My thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for an advance copy of this graphic novel that pulls out all the stops in its portrayal of why people like to watch, why people need to experience life through the actions of others, something that make up the lives and after lives of many.

Two genres in books that escaped me completely were romance and true crime. One I didn't believe in and one I didn't care anything about. I had read some books on mob, and famous assassinations, and even collections on crime Ian Fleming, Alfred Hitchcock books and some other titles. However the true crime moniker, the Ann Rule, the Joe Olsen books were of no interest. When I started in bookstores at the ripe old age of 16, I was stunned to see entire sections on True Crime. And honestly they all seemed the same to me, just like romance. As I have become older I am not as judgemental about books as I used to be. True Crime though, is something that I don't get. The books, the numerous podcasts, heck entire streaming services showing documentaries. I don't know if these are signs of the times, or the times have become what we watch. I know there are fans, enough to take true crime cruises, and it is big money. Living vicariously through the lives of the dead, and their murderer is big money, with a fan base that rivals Star Wars. A fan base that might keep watching, even past their own death. Spectators is a graphic novel written by Brian K Vaughan and illustrated by Niko Henrichon which looks at the human love for sex and violence, and how this has shaped us, and how many can't let go, even if given the chance.

Val is waiting for her date in a movie theater sometime after COVID. The theater is pretty empty, and will be even emptier when her date bails on her. Val settles back to relax in her own way, when the sounds of gunfire is heard. A shooter has decided to beat the number of people shot in the Las Vegas shooting and has worked his way through the building, finally killing Val. Val becomes a phantom, meeting other phantoms, many who spend their time watching others. Val is told that anytime she wants she can go to Paradise, or some place different, but Val chooses to wait. Years pass, and New York is a technopolis filled with violence, and/or sex. Val is still a phantom, drawn to extremes in everything. Val meets Sam, a cowboy of a sort, who looks at the world differently, but has his own set of hangups. The two wander the world, watching and talking, as things so from worse, to armageddon-ish.

A dark book that is loaded with everything to titillate the readers, and yet the book asks a lot of questions. Why are readers reading this? Why are we drawn to bad things. What does this mean for us, and what will it lead to. The book is pretty explicit, and yet it really does show how desensitized we have become to many things. Some of the stuff I read I thought about how I hadn't seen that in the real world yet, and wonder when I will. Working retail does that to a person. What I enjoyed were the quiet moments, the talks that Sam and Val had, trying to make sense of the insanity they found themselves in, and realizing it might be more about them then they think. The art is excellent. I can' imagine how long it took to create this book, for Henrichon is an incredibly detailed artist. Numerous pages stand-out, gross, wrong, and yet oddly beautiful. A true melding of art and story.

Not for everyone. Though the questions that Vaughan asks should be. There is a lot here, pages, content, and what it asks of us as readers, and as humans. Another solid work from a team I would wait a long time to see more of.

A woman from the present, the victim of a terrible cinema massacre, enters the afterlife and meets a gun-toting man from the past as they watch all the terrible things happening to the world in the future.
This is provocative, explicitly sexy, and incredibly violent. It examines human voyeurism in a thought-provoking way that made for compelling reading.
Loved the story and loved the art.

Around the present day, a woman bored at the movie theater is murdered by a mad gunman. Years later she is still hanging around New York as a ghost, when she meets another ghost dressed as a cowboy who has been on the other side for decades longer. The two of them decide to travel together to see what they can observe as conditions in the human world deteriorate dramatically.

Brian K. Vaughn and Niko Henrichon have collaborated to create an interesting look at the voyeuristic relationship we have with sex and violence. The centerpiece of the book is the conversations that the pair of ghosts have about their desires, their old lives, the things they have seen since their deaths, and the meaning of it all. But these conversations all take place over Henrichon's gorgeous art, which makes great use of contrasting color and black-and-white imagery. The book is about sex, so there is obviously a lot of it depicted in the book, but for very good reason as the reader is asked why we may want to watch just as much as the central spectating ghosts in the story. A sweet love story full of sex and violence at the end of the world.

Thank you to Image Comics and NetGalley for a copy of Spectators in exchange for an honest review.

Spectators is an interesting mix of smut and extreme situations, in a big way, it's a good story presented in an even better artistic quality.
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for this advanced reader's copy.

Perfect and everything i expected i had wanted to read this for years so jumped on the chance to pick this up and honored to have been given the chance by netgalley

OH FFS, I got so wrapped up in the fact that this was glitching in the reader, I didn't realize which Brian it was! I was like "This is really far from Powers" and now that I'm writing this up...okay, okay, I got it now. BKV, not BMB.

This book is alternately horny and horrific, using that juxtaposition to highlight the strangeness that is life. Our main character dies in a mass shooting and becomes a ghost, someone who watches Manhattan like her own private, pornographic television show.

It's fascinating how much this touches on: from film to orgies to murder to what shapes people and what gets them off.

a full circle reader moment as one of my first ever comic books was The Runaways by Brian K Vaughan and it is an honor to be an adult reading his newest graphic novel for adults
100 years in the future, NYC is haunted by ghosts
a voyeuristic woman named Val, who died in present day time, follows live souls as the indulge in the explicit joys of humanity in its darkest moment
meeting a mysterious gun man named Sam, they journey together bearing witness to the decay of humanity and its relentlessness to find solace in obsession, the fine line of watching people live vs living, sexually explicit and gorgeous in this violently beautiful story with a bittersweet ending that will stay with you for a long time

Spectators is indeed about sex and violence, but more specifically, it is a philosophical, political and artistic exploration of our propensity as a human race to be spectators. We largely stand by and watch as the planet dies, we watch sports, we watch movies and other media, including pornography, we party, we engage in sex, as Rome burns. We are passive and largely disengaged from meaningful interaction with each other and the issues that threaten us with extinction.

