The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Darren Douglas dropped us a line after reading the comics insert with some of our small press friends in the new FPI catalogue to tell us about his own work, Space Dude: Devil-Chick Planet of Peril, which he recently finished after years of working on it in his spare time (most of our small press chums create their work as a labour of love in-between doing the day job, which makes some of the results even more impressive I think). Alas, at the moment the 168 page graphic novel is only available as a print-on-demand title from Lulu, so we can’t actually offer it to you on our own site, but it tickled our fancy so much we had to tell you about it anyway. Darren described it as:

“A goofy, raunchy space epic following the adventures of a 1970′s stunt-man idiot-coward called Kurt Kobalt as he attempts to save the Earth of the future from Evil-Lesbian-Space-Vampires. I’ve just recently finished it after 6 long years of work in my spare time… and I’m currently half way through the sequel for release late 2007. Basically I made it because I got tired of waiting for somebody to remake Buck Rogers with Bruce Campbell! Its softcore raunchy as hell but it’s all in fine fooling, no mean spirits involved. Heck, even women have enjoyed it!”

Buck Rogers meets Bruce Campbell? Well, just look at that chin and you’ll get what he means right away; if you don’t get it then fair to say this isn’t the book for you, but if you do then I suspect you’re going to enjoy it. Darren kindly sent us a few pages to look at and it’s impressed us; personally I’ve been laughing my back issues off down here in the Blogcave. I’m reminded of a saucier version of the old Dash Decent strip from 2000 AD, while the art (and some of the humour) reminds me a lot of Ian Gibson’s early Sam Slade: Robo-hunter strips, also in 2000 AD – and since I love the Sam Slade strip that’s a big compliment. The story looks to be what happens when you stick one of Hammer’s heavy-on-the-flesh horrors in a blender with an old serial like Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon (and indeed, Flesh Gordon), with perhaps a dash of Barbarella, Vampirella and some old EC thrown in.

I’m sure some people will say this is trading in cheap stereotypes and is offensive to women, but it isn’t – it is clearly tongue in cheek, and besides the men are also clearly having the mickey taken from them as well, which makes it reasonably even-handed in my view. Besides, it’s clever and it’s damned funny; how can you not enjoy a comic with fabulous lines like “Microwaved moon midgets, she’s a VAMPIRE!!!!” I do hope he does a straight up print version sometime so we can stock it.