Original Commentary
We've been talking about adding old Dr. Marvello into this arc since the very beginning, before any part of the script was written. We knew what part in all this he would play, but we didn't quite know where. We had originally planned on having Dr.M show up in this comic, but decided against it. -Isabel

Modern Commentary
The most surprising thing about all this is that Dr. Marvello actually has a real doctorate.

Also, Kimberly wasn't a performer. Why was he photographing her? Apart from because he's kind of a creep - Terrence

Original Commentary
Isabel made a few changes to this when she was lettering it - for a start, she changed it to a photo album. I had the photos in a box. Why? Because I forgot people put photos in albums and I was going to have Kimberly flipping through them like records - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Dr. Marvello is named after a Klaatu song. The song is about a mystical sex/relationship therapist.

The character is some guy in a culturally-inappropriate turban who keeps shouting about how he has learned the secrets of oriental magic. That kind of thing was common back in the actual vaudeville days but there's a lot of stuff that has fortunately been left in the past. His act is mostly juggling.

He didn't cut Brisbane on purpose but he didn't go out of his way to include him. In his defense, Brisbane was an untalented rando who showed up towards the end and took a few months off- Terrence

Original Commentary
Remember back a few days ago when I mentioned an idea I had pitched (Terrence provided the actual script- he had to explain what "marking cards" was to me) for a comic set in the photo room that Terrence had not used? Well, here it is. I'm glad I didn't talk about it back then. The photo is in black and white (or rather, grayscale) because all the other photos on the walls are. I figure Dr.M liked to get real artsy with his photography "skills".-Isabel

Modern Commentary
Dr. Marvello was going to show up in the reunion but I didn't have anything for him.

I had half a comic where he introduces himself and explains that he took the photos secretly because "If you put a camera in front of performers, they start performing."

Brisbane offers to beat him up but Kimberly says she'll handle it and/or that she doesn't know if she should be flattered or get a restraining order - Terrence

Original Commentary
So really, when you come down to it, both Unlike Minerva and You Say it First are all this guy's fault (looks like that Marks guy is off the hook for now). -Isabel

Modern Commentary
He'll show up anywhere that has people who'll pay $30 for an autograph. Not because he likes the money but because he likes being the center of a crowd. - Terrence

Original Commentary
A bit more of Brisbane's backstory. After it was drawn, the line "You were willing to move into a vaudeville theatre, but you're afraid to talk to the guy" occurred to me. Unfortunately, it would've been too disruptive. Ah well - Terrence

Modern Commentary
When I say "the movies aren't as good", I mean to evoke the kind of performer - comedians, wrestlers, stage actors, and such - where their best performances were not recorded. Or lost. Or, perhaps, not recorded in one easily-accessibe place. Mike Wilson's career highlights were scattered through live venues, talk show appearances on television, and half of side 2 of a comedy record. - Terrence

Original Commentary
Yes, it's one comic of build-up. Anyhow, why does he have a book? Because they always have a book or two. Nothing says "I used to be in showbiz" like having an autobiography - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Ok, I take back what I said two days ago. Mike isn't here because he likes being among fans. If he were, he would've at least let Brisbane finish his sentence about how amazing it was to meet Mike Wilson. He's heard this speech from a lot of people and doesn't care to hear it again

The line in the last panel should have been "Would you like to buy a copy?". Because you know he isn't giving those things away - Terrence

Original Commentary
I considered adding a "As one performer to another, I don't mind telling you" to the last panel. It's an abrupt statement, but it's supposed to have an abrupt impact - Terrence

Modern Commentary
This is inspired by...I want to say Antique Roadshow. Dude had an album allegedly signed by all four of The Beatles. The host immediately told him that none of the signatures were authentic; at best it was signed by their secretary or press corps and the album was worth like twenty bucks.

That stuck with me and I built it into this, just that moment of realizing that what you treasured was less authentic than you had long believed - Terrence