Religion, Marx said, is the opiate of the people; in other words, it inhibits our political will to revolt against the class system. It’s a means of distracting ourselves from existential crises. Movies, sports, porn, as mcuh as we globally engage them, are similar opiates, though the idea here is complicated.

So Spectators is a dystopian graphic novel. On the very eve of the nuclear destruction of the planet--yes, the bombs have begun to drop--two ghosts--spectators of the living world--a woman who was scrolling porn as she died in a mass shooting, and a cowboy who died of syphilis--muse on what they might like to be their final act, and they decide they want to either view or in some way participate in a (sexual) threesome! So in one sense, the book becomes a kind of quest for that ending.

Clearly, facing the end, others have chosen similar acts; at one point, the two ghosts encounter an orgy, which they watch. And to be clear, this book is about and depicts very explicit acts of sex and violence, though (spoiler alert) it does not celebrate these acts. Well, it’s the nmarvel of Vaughn’s wizardry that we very much like these two, we see a akinship with them, sure, to die copulating might be the best wat to go, and so on, so we are implicated in Vaughan’s critique, but this book is not porn and not gratuitous in the usual sense of the word.

We like these two as in the middle of the apocalypse they swap stories of their favorite movies, including the cowboy’s original viewing of The Great Rain Robbery, but I have to say, if you are a film lover, you love the talk, as does movie maker Vaughan. These films are great art, they are a comforth, they make the world better AND as a form they are a distraction, too! Vaughan gets to have it both ways!

A found this book to be more than ever over-the-top Vaughan, hilarious, outrageous, shocking, and deeply reflective, so I say it is brilliant, and the ending, which I have studied for awhile now, I think is thought-provoking.

Many people--because it so graphic, sexually and violently--have found this book not to be for them, and I get it. Be warned. It is not Saga, it is not Pride of Baghdad or Runaways. This is adult-themed. But ultimately, this book is takes a traditional artistic and literary stand against (mere) escape (great films are never merely escapist, in Vaughan’s view) and isolation and random acts of violence. But embraces love and engagement with the planet most of us know is in freefall crisis but worth saving.

Thank you Image Comics & NetGalley for a chance to read this graphic novel (my first ever)!

This was an quick & entertaining story about sex, violence, voyeurism, and the afterlife; I thought it was very clever. There was a lot more uhhhhh como se dice ✨sexual content✨ than I was expecting (and I was expecting approximately zero going into this), but that's probably on me. I thought the art style was beautiful, it even made the violent scenes interesting to look at.

A graphic novel aimed at the "mature" audience from Brian K Vaughan which has an extremely interesting and unique storyline. Hard to give a summary of the plot without dropping spoilers so I'll just say that our titular "spectators" find themselves in this situation after a random meeting having come from very different times and embark on a bit of a quest to watch a particularly moment while everything around them goes to shit.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the artwork was exceptionally good. Well worth the read.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my review copy

We can always count on Eisner Award-winning writer Brian K. Vaughan to deliver something truly unique and thought-provoking. This goes for his latest graphic novel, Spectators, illustrated by Pride of Baghdad artist Niko Henrichon.

Hundreds of years in the future, New York City is haunted by many ghosts, including a voyeuristic woman who died in our present day and a mysterious gun-toting man from the distant past. Normally solo travelers, these two specters meet each other just in time to observe what might be the end of the (living) world.

Vaughan has created some fantastic stories over the years and Spectators is no exception. This unconventional supernatural tale dives into the lives of sex and violence from the point-of-view of the life beyond the grave. While ghostly figures are often imagined as passive onlookers, but it never really crossed my mind on when they are viewing in–are they watching us all have sex? Vaughan answers this in the bold and thought-provoking style he’s known for.

While Spectators doesn't aim to be the most exciting comic on the shelves, it does offer a distinctive experience. Through reflective narration, the story touches on things such as childhood trauma, sexual beginnings and politics. There is also a strong connection to films as the story progresses, a nice connection to spectating. These discussions create a somber yet insightful lens on the fleeting moments that make up our lives. The pacing may feel a bit slow, but it's an intentional choice that allows the story to sink in and take root.

Henrichon puts the graphic in graphic novel with Spectators. Henrichon's exceptional and vivid illustrations bring Vaughan's script to life without holding back. The use of black and white for current time and color for those spectating makes for a visually special comic. The book wastes no time grabbing your attention with a very violent opening sequence, setting the tone for the rest of the story. This is definitely a graphic novel that you might not want to read while sitting in your doctor's waiting room...

Spectators is a bold exploration of a few taboo topics, wrapped up within a supernatural romance. Brian K. Vaughan constructs a slow but powerful tale, while Niko Henrichon injects this story with intense and emotional illustrations. Together, this pair creates a thought-provoking graphic novel that challenges our notions about viewing, living, and, ultimately, being human. Spectators is a truly spectacular graphic novel.

Vaughan does it again! Seriously - I don't think I've ever read something from him that I didn't enjoy. The themes in this one were so relevant to the world we live in today that it was actually a bit unnerving to read and look at the artwork. Plan to go into this one and come out very reflective. There is graphic violence, nudity, and sexual activities - just as a heads up - but I did not find it gratuitous at all, it fed into the overall story and themes well.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a gritty, explicit look at the afterlife, from the perspective of the ghosts that don't move on after they die. It brings up many good points about toxic masculinity and the dangers of social media, which I was not expecting, but was pleasantly surprised by. It also asks many questions about voyeurism, human sexuality, and violence, and is thus DEFINITELY not a book suitable for young audiences.

