[VP Rewind is a quick look back at the important events of the past week or two that should have been on Venus Patrol had it actually been alive.]

I’m not sure why it should have surprised me as much as it did: it’s just, I suppose, that we’ve spent so long — years now — staring at those dot-eyed mannequins that I was starting to think of it as an aesthetic.

In either case, Chris Hecker has revealed the final character designs for his upcoming 1-on-1 reverse-Turing mindgame SpyParty, and the results are fantastic. A nod, says Hecker, to classic illustration in every sense of its relative timelessness, the new designs (by artist John Cimino) convey a strong sense of individual character and an overall aristocratic flavor without dipping into overly-broad spy fiction.

It’ll still be some time off, Hecker admits, before the characters make it into the ongoing open beta (that I, like, somehow still am not a part of), so get your last good ganders at those dot-eyed dollar-store dolls before they’re gone forever. [via SpyParty]