sexy Desmond.
Des is ALWAYS sexy!
Sexy Capri Sun is waiting for someone to give her a squeeze.
I was going to say stick a straw in her, but that would be too risque.
Given the location of the front door and the steps down from the street outside, I wonder where those doors to either side of the entrance lead?
The toilets
I was thinking that would probably have to be it, yeah. My first thought, given the flames, was “Fire exit,” but it obviously wouldn’t make any sense to have those immediately next to the actual door
“Positively the same dame!”
Composition of the picture is superb! The team looks VERY posh! And I, too, noticed that we see Claire and Ygln dancing together. That’s nice! And Skellottie does kinda jump out at you from her post at the post.
GAAH!!! John, you are spoiling us tonight!! Lottie, Claire and Glenn all look amazing!! As does the Slag Pit and all the other costumed attendees!! And all together in this gloriously colored splash page!!!
And of course the intriguing Lottie doppelgänger in a skeleton costume under the balcony too! Such a treat!
Well, we all know Lottie was framed for a murder. Discovering a veritable duplicate of her running around… might finally be a break in that case?
I’m unsure about the G3 costume but the Enterprise is definitely impossible to wear to the bathroom
And while the Enterprise is one of the originals (and not an A – E), is it the original or the J J Abrams original? Enquiring minds need to know!
I also applaud the progression onto the dance floor – masterfully done, Mr A
I, by way of contrast, think the phrase “sexy G3 costume” is redundant. rrrRRRRrrrr.
(Which is the noise the cooling fan used to make if you didn’t clean it often enough.)
Saucer section seeks primary hull. Objective: coupling.
As soon as I saw this I wondered if it had been based on Satan’s Hollow – complete with the circular dance floor. My band played there about 10 years ago as part of our Halloween tour. If it was possible to post photos I might have included some.
Upload them elsewhere & share the link!
My first ever comment here has been prompted by sighting the sexy Garfield on the left-hand side, which – incomprehensibly – no-one else here has seen fit to praise, salivate over, or even mention
Welcome to the comments section and thank you for commenting on Sexy Garfield.
Something I forgot to note: the Claire and Glenn romance is ramping up which is good though I worry as happy long lasting relationships for main charcters are rare unicorns in the bobbinsverse. Only Ryan/Amy, Erin/Eustace and Susan/McGraw really come to mind. While I do think they can reach that level none of those had an easy road getting there. Granted it could go smoothly and the issue just be that Lottie has issues, or this could be a throuple for the ages and I’m hoping for that. Also hoping to see those lost years between SGR and Bad Machinery some day as we got all the momentum for Ryan and Amy but only see their relationship after it’s settled. That and I miss them dearly.
Are Erin & Eustace loved up and settled? Didn’t that go down the drain fairly swiftly as well?
Last we saw them in hard yards they were together after both getting over the spectre of Esther. I could be wrong it’s been a while but the implication was they were a couple at last.
The longer you write about a relationship, the more likely you are going to have to write about it going through some sort of major problem or total breakdown, which ill fits the light tone of a lot of my work and I think has really soured some of it when I tried it.
Fair enough. Explains why bobbins now is a touch bleak. Though for what it’s worth from some random fan on the Internet you balanced that mix of your joyful goofyness with high drama well in giant days.
Even in the world where Amstrad is a successful and prominent electronics business in 2024, Apple still has more cache.
tl;dr not enough des…..WAIT!
I didn’t think it was possible to love Lottie any more than I already did, but the Gilda costume and her evident love of film noir have made it so.
Is that a Frank from Always Sunny costume I spy?
Sexy Frank
Sexy Galactus, is that you?
I detected Jack Kirby’s influence in John’s interpretation of the Surtur statue.
Always a bit of Kirby in there for me
Oh Gilda, the film about a Nazi attempt to create a world-wide Tungsten cartel!
Or about what the sexiest woman alive can do to a man.
Chibi Vampirella is definitely in her element, and I *love* the way you show her exuberance, John.
The Slag Pit wouldn’t be related at all to the LeadMill by any chance would it? I thought that had shut, but apparently not. So that’s nice.
I’m wondering about the ominous-looking gentleman in the corner. I would say he’s the bouncer, but he kinda looks familiar.
Anyone know where John will be at Thought Bubble?
I can’t locate him on the maps.
DSTLRY hall roughly in the middle, with Wocco
Lottie is definitely workin’ it!
I’ve recently stood 6 inches from Barbara Stanwyck’s gown from the Lady Eve. It (and all the other Edith Head-designed outfits in the exhibit) was breathtaking!
Poor Desmond (if it is indeed he) – it looks as though he was *certain* that Sexy Toad of Toad Hall was The One.
That’s Paul Scoville
Hmm. Is that Boozoo over between Sexy Worf (I’ve wasted far too much time in the last day trying to figure out how to say “sexy” in Klingon) and the Lottiegänger (Doppelgrote? I think “Lottiegänger” because it has the röck döts)? Or someone dressed up as Boozoo? If you wear Boozoo’s face, do you become Boozoo?
wo’rIv nga’chuq
This page just keeps giving and giving
Oh this page is VERY good. And is that the sneakiest peek of Sexy Michelin Man?
Yes!!!
Is that Bruno on the left? Will there be a sexy ghost descent occurrence that triggers his worst memory?
He certainly is a large man.
Maybe it’s the Bat-like Man dressed up as Bruce Wayne.
I feel like Esther would be proud of Lottie’s look.
Has someone on the balcony come as everyone’s pneumatic pal, Bibendum? Perhaps, dare I say, even a Sexy Bibendum?
Asked and answered a few comments above this.
Yes!!!
Somebody used to read Zzap64! didn’t they!