I felt that the ending was a little rushed, but otherwise greatly enjoyed this book, both in its style and content.

Publication date: Sep 23, 2025

Spectators by Brian K. Vaughan is a truly unique read, captivating despite its seemingly simple premise: two ghosts, one a victim of a mass shooting, the other of a bizarre sexual mishap, simply chatting.

The book kicks off with a bang (literally). A woman, bored at the movies, starts scrolling porn and is about to masturbate when a gunman opens fire, killing everyone. Years later, as a ghost, she encounters a cowboy-esque figure, and their unlikely conversation begins.

Their discussions, spanning from childhood traumas and sexual awakenings to politics and favorite movies, offer a somber yet insightful walk through life's fleeting moments. It's a testament to the power of everyday talk, set against the backdrop of humanity's twilight. This out-of-this-world premise largely succeeds due to its focus on the intimate, human connection.

While I found the middle section could occasionally drag, with some conversations feeling like filler, these moments are thankfully infrequent.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Spectators and would highly recommend it to anyone seeking a truly different and thought-provoking reading experience.

Definitely a 'mature' title, and 'newly-friended dead duo try to find a threesome before the world ends' is one of the stranger plotlines I've read, but it certainly kept me going until the end to see how it finished up. More an entertaining story than anything hugely deeper (unless you're particularly drawn to thinking about the afterlife and what we've left behind), it's got all of Brian K Vaughan usual excellent writing, coupled with illustrations that are mostly-excellent. If you don't like your illustrations graphic then I'd avoid this because it has them in abundance and they really don't hold back at any point, but if you're happy with a bit of erotic fun then you'll be just fine.

The cover and description really piqued my interest when I saw this one. But I really underestimated how graphic this one was going to be. Younger me would’ve absolutely loved the raw and unfiltered exploration of the baser aspects of humanity. Present-day me also loved it.

Spoilers and some mentions of mature content ahead!

What I liked:
The story opens with Val, a forty-something single woman who’s waiting for her date in a movie theatre. Unfortunately for her, her date won’t be able to make it. From context, you can tell that she wasn’t really there to watch the film; she just wanted to fool around. But, since she’s left alone and hanging, she doesn’t hesitate to pull out her phone and visit an adult website. The artwork doesn’t shy away from showing you what she’s watching, the lust and longing unapologetically clear in her eyes.

And that is when things take a 180° turn. A lone gunman enters the theatre and starts shooting everyone. He’s apparently playing some kind of online challenge that requires him to get as high a kill count as possible to stay on the leaderboard. The violence is as graphic and brutal as the sex was on Val’s phone. Where the first half of this scene built up desire, the second half subverts it with shock and repulsion. An extreme depiction of the two most base human traits—love and hate.

In the aftermath, Val’s spirit rises from her body. She’s greeted by a different ghost who welcomes her to the afterlife. This isn’t your average afterlife. The spirits that roam in this realm of existence are mere spectators to the show of human existence. While most pass on to the next realm without a thought, many stay back to satiate their curiosity and desire to keep living via the people they watch.

The rest of the story isn’t all that spectacular. More like a conduit for Vaughan to exposit on the philosophy of existence, living, and more. I’m including this in the ‘what I liked’ section because I genuinely loved this exploration, verbal and visual, both. The world fast-forwards to centuries later, the baser needs of humanity still dictating technological development. Where the first scene showed adult websites and mass shootings, the future world shows an extremely advanced version of both.

As Val has been established as a voyeur, she goes around looking to satiate her unfulfilled desires by projecting that satisfaction onto the people she spectates. These acts range from love-making to outright debauchery. But the violent manner of her death has also made her want to witness scenes of extreme violence. If you think about it, we aren’t all that different from Val. After all, sex and violence make for two of the most sellable hooks on the internet, don’t they?

My favorite part of the graphic novel was undoubtedly the characters. Val and Sam like tour guides that you, the reader, are spectating as they, in turn, spectate their world. Over the course of some 344 pages, you learn about their lives, what made them who they were, shedding light on why they might be desiring the things they do in the afterlife. All this again brings us back to the ideas of what it really means to be alive. After all, in an increasingly voyeuristic society that’s addicted to other people’s projected social media appearance, how much are you living your real life?

One could interpret Spectators as a speculative commentary on our modern-day digital isolation. Every app, every megacorporation, is trying its best to keep your attention, even if it is in short spurts of 30 seconds. The adverse effects of social media have resulted in a growth of dissociative mental disorders. Perhaps, in accepting your digital existence, you’re slowly leaving behind your physical one. Social media has made content out of other peoples’ lives, and viewers are mere spectators who dissociate from their own to experience second-hand the lives of others. Much like the ghosts in Spectators.

I can’t say more without spoiling the graphic novel. But I have to admit that the book is not for everyone. The graphic parts are genuinely very graphic. If you can stomach the extreme, you’ll love this one. But if you’re easy to squirm, then you will probably not make it past the first couple of pages.

What I didn’t like:
The story itself is rather flat and straightforward. The character work and resulting discourse were brilliant, but it did leave something to be desired.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that the book itself was everything it promised to be. Looking at humanity and our dystopian future through the lens of sex and violence, a convoluted and graphic exploration of longing and living. Yet, something felt missing from the narrative.

Maybe a better-realized world would’ve made the expositions more impactful. Maybe the characters spectating world leaders engaged in baser human desires would’ve felt more compelling than just common people. I’m only speculating here, but those are things I personally believe would’ve elevated the graphic novel from what it is at the moment.

In Conclusion:
Spectators is a beautifully provocative and evocative ‘graphic’ novel that forces you to reflect upon what it really means to be alive in the modern age.

