Wow, it's been a long, long time since we've seen Valerie, the ex-hippie. And if you think her just showing up out of the blue feels weird, don't worry things will be revealed next week that ties things together and wraps up some strings left by her exit in 2011. When I first wrote her out of the comic I thought it would be difficult to keep her out for six months... little would I know it'd be more than two years before I'd bring her back. Her lawyering skills in this situation was always going to be the reason she came back, but I kept putting off this and the upcoming arc so she stayed out of the comic for longer than I originally planned. I dig her in panel one more so than the following panels, I think the larger eyes she has there works better for her... but it was a definite challenge redesigning her into her more conservative, lawyer style.