Travis Charest

From working alongside Alan Moore on the WildC.A.T.s in the 90's to visionary director Alejandro Jodorowsky on the sci-fi epic the Metabarons, Charest is recognized as a major master of the line in comics and perhaps the most exciting artist to work in sci-fi since Alex Raymond designed that first Mongo castle.

Canadian-born, Travis has run the circuit of 'Big Two' projects from the Hulk to the Flash and even the short-lived Darkstars for DC Comics. While his work on all of these titles was startling, it wasn't until he took over from Jim Lee on WildC.A.T.s when readers took notice. The trademark Charest-style guns, the leather wrinkles, the amazingly rendered Ladytron, incredible speedlines and bust-up fight scenes made the title a comic that even bed-ridden Grant Morrison avidly read (legendary comic scribe Alan Moore didn't hurt that rep either!).

The marriage of Travis' pen and the mind of mad writer Alejandro Jodorowsky on the Metabarons: Dreamshifters is a perfect fit and the upcoming (long in production) story is one that I look forward to reading. More info is available at the his site.

 

Controlled Experiment

"What harm can it do?" Carroll O'Connor ("All in the Family") and Barry Morse ("Space 1999") play two Martians, named Deimos and Phobos who arrive in your standard TV-style hotel to study the nature of violence in humans in order to understand it better. The instrument they use (and abuse) is a type of time machine that can take back and spit out pockets of time in a weird sped-up run backwards camera trick that in any other program would have you reaching for the remote but here... it pays off to stay with it.

The Martians watch a felandering beau get shot by his furious girlfriend an easy ten times. Over and over the watch the two characters exchange lines and act through the same routines but still it doesn't add up. Hilariously they can peer into the minds of the humans, question theor motivations and yet still... it just doesn't make sense. They have to get closer. Seeking answers in the background of the male the follow him backwards upstair to his other lover where they are enthralled by backwards kissing. In steps, Barry Morse's by-the-books Deimos is won over by the strange himans and becomes endeared by them. They decide to change the trajectory of the killing bullet and alter history, thinking it just isn't right to see this young couple upset. From invaders to matchmakers, the Martians set about rigging the events so that the two lovers end in each others arms kissing. Even when they are told by their bosses that this has altered history in such a way that total collapse is immenent... they just can't stand by and not see these two end up happily ever after. One of the best uses of sci-fi to tell a comedic story I've ever seen.

weird science

ARE YOU AN "ELECTRIC HUMAN" IN THE SEATTLE AREA?
As a Seattle resident, do you get doorknob sparks even in the summer? Zap your loved ones? Kill all computers