TL;DR:
What I liked: The artwork, the characters, philosophical discourse.
What I didn’t like: The plot and narrative felt wanting.

WHAT A WILD VOYEURISTIC ADVENTURE!

Brian K. Vaughan has created a fascinating and unique story spanning millennia. Spectators gets to the heart of what happens next for us as humans. It gives a resounding answer in the face of sudden tragedy at the very start of this graphic novel and then travels across generations and years of human history. It is both historical fiction and science fiction in such an interesting way. I enjoyed how Vaughan built his main character, someone who unabashedly was chasing her unfinished business. The story takes time to build, it builds character relationships, giving glimpses into backgrounds and flashbacks to develop characters further. This gives readers all the time in the world to start to love these strange characters. It is so different, and the climax of this novel is EXACTLY that, a wild race to the finish that readers will most likely see coming, but still find it immensely enjoyable as well.

This is definitely a “for mature readers” kind of story with lots of graphic sex, violence, and provocative moments. It follows ghosts of a voyeuristic gal and a cryptic gunslinger as they observe the slow-motion apocalypse of a world. It also leans into something more introspective than other Vaughan’s stories. Basically, it shows how obsessed people are with watching tragedy and pleasure from a safe distance.

The story isn’t super plot-heavy, and the pacing is more about vibe than momentum. But it’s readable as hell, and Vaughan knows exactly when to yank the rug out. Henrichon’s hand-painted art is often stunning.

It’s not my favorite Vaughan book, but it’s ambitious and different and I respect that. Is it worth checking out? Dunno, you tell me. If graphic sex and violence don’t disturb you, check this one out.

When I tell you this is a work of art. Brian K Vaughan was already up there as one of my favorites, but this was something else. It had everything I loved, and the moral quandary was perfection. I couldn't recommend enough.

This book was beautifully illustrated. It's a little light on plot. But if you like voyeuristic ghosts snooping on graphic sex during the apocalypse, this is your book.

When Brian Vaughan announced he was going to be doing a free comic about sex and violence, with art from his Pride Of Baghdad collaborator Niko Henrichon (and if you know that graphic novel, you'll know why the newsletter in which they published it was called Exploding Giraffe), it was very much a 'where do I sign?' offer. Since then it's been a long, strange, and yes, frequently explicit ride. More than anything, though, a melancholy one. After the early chapters, only ghosts are in colour, the strange future in which they find themselves rendered in monochrome – a decision which obviously suggests The Wizard Of Oz or A Matter Of Life And Death, even as the story goes to places neither of them would have been able to touch. That greyness aside, the future is...well, lonely, often, and sometimes brutal, but also filled with the sort of incredible yet everyday technology we used to expect from our futures, so between that and the fact it's there at all, not utterly flooded and/or burned, these days I'd call it utopian, despite the way events start trending. And in a sense it's pretty utopian to have top comics creators willingly giving away a whole series for free; part of me suspects it will read considerably better collected than it did trickling out as two or three pages a week. But, much like the people it follows, I'm not brilliant with that level of deferred gratification. Although I'd debate how representative those characters are; at one stage, with another apparent apocalypse looming for the living, one ghost says to another how she enjoys watching the living get horny at times like this: "whenever the general population is unexpectedly confronted with their own mortality, they always return to the same thing". Which...either there are some significant exceptions to that rule, or a lot of people have been having a significantly more entertaining 2020s than me; thus far, this feels like it's been a much better decade for violence than sex. But then they so often are, aren't they? We talk about the world's oldest profession, but organisms that reproduce asexually still prey, so surely violence has been around longer, and all these eons later it remains so much easier to destroy than to create. And somehow so much easier to get our heads around, too: as one ghost says, "I probably had a few thousand orgasms in my life, and I still struggle to remember what a single one of them felt like. But I'll never forget exactly how it felt to get shot to death." Something which then ends up in a feedback loop with our cultural mores, so many places finding sex more taboo than violence, even though one is where almost all of us come from and the other is much more to be avoided. The existence of incel killing sprees has clearly influenced aspects of the plot, but unlike all the chuckleheads happy to blame the nasty interwebs for everything, Spectators knows the roots go back longer; the emotional core of the whole comic, I think, is in a particular scene with a VHS tape which, given Vaughan is about the same age as me, I strongly suspect could be autobiographical. And against those centuries of destructive conditioning, here he does his own small part to push back, with a sometimes strangely heartwarming tale of two ghosts just trying to find a threesome to spy on at the end of the world.
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Rereading almost in one sitting, thanks to Image having finally come back to Netgalley (oh joyous day), though whether this included the new spreads BKV has mentioned, I honestly couldn't say. Perhaps that just means they're very well integrated – though I did notice one page was duplicated in the ARC, even if that did make its grumpy cat even funnier. Certainly the themes and the symmetry come through more clearly this way, and I'm still more impressed at the worldbuilding for how much it stays in the background. A really impressive piece of work, and one I hope endures as it deserves, though the very forces it examines which will militate against its presence in libraries &c already seem stronger than five months ago.

What if your entire afterlife started off with a bang? Most people are supposed to move on after such a traumatic ending, but that is not the case for Val. She spends her afterlife doing what she loved to do in life: watching others. In fact, you may say it is an obsession. What new episode may she spectate upon next? And will she always spectate alone?

This one is not for the prude, or those averse to violence.

However, I will say that Brian K. Vaughn has done it again with Spectators. He has sculpted an intriguing tale with interesting characters that keep you hooked til the end of the line. It is worth the read.

#ThxNetGalley #BrianK.Vaughan #Spectators

"Explicitly sexy and shockingly violent" is right! I was warned, and I have read from Brian K Vaughan before, but I must say I was caught a little off-guard when only handful of pages in we see our main character casually watching pornography in a cinema! It is definitely not something you'd want to read on public transport! Having said that, I did thoroughly enjoy this one! It was funny, sexy, violent, and tense - I could not put it down.

