Ze Spy Page 28 (Patreon)

Even the most heroic of efforts must sometimes pause to appease the infernal forces of bureaucracy. Appointments must be made, permits acquired, forms must be filled out, signed in four places, initialed in two others, sent for approval, then filed never to be seen again until the next time progress and productivity need to be slowed down. It's an eternal struggle, as ubiquitous as it is extraneous; all one can do is expel a plaintive sigh and pick up the pen or other office approved writing instrument and get to filling in those blanks. In Ze Spy's case, she's getting off easy: only her hat needs to be adjusted for admittance to the General's office. Although between you and me, I think if he found out she sent Ze Spy away, the General's secretary might be facing a court martial.

Over the years I've developed an interest for the aesthetics of the 70s and 80s that goes a little beyond nostalgia to outright obsession. I'm a member of several "retro" Facebook groups and anyone on my friends list can tell you that if I share something it's either a funky amoeba shaped lamp, an Italian supercar that looks like a doorstop, or living rooms where a Sean Connery era James Bond villain would feel right at home. In this case, I wanted the office to look a bit 60s, so I looked up 60s offices, found one to use as a reference, then made my usual mistake of drawing the background before I planned where to put my dialogue balloons. Naturally, between the balloons and the figures everything that made the office look retro 60s is covered up, but rest assured it looks tres 60s.