SPX Small Press Expo!
Come on by and say hello.
For me, it’s been insane here getting ready for this month long trip (East coast and San Fran conventions). The strip is drawn on large paper and hard to transport (let alone the scanner) so I can’t bring much with me except for computer work (which is mostly just coloring), but I think I’m going to manage it with zero interruptions of the strip. yay!
A first time for everything, it seems!
Yes, but put your back into it, that was a lame comment.
So it seems that every time that something turns out to be easier is just foreboding of something worst coming, right?
By the way, 2 A.M. from where I am.
I can never figure out how Chris constantly come up with new faces and forms for all the different alien species, most of them wildly different. Most sci-fi movies have a few, but it seems Space Trawler has dozens, possibly going up to hundreds before all is finished. Chris, do you really have THAT many nightmares? 😉 I am no where NEAR that creative.
The main enemy in this strip has a beak-like face which reminds me of the really ugly, giant, space-vulture from the old B&W sci-fi movie”The Giant Claw”. Chris’s aliens aren’t just humanoids with weird heads, either (like Lucas’). My hat’s off to you, Chris, for one man you are very creative.
First of all, I totally agree that Chris is extremely creative and talented in a myriad of ways. 🙂
However, regarding Star Wars (and Star Trek and the like), there’s a reason most aliens are “humanoids with weird heads” – because the actors playing the aliens are human themselves (with the only exceptions I know being when an alien is generated entirely through special effects, or in some old sci-fi shows where they sometimes put an animal in an alien suit).
As much as I would love to see SpaceTrawler someday made into a series of movies, there’s no way it could be done unless everything was animated — and that’s simply not the way Lucas and Rodenberry decided to go (for various reasons).
At least Star Trek did an episode explaining why most of the intelligent races are humanoid – they’re descended from an incredibly ancient race that seeded its genetic stock among worlds throughout the galaxy (with Hortas and Tholians being among the exceptions, I figure). And you do have to give Lucas credit for a few things, like Jabba the Hut (who was originally filmed as a big human in a furry outfit – I kid you not – but Lucas hated it and decided to hold off on showing Jabba until technology made it possible to make him the ugly slug he turned out to be. *grins*)
I love Martina’s expression in the last panel. It really captures that feeling of “I gave my last crap a couple hours ago so I’m just going to go ahead even though I’m pretty sure we’re screwed.” It’s an emotion that doesn’t get nearly the airplay it deserves.
Re: the aliens … “It’s a cow.”
/had to be said.
The variety of alien species is indeed great. Chalk that up to the comic medium’s ability to allow the author to draw the dream, rather than being constrained by whatever prosthetics can be glued to the existing skeletal structure of a human actor – or, worse, constrained by a limited special effects/costuming budget. I’ve been watching old Dr. Who and while there’s a lot of creature creativity, there’s a pervasive “man in a rubber suit” syndrome which not only betrays the technology of the era, but the limited budget of the BBC during the programme’s initial run. In comparison, the original Star Trek largely avoided creature creativity for humanoid aliens where a minor surface feature indicated their other-worldliness (Spock’s Vulcan pointed ears) and the bulk of the alien definition was via expository dialogue and characterisation (Vulcans are logical, Spock acts as the yin to McCoy’s yang).
Perhaps I’m just babbling though as I’ve yet to finish my first cup of coffee this morning. So, yeah…been watching old Dr. Who and Star Trek on Netflix…anyone else? 😀
“Spacetrawlers? We’ve already got one! It’s verrry nice…”
Speaking of so many alien species, well either there are just a few or one. The other is to overcrowd with so many you wonder how they could have all had not only life but intelligent life the were all successful in not destroying themselves and developed space flight. Star Wars the Clone Wars has allowed us to see many of the worlds where these aliens live from the movies which is nice. This season we see where the Calamari live of Gen. Akbar fame when the galactic civil war reaches their water planet.
Nice unexpected ending to a fierce gun fight. Just a misunderstanding officer works this time. Again a touch of Keith Laumer here. Great writing!
Guy looks like a Zando-Zan to me.
@Eris Lobo: Anyone remember that “space dog” in “The Enemy Within” on Star Trek? It still cracks me up.
Let us all pray to whatever gods we have (or don’t, so throw salt over your shoulder) that should Spacetrawler become a movie, that George Lucas is nowhere near the production.
Though I guess I can’t rule out handing off digital animations to Lucasfilms, which would do a great job. Just keep a guard at the door.
Oh, and: The look on Martina’s dad’s face is hilarious.
George Lucas somewhere near production ? No problem, except we will wait until spacetrawler book four to begin filming start…