Kudos to artist Niko Henrichon, the visuals are absolutely STUNNING. Love the art style and the contrast between the black and white of the living versus the colour of the dead spectators.

3.75 *

This was an unusual read. Definitely not for the faint of heart. If you are sensitive to graphic sex and violence then I would warn you away from this one.

I have been an avid fan of Brian K. Vaughans work for quite some time ( Y: The Last Man being one of my all time favourite graphic novels) but Spectators didn’t quite hit the same as his previous works. The idea was compelling but the execution felt a bit lacking. While introspective at times, dare I say the parts without sex and violence were almost a little...boring. If that isn’t ironic, I don’t know what is.

We are introduced to our main character who is killed in a mass shooting as part of a lethal game called #leaderboard; a vicious game of who can kill the most people at one time, effectively ending with a ‘highscore’ on the #leaderboard. Despite being dead, our protagonist continues to spectate on human life for the foreseeable decades. The majority of the story takes place on a futuristic earth and Nico Henrichon’s art really brought this to life. The colour juxtaposition between the living and the dead was a Spec-tacular (Poor attempt at pun) idea.

Overall, the concept of ‘Spectators’ is very meta, with a break in the fourth wall which was actually very clever. The whole book revolves around the idea that people have a morbid fascination with watching sex and violence and by the end, you the reader, are just as complicit.

** I received a complimentary copy of this book from Image Comics via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

For a story that’s undeniably explicit in nature, SPECTATORS left me with an unexpected sense of quiet sadness. Brian K. Vaughan has this uncanny ability to take what seems like a provocative premise and turn it into something deeply introspective about the ties that bind us as people.

True to form, Vaughan delivers something incredibly readable—I powered through it in just a few sessions. The narrative spans a big, ambitious concept, but it’s executed with a refreshing simplicity. There aren’t tons of dramatic twists or edge-of-your-seat moments, which is kind of surprising given that mass death plays a major role (wild, I know). The world-building feels seamless, and the characters' motivations are clear without ever becoming overly complicated.

The characters are invested, but there’s a sort of resigned, almost zen attitude in how they face the events unfolding around them. That same mood rubbed off on me as a reader. It feels like the heart of the book is about how none of us get to choose the timing of our end. We all wish it’ll happen “the right way,” but in reality… things just happen. Thinking about it now, I’m not sure “sad” is the perfect word for it. Maybe it’s more of a tranquil feeling—but not the glossy, dreamlike peace we often imagine. More like a quiet acceptance, which has its own kind of weight.

And the artwork—wow. Niko Henrichon delivers visuals that perfectly match the somber tone of the story. There’s a raw, sketch-like texture to some of the panels that hits just right. The sheer commitment to doing this entire book in grayscale is mind-blowing, and Henrichon’s attention to detail, especially in the backgrounds, really deserves major praise. It’s all around impressive.

I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing the final print edition of this. It’s a great example of what can be achieved with independent publishing and full creative freedom. While it’s not my personal favorite Vaughan work, I’d still wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone in the mood for a fast-paced, steamy exploration of death and human nature.

Spectators was interesting. Some of the content may be triggering for people, but the social commentary was thought provoking. The book is beautifully illustrated and adapted surprisingly well to the online format in a way many graphic novels do not.

The kind of bonkers ideas you come to expect from a Brian K. Vaughn book filled with sex and violence and also fascinating concepts and interesting commentary on the world that we live in now through the prism of supernatural science fiction. It doesn't quite reach the highest levels of some of his past work, but it's pretty darn good.

Special Thanks to Image Comics and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

Honestly speaking, I didn't feel that much of the gratuitous nudity and sex was necessary - if only because I personally felt it detracts from the story and the message. As someone who deals in bookselling and acquisition, I know that many of the people that pick this up will either look at it for the graphic scenes and ignore all else or see the graphic scenes and put it down because they are uncomfortable. Personally, I like Brian K Vaughan's work, so it wasn't a surprise that I was still able to enjoy it. Of course, I am also not a prudish person, so that helps. Still, in my line of work, the layman's opinion something I have to consider.

Brian K. Vaughan is an American comic book and television writer, best known for the comic book series Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, Pride of Baghdad, Saga, and Paper Girls. His newest book, Spectators, is a violent, sexual exploration at a voyeurism set against an apocalyptic nightmare.
A woman is murdered in a movie theater in present day. Her murderer is playing an online game, in which participants attempt to kill the most people at once. After she’s murdered, she becomes a ghost, and haunts the city. Years later, the city, indeed the world, has descended into a pleasure-driven chaos. Deadly fight clubs, mechanically aided pornography, and public orgies are the rule of the day, and Vaughan pulls no punches in presenting this lawlessness to us. The woman’s ghost eventually meets another ghost, one much older than she, but with a shared interest in voyeurism. The rest of the novel proceeds through the final days of the world as observed by these two ghosts, who are on the hunt for one last voyeuristic thrill before humanity dies.
The book is as intense as the description implies. Niko Henrichon’s rich, colorful illustrations are as blood-stained and pornographically salacious as the plot demands. While some readers might be put off by such graphic displays, the whole plot of the book and the moral queries it asks necessitate violence and sex to such magnitude. The book is designed both to thrill and disgust readers in equal measures, and forces them to question the direction of their own gaze.
Spectators is a bizarre sci-fi horror graphic novel. Set in a near-future society that has descended into a madness of violent power and sexual pleasure, the two protagonists seem a rational, even sane, counterpart, despite being specters. The rich art of Henrichon coupled with Vaughan’s sense of tension driving the story create a compelling tale. Adult fans (this book is DEFINITELY 18+ Only!) of body horror, sexual horror, and apocalyptic horror will thoroughly enjoy this morally introspective graphic novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for this ARC.

