The heart of darkness
I was very pleased with Billie’s outfit in this story, the backless clerical jumpsuit (BCJ). A sort-of-cross between Fleabag and Hot Priest. It’s a shame none of my comics has ever become a cosplay staple because I do endeavour to give people plenty to work with. I’ll keep trying! I’m sure that, right now, someone out there is discovering the Magus Tom within.
Love the… topiary.
Exactly my concern: Lottie’s no stranger to the forces of darkness…she just might find out that she’s *into* it.
At the same time though, Lottie seems fairly good at resisting indoctrination of any kind, exemplified by her last Wicked Things storyline.
Not to mention Billie doesn’t seem to be indoctrinating anyone, let alone Lottie. She just saw someone in need and offered her hand.
Is that Archduke Horns from Mordawwa? (is it? I haven’t read those comics for a while)
Oh wow, nice catch. That’s definitely him! (Although, to be fair, his real name Is Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv)
https://www.page45.com/store/Mordawa-666-mordawwa666.html
I wonder if this means he’s taken over Erin’s old job…
how did vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv get himself printed into a statue in the CoS? Nonetheless, rather impressive work for the guy
I cannot now un-see the kidneys and ureters inscribed on Archduke’s chest.
Thanks! I had managed to miss them in previous viewings. You have shared the pain.
Gasp… under the raincoat… a lot! Billie’s transformation without her familiar, reassuring yellow coat is impressive. She’s gorgeous and that black dress is so beautiful. I wonder if Lottie is more tempted to wear such a dress than by the church itself. Lottie’s encounter with Brian and Tom will be fun to watch.
I don’t think that’s a dress. I think she’s still wearing the pants we see when she has the raincoat on.
Jumpsuit. (the ‘J’ in the BCJ)
The pants are an unique piece with the top. I’m not an expert, but for me that is a dress.
I’m just mystified by what holds the top up. But, boy does Billie look good in it.
Pretty sure it’s held up by the collar. We don’t see the back of the collar because Billie’s hair is obscuring it.
The bottom half is trousers, not a skirt, so it’s not a dress, it’s a jumpsuit.
Actually, I think it’s technically bib overalls.
If Billie were to turn out to be Shelley’s twin sister, separated at birth, I wouldn’t be all that surprised.
Maybe not her secret twin sister, but a distant relative. Even because, probably, Shelley is older than Billie.
Strategic bush placement!
’tisn’t it always?
Hmm. Not sure whether I have a Magus Tom within, but I have a good bit of him without. That is, the same hairstyle and beard (and similar complexion).
Vicar? Lottie hardy knows her!
And, should I point out that she has a history of… interest in gals will glasses?
I can presume at this point that Billie is choosing not to correct Lottie’s assumption about herself and Maggie’s level of involvement.
She may have simply assumed she misheard Lottie.
She doesn’t have to. It’s clearly not the same church Maggie is affiliated with.
Does she know that the “vicar’s wife” Lottie met was Maggie, though?
My sense is that cosplayers are more likely to emulate characters who have a specific standard outfit, rather than a specific style. I could be wrong, of course.
i dont really ‘cosplay’ but i do stream the sims 4 and i made billie and maggie for the gallery. one day i’ll get around to the whole babs mcchinnery crew. you may count this as a technical cosplay win.
No link?!
if u go to the sims 4 gallery and search hashtag steeple you should find them. you need to check ‘show cc’
I’ll join the chorus of praise as to how stunning Billie looks in that outfit. Also in the first panel great juxtaposition of that tree in front of the Dark Lord’s ummm… endowment.
Seconded on both counts.
I’ve only started reading Steeple over the past year (I missed why Billie is with the Church of Satan), and I must say that this edifice was entirely unexpected.
“This MUST be a trap.”
I’m not sure I understand Lottie’s conclusion here. Hopefully she’s much too sharp to buy into Qanon’s blatant anti-Satanism.
Something of this sort invites that as a stock response, yes, on purpose, as Chesterton noted…
Well, that’s my point, such as it is, Lottie is above such things as stock responses. Conventional reactions are for conventional people. Just struck me as noticeable, that’s all, no big deal. 😉
Lottie’s knowledge, such as it is, of Satanic churches and the like would mostly come from thrillers and horror stories, I’d think. It makes perfect sense, given that, that she’d assume it was a trap.
I don’t think QAnon *exists* in the Bobbinsverse. Let’s please not sully The Englishman’s fine work here with the dirt and filth of real-world politics.
“I’ve got a great big tonker!”
Oh, the look on Lottie’s face in the last panel, as she sees the BCJ in its full glory. And the little lock of hair getting blown up. *Vay* existential.
The much-manhandled suitcase still has its innocent smile, for the moment…
Lottie want to have a BCJ for herself and no one can blame her for this.
I’m glad Billie’s bike has a full chain guard given the flares on the BCJ.
I’m now singing in my head “clerically designed backless jumpsuit” to an approximation of the tune of the “carefully designed topless swimsuit” line of Peter Sarstedt’s Where do You Go To (My Lovely)
Love the reveal of the B in BCJ, and Lottie’s reaction. And I too think it’s a shame your comics don’t have more cosplayers, John. The outfits you give the characters are frequently EXCELLENT LOOKS™️
Thinking about it I could probably do a decent McGraw if my moustache would grow a bit thicker
Probably too lanky and make for a Charlotte cosplay to really ‘work’
Lanky and male, even
Also, the Satanic Mill looks great; nice drawing job, architecturally.
Topped by the surprising final panel showing another side to Billie though.
It seems to be consistent with the depiction of the CoS in previous issues of Steeple. I presume John has a model for it as he does for the Old Rectory, but is it based on some real life building?
It’s based on the Greek postal museum, I added a floor and some other bits and pieces to it.
Resist temptation, Lottie! Within reason, I mean.
Resistance is futile!
Both Billie and Maggie have severely upgraded their wardrobes, really.
SSD, central locking, crenulations, dual boot into Nania.
The after-market is better than the after-party.
Wow, Billie “caterpillar to butterfly”-ed a bit since we last saw her…
Don’t forget about her stint as a moth!
https://steeple.church/comic/were-moth-siren/
Maybe Billie is inspired by Miyazaki’s Nausicaa and likes insects really a lot.
I love that they literally took the left hand path…
The way it looks, the clerical collar is all that keeps the BCJ from unraveling. So I would not call it “misleading”. It’s what you’d call “set up for failure”. The fall garment.
The technical term is “Theiss Titillation Theory”.
I like how the establishing shot of the church is tilted over a bit, a subtle visual trick which heightens anxiety. It’s also how you knew you were in the villain’s secret lair in an old Batman TV episode.
The Dutch angle! Magus Tom probably hosts a monthly German Expressionist movie night.
Now searching internet for BCJ lookalike…..
Pretty sure you’ve got plenty of Warlock Brian cosplayers out there.
The problem is they don’t know to be cosplayeas.
I could do a pretty good Warlock Brian just by putting on some fake glasses. Problem is, no one would be able to tell I was cosplaying.
I’m definitely planning on cosplaying Maggie once conventions get going again! Her style is too good not to copy, I’d kill for a lot of the outfits in Steeple.
So are none of us going to talk about Lottie clearly eyeing up Billie in that last panel? Seems it’s not just Satanism she finds tempting…