This was a clear influence on the last panel of today's thrilling episode. While I don't think Brandon Bird has the monopoly on depictions of dino wrasslin', credit is due when a man writes in his script, "Count, I want you you to make this panel look like Killing Machine by Brandon Bird. In fact, the more it looks like this painting, the better."

Perhaps someday soon I'll need to acquire a print of 'Killing Machine' to hang near my print of 'King of the Cage.'

Much like Deadpool (or perhaps because of Deadpool), we Scholars can appreciate the charms of Bea Arthur.

"Proof by Abduction" is hands down my favorite Geoff title ever.

That being said, Peter was quite the sucker for anything Western. For the most part, this was a good thing. It brought to Russia advances in medicine, science, and agriculture, and at least one Really Big Globe With Room for a Dining Room Table Inside. It also brought the gradual phasing out of the Domostroy, a charming set of guidelines for the boyar class that dictated when it was okay to beat your wife or pack her off to a living death at a convent for the rest of her natural existence. One of the more charming rituals was the handing of a ceremonial whip from the father of a bride to the prospective groom. The groom was supposed to say, "Boy, I sure hope I never have to use this" to take the curse off the whole thing, but really...

Also, it was Charles XII of Sweden, not Peter, who was known for running into the forest and hunting bears armed only with a dull pronged stick, but clearly, in This perturbation of the time narrative, that penchant somehow ended up in Peter's skull.

- Count Dolby von Luckner