This had an interesting concept with a lot of sex and violence.

More than that is this what we as humans (especially now more than ever) to be Spectators! A political and philosophical look into darkest human exploration and the need to spectate.

As a fan of Brian K. Vaughan's, I was sure I would be in for a treat.....and boy was I ever! Sexy, shocking, propulsive, and as addictive as your favorite snack. A must read for BKV fans and anyone who loves a great graphic novel.

Spectators is an adult graphic novel about two ghosts, or “spectators.” Stuck in the limbo between life and death, these spectators spend their time observing humans at the end of the world.

This novel explores sex and violence, two things it can be hard to look away from. This story feels like a realistic version of what our world could look like in the not so distant future. While mass shootings and world wars take over, people are still obsessed with media and technology. The spectators, a voyeuristic woman and an old cowboy, see humanity shift through the years and as the end of the world seems truly near, they get down to what it means to be human and have desire in a world set on destruction.

This graphic novel is NFSW, there is lots of nudity, sex, and violence. With that content warning out of the way, I really enjoyed this story. I loved the idea of ghosts in a futuristic setting. Instead of ghosts that haunt a story, it was interesting to follow two characters who died long ago, but are just floating around watching humans live across time. This story was unlike anything I have read before. I was deeply sad when I got to the end. This was such an interesting, albeit scary/sad world. Vaughan’s characters and storytelling never disappoint and Henrichon’s illustrations are incredible!

POSSIBLE SPOILERS .......



Finished in one sitting. This book grabbed me from the first few pages. The art fit in with the story; it helped enhance the overall story. This story had me on an emotional roller-coaster. It made some valid points regarding violence and sexuality and how it pair with each other. By the ending I was an emotional wreck. Terrified of rhe possible ending. Mr. Vaughn is one of my favorite graphic author and rest assured he's gonna challenge your thinking.

##BRIANKVAUGHAN
#NETGALLEY
#SPECTATORS

STUNNING. The story? Chefs kiss. The romance? Chefs kiss. All around a masterpiece. I really enjoyed every aspect of this one!

there's a scene early in spectators where a woman is bored at the movies, scrolling porn on her phone, just before a mass shooting erupts in the theater. she dies, becomes a ghost, and then proceeds to drift through a decaying future with a cowboy-like specter, witnessing violence and sex in equal measure. the premise sounds outrageous, but in practice it's a sobering, surreal metaphor for how we consume tragedy and pleasure alike, especially through media.

for me, the most compelling thread was the "game" the mass shooters played to rack up the most kills, a grotesque competition that eerily mirrors how modern news cycles obsess over body counts and headlines. it’s deeply unsettling, and intentionally so.

the other storyline follows the ghosts as they search for a threesome to spectate. at first, it reads as ridiculous, but in the context of a world unraveling from nuclear fallout and existential despair, it feels like a desperate attempt to find meaning or intimacy at the end of everything. a search for one last beautiful or honest moment, even if it's borrowed from someone else's life.

the also touches on shame, particularly the way we're taught to hide or suppress curiosity. the protagonist recalls a moment from childhood when her father covered her eyes during a movie, only for her to seek out that scene later when no one was watching. this tension between privacy and voyeurism, between internal desire and external spectacle, is what the whole graphic novel grapples with.

the art is lush and immersive, elevating the bizarre into something poetic. this isn't a book for everyone. it's explicit, disjointed, and philosophically dense. but if you're open to being challenged, and maybe a little disturbed, it's absolutely worth the read.

I liked this graphic novel because it wasn’t the norm. First of all it starts with a mass shooting and then the main character ends up in the afterlife watch the world being destroyed and lots of graphic sex but it’s fun and sexy and dark and I enjoyed it

As is referred to early on in the book, this definitely is no Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze rendition of the afterlife!

Val is killed in a mass shooting by some fool following #Leaderboard, an online ‘game’ to see how many deaths one individual can inflict in one setting.
Her Afterlife sees her travelling back and forward in time where her ghost-self is a ‘spectator’ to real-life events, much in the same way that the internet is used now.
She’s mostly a lone voyeur till she meets a cowboy from the past called Sam. They initially band together to find an end-of-days threesome to watch (this is a pretty graphic graphic novel!) as the world seems to be eventually facing utter destruction with nuclear attacks taking place worldwide. And it seems like the #Leaderboard craze is just building up bigger death rates as time goes on.

Definitely a very ‘Adult Content’ graphic novel, but I was mightily impressed with the story concept and the illustrations. Brian K Vaughan is the writer behind the ‘Saga’ series and many more. I’ve never read anything by him before but he’s definitely on my ‘want to read’ list now.

4 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This graphic novel gives an explicit, in-your-face experience of all kinds of voyeurism, along with the pursuit of happiness and pleasure in an increasingly violent world. It is heavy on nudity, sexual content and violence so please take that into account if you are interested in reading this.

I have enjoyed previous works by Brian K Vaughan (Saga and Runaways), and was delighted to be given the chance to read this as a ARC. It did not disappoint! The art style was not my favourite (there was not a huge variety in people's shapes and sizes which really bothered me), though I loved how it was coloured. In fact, I was very impressed by the use of colour and its absence to represent different planes of existence.

Overall I'm not sure that this was quite as profound as it intended to be, but it is a great stand-alone work.

