Chapter 17, Page 21a: Livestreaming Supervillain

Posted on June 23, 2026 by Brad Guigar

Fairmount City has faced plenty of supervillains before. But this may be its first livestreaming supervillain.

After losing her brief burst of social-media stardom, Hailey re-emerges with a new look, a new name, and a dangerous new relationship with engagement metrics. Now she is Countess Influencia — the Validation Vampire — and every heart, like, and notification seems to make her stronger.

Fairmount News Network tries to cover the attack, but even the news crew can’t stop checking her feed. As hearts start streaming from phones across the city — and around the world — it becomes clear that this crime spree is no longer just a local story.

The world has met Countess Influencia.

And she would very much like you to smash that “Like” button.

Transcript

Panel 1
At the Fairmount News Network studio. Someone off panel whispers, “Psst! Ms. Takahaski! You’re on the air!” Hana Takahaski looks up from her smartphone and says, “Oh! Umm… We’ve got breaking news!”

Panel 2
Hana says, “We’re getting live reports of an attack on the downtown area.” A stream of hearts begins floating from her phone.

Panel 3
The scene widens. Hana is still on her phone. The cameraman is also on his phone. Streams of hearts flow from both phones and from other unseen people in the studio. Hana says, “She may be the first supervillain to livestream her own crime spree! Moreover…” Then, distracted by her phone, she says, “Hold on…” Her phone displays the text: “YAS, Queen!”

Panel 4 (inset)
Exterior view of the Fairmount News Network building. Several streams of hearts flow outward from inside the building and from the street below. Hana says, “Moreover, while Fairmount City is her current target, she has already taken the whole WORLD by storm!”

Panel 5
Hailey, now transformed into Countess Influencia, floats above the city as streams of hearts flow directly into her body. She says, “Look upon Countess Influencia and despair!” Then, in smaller type: “And don’t forget to smash that ‘Like’ button and subscribe!”

Alt text

A five-panel Evil Inc comic introduces Hailey’s new supervillain persona, Countess Influencia. At Fairmount News Network, anchor Hana Takahaski is caught looking at her phone just as she goes on the air with breaking news about an attack downtown. As she reports, red heart icons begin floating from her phone. The scene widens to show the cameraman and others in the studio also absorbed by their phones, with streams of hearts flowing upward. Hana reports that the villain may be the first supervillain to livestream her own crime spree, then gets distracted by a message reading, “YAS, Queen!” Outside the Fairmount News Network building, heart streams pour from the building and the street below. In the final panel, Hailey floats above the city in her new vampire-inspired outfit as Countess Influencia. Streams of hearts flow into her body as she declares, “Look upon Countess Influencia and despair!” She adds, “And don’t forget to smash that ‘Like’ button and subscribe!”

Comic Con International 2006 Report, Part Four

Posted on August 2, 2006 by Brad Guigar
Comic Con International 2006 Report, Part FourThe booth

It goes without saying that I really, really love the guys I work with at BLC. Each once of them is phenomenally talented. And each one is a truly funny person. Working alongside these guys is a real kick. Flying home at the end of the weekend, I realized my chest actually hurt from all the laughing.

If you’ve ever seen me at a con you know that I love to work the booth. I love talking about my comic to people who’ve never heard of me before (and there’s a lot of them), and I love talking to people who read and enjoy the strip. Working alongside my pals at BLC just makes it that much more fun. If you’ve ever listened to the Blank Label Comics Podcast, you have a pretty good idea of the wild, stream-of-consciousness riffs that Kris and Dave are capable of. Troop was out making magic with his Melonpool puppets for much of the time, but he’s another one with a lightning-quick wit. David Willis has a wonderfully twisted sense of humor, but he’s a little more sneaky about it — which makes him even more funny in person. Plus, he’s a genuinely good guy — and a good sport, if you’d know how much ribbing we leveled on him about pot-stickers. If you read Howard’s blog, you’ve probably heard him in your head. He was exactly how I imagined he’d sound like when I first met him. And Paul Taylor is this incredibly nice, quiet guy, who catches everybody off-guard with a well-placed, well-timed zinger that lands everyone on their butts.

And me? I’m the loud, overbearing jerk that they all put up with. 🙂

The books

I sold out of the Evil Inc books by Saturday afternoon. I seriously need to put some time into Book Two as soon as possible. The Lightning Lady book and the Courting Disaster book sold very well, too. And I was fairly busy with sketches all weekend.

As you know, I am an ardent fan of the company that prints all of my self-published books, Lulu.com. They do top-quality work and their customer support is beyond compare. You can see the vivacious Leah and the alluring Annie in their Con report.

Gift bags

I had some gift bags prepared for some of the people who bought multiple books or went above and beyond the call of fandom. David Oakes, for example, was there, and he brought the Miss Match Lego character he built so I could see it first hand. The giftbags contained some candy in a souvenir Evil Inc tin and a black T-shirt with the Captain Heroic symbol on it.

I got the idea at Wizard World Philly when I had a couple of readers who bought multiple books and commissioned sketches. Don’t worry, guys: I’ll remember who you are and I’ll take care of you next year. Promise. 🙂 Anyway, when I was talking about it with my wife, I said how I wanted to have something special and unexpected to give readers who were so generous with their support. She suggested the giftbag. Keep that in mind when I’m asking if you’re going to be coming to a convention I’m appearing at… I’m asking for a reason! 🙂

Sunday Dinner

Sunday night was one of those nights that I’ll always be thankful for. Most of the Blank Label guys were able to make it to the Hilton for a dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. Scott Kurtz joined us. It was the best food I has all weekend. But even better than the food was the company. I laughed so hard my face hurt at the end of the night. It’s one of those Comic-Con gatherings that make the flight from the coast worthwhile. This is where the Legendary Pot-Stickers Incident happened.

I was accused of Getting the Vapors, but it may have been my “just pick a whiskey” Whiskey Sour. One thing’s for sure, I don’t laugh like this guy.