A masterpiece of unusual delights, dark comedy and provocative ideas, Brian K Vaughan's Spectators follows (I can't believe I'm writing this) two voyeuristic ghosts as they try to watch a threesome during what might be the end of humanity. It's hard to place its influences - sometimes it evokes Moorcock's 'Dancers at the End of Time' or Wim Wenders' 'Wings of Desire', other times a Kevin Smith or Jim Jarmusch flick - but at heart it's just a conversation between two very different people falling in love. It's by far my favourite of his works!

This graphic novel was fantastic! I devoured it in one sitting and couldn’t look away.

The female protagonist, Val, dies near our present day and becomes a ghostly specter.
Centuries later in the future, she spends her time drifting among the living, drawn to watching violence, sex, and sensational content. She eventually meets Sam, a man from a time before hers, just as the world edges toward nuclear fallout and an end-of-days scenario.

The artwork is beautiful and haunting, using a mix of black-and-white and color to distinguish between the different spiritual planes. The story is so over the top that you almost become desensitized to things like one of the side characters being naked all the time. At its core, though, it’s a sharp commentary on modern society, current politics, and a not-so-distant possible future.

As an elder millennial, I felt like this was made just for me. The main character is probably around my age, and her first encounter with an R-rated movie was uncannily similar to my own.

I loved this and will be thinking about it for a long time. I’ll be recommending it to anyone even remotely interested.

Plot:5/5
Writing: 5/5
Art :5/5
My Enjoyment: 5/5

*** I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

Even though it starts off with a mass shooting in a movie theater, this was fun and oddly cozy hah. There isn't really a plot and you just kind of follow a couple of ghosts while they wonder around and talk to each other, but the art is gorgeous and Brian K Vaughan has always been really good at writing interesting characters and good dialogue. Saga's a pretty sexual book, but I was still pretty surprised at how much straight up porn is in this hah. It's pretty gory too, but it's kind of about voyeuristic ghosts watching people, so it's just kind of part of the story. It's kind of odd in a funny way how many times mass murder happens in the background and while the ghosts are wondering around and just kind of chatting. It makes sense in context of the story, but it did throw me off more than once how often what seems like a major plot point ends up being something that gets brushed off by the next panel hah. It reminded me a lot of the movie Wings of Desire. It was a fun book and I enjoyed it quite a bit overall. I'd probably say it's more of a 3.5, but I'll round up. Thanks for the ARC!

I am a big fan of Brian K Vaughan and although this wasn't my favorite of his, I still enjoyed it! I was not expecting such graphic scenes but maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised. I think my main issue is that it ended too quickly, I want more!

I got this book solely based on the cover. First off.....HOLY SHIT! 😄 🤣 I was not expecting this type of book for this cover at all. Starts off right away with the erotica aspect and stays heavily throughout the book. This storyline was interesting and kept me wanting to finish the rest of the book. Quick read and I liked how the storyline would switch from present to future as the characters in the book happen to be ghosts 👻

Spectators is unapologetically bold. Filled with nudity, ghosts, and apocalyptic chaos. Vaughan blends the supernatural with raw social commentary, creating something equal parts shocking and thought-provoking. I’m not entirely sure what I just read, but it was strange, provocative, and undeniably fun.

This comic honestly surprised me. I picked it up for the names attached and for the cover itself, but what kept me hooked was how it blends raw, uncomfortable themes with such gorgeous, unsettling art. I really liked how it portrayed violence and sex in today’s world, not in a cheap or over-the-top way. That alone made it stand out for me.
What also impressed me was how it combined different timelines and perspectives. I was a bit afraid at first, to mix it so heavily, but it did work out very well.The way it jumped between ages felt seamless, and the painterly illustrations tied it all together beautifully. The style is stunning. It feels eerie and creepy in places, but as I mentioned, in a way that works, pulling you deeper instead of pushing you away. It’s not often you see that balance of disturbing and mesmerizing executed this well, I think.
That said, the pacing dragged for me at times. It was too text-heavy sometimes, and there are stretches that felt a little too meditative or abstract, where I found myself waiting for the story to pick up again or be faster. But even then, the atmosphere carried me through, and I was still left thinking about it afterward.
Overall, Spectators isn’t an easy or casual read, but it’s a striking one. If you’re into unsettling stories with gorgeous art and themes that stick with you long after, this one is worth picking up.

"Spectators" is the kind of graphic novel that leaves me in an introspective mood, which isn't bad at all. There was a lot to think about the human condition without resorting to sermons of what's good or bad. The writing and art don't pull punches. Readers are voyeurs as much as the characters. The sex and violence sought and viewed by the ghosts is no different than today's world. The novel is a spot-on allegory of our times. As a reader, I was engrossed in the many ways people processed "the end of days." I wouldn't be surprised if the world kicks off just how this book described. And the way the book ended? Art. The author and artist captured humanity in its truest form, in my opinion. Sex and violence at the end of all things? Yep, sounds about right.

I requested this ARC as I love Brian K Vaughan's writing. In this case, I think his style comes through, but alas it's not exactly what I was looking for.

The beginning of the story is harsh and dark, and really showcases the way Vaughan does not pull any punches when it comes to subject matter. Very, yes he's willing to go there and you know what maybe someone should since it is a very real albeit tragic part of life, at least in America. Shying away from discussing or depicting it can be its own form of censorship, but I digress.

I do think this book delivers on its premise, I suppose I just wish it said more? His works tend to have this poignancy that cuts through to my emotions and pieces of my life that I've experienced. I can't say I felt that so much with this one but maybe I'm just not in the right stage of life to appreciate it. I truly do think that someone else picking up this book has the potential to take more from it than I did. And that's juts fine.

Regardless of it not hitting me as deeply as some of his other works, it's still a good story. It's unique in its premise and delivers what he always delivers, a slice of raw human life and ingenuity.

The ending was a little odd but maybe I should have seen it coming. I'll revisit this again one day and maybe there will be more lessons and insight than I had today.

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for the E-ARC!

This graphic novel was a quick read (less than a day for me), but not an easy read, so I suspect I’ll be thinking about this one for a while. It’s very different from Saga if that is your only prior experience with Brian K. Vaughan’s work.

This book is not for everyone, there is plenty of graphic sex and violence. You will know within the first ~20 pages whether it’s too much for you.

All that said, I generally enjoyed this book, in particular because of its commentary on human nature, voyeurism, and nihilism. It’s not simply a book that asks “what would you do at the end of the world?” and “what would you do if you could watch anyone unobserved?” It adds a gritty context, taking these questions out of their clean room so to speak, and pulling the readers in as voyeurs.

There’s a conversation about Terminator in the book, where the movie is described as not only an action, horror, or sci-fi movie, but primarily a romance. Whether or not you agree with that assessment, it happens to be an apt description for this book - there is plenty of action, horror, sci-fi, plus romance as well.

I quite liked the end of the book - it hammered home the themes quite nicely, and felt like a satisfying ending.

While it didn’t stop me from reading, I think the sex and violence was slightly excessive (other readers may of course disagree).

Wow. What a great story. I mean its definitely X rated with the images but the story and the plot line are fascinating. Super unique and interesting. Highly recommended!

The team of Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon must be protected at all costs. Pride of Baghdad is one of my favorite graphic novels, so I was beyond excited when I saw that this duo would be reuniting for Spectators. I had the pleasure of subscribing to their paid SubStack, Exploding Giraffe, so I saw this story unfold in real time.

Brian K. Vaughan sure does know how to tell a story. I've been a fan of his for a long time, and whether he's writing for existing IPs or telling his own stories, he just has a way of pulling you in immediately. And though Spectators mostly takes place in the future, there is so much ripped straight from today: the fascination with mass shootings and people trying to outdo each other violently, both sex positivity and puritanical thinking, and our fascination with 'watching'. It is a provocative, sexy, voyeuristic, graphically violent, sometimes rage-inducing, and poignant story wrapped into one beautifully executed package.

Speaking of beautiful, Niko Henrichon's art is stunning, a perfect visual match for this story. I love the way the dead are seen in color, while the real world events unfold around them in black and white. It's a visual distinction that is usually reversed in media, with spirits or the dead being colorless, and I'm here for it. He doesn't shy away during the sexy times either, so be forewarned if you're looking to read this in public.

Ultimately, this was an incredible ride (pun intended), and I really hope Vaughan and Henrichon collaborate again soon.

“Spectators” by Brian K Vaughan& Niko Henrichon

4⭐️/5⭐️

What a ride. This is a story focusing on a dystopian future through the eyes of ghosts who observe. The main character, a woman who is murdered in a movie theater, becomes a voyeuristic ghost continuing the ‘haunt’ earth. However, *every* ghost is a big voyeuristic, watching humanity spiral into extinction.

The future earth is bleak, filled with excessive violence and crude displays of sex. It goes without saying, the story contains graphic and explicit scenes. I found the commentary on violence persisting, in almost a repetitive manner, to be interesting. In addition to sex, voyeurism, and humanity’s indifference to surviving.

The original title of the pitched pilot version of The Muppet Show was "Sex and Violence." That serves as a fitting subtitle for BKV's Spectators, which is all about how we like to watch. How we've always liked to watch. How we'll keep on liking to watch until we blow ourselves up in the process.

Please be advised that both the sex and the violence are graphic and explicit. Prince Robot IV would blush at some of the pages, but then he'd just go on looking.

My thank to Image Comics and NetGalley for this review copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Image comics for allowing me to read this for free for an honest review.

First of all wow 😮 I love Brian K Vaughan comics this one is definitely different.

Shock value straight from the start, the influencer that murders folk absolutely mental.

Story line although graphic and sometimes very kinky is rather sweet and sad .

The erotic nature of the comic is almost in the background of the two main characters who just want to feel something anything .

Forced to spectate and not participate must be hard .

The style of the illustration is very unique, so much detail in the acts the end of the world and people are too busy fucking .


Loved it 🥰

A really interesting short graphic novel, I appreciated both world and characters building. Their setting made me think that this would have been a great episode of TV shows such as Black Mirror or Love, Death & Robots: a dystopian and extreme Manhattan is observed and commented by the souls of the dead, waiting for the possible end of the world as they know it. Nudity and sex scenes are a bit too graphic for my taste, and I would recommend it to a mature audience only. All in all, a really nice reading that left me with a lot to think about.

I went into this one, only knowing it was going to touch on sex, and violence. But BOY was it SO much more than that.
The art was, hand down, impeccable. The storyline was actually really good! I see a lot of reviews saying that it just felt like hentai. But when I read it, it felt like two people getting to know each other, extremely intimately. Yes the imagery and what they talked about could be a bit taboo, but when it comes down to it, it's the grittiest, most raw parts of us.
I'm having trouble putting how this book made me feel into words, it really was impactful.

Our main character gets bored in the movie theatre, ditched by her date she starts browsing a porn site, only to be killed by a mass shooter. She meet many people, and has many "viewing" experiences along the way, alone. She meets a handsome "space cowboy" who she ends up really connecting with. As the living world around them falls apart, their experiences and souls become intertwined.

Beautiful imagery, wonderful story.

Hah. I just really love BKV. I read a bit of this as it was released online, and just didn't keep up. Blew through the whole thing in one sitting. Had me yelling at Val and Sam to just kiss already, so I loved the end. I wish I would've kept up with it as released because I think this is a story I will enjoy sitting with and thinking about. Can't wait to read through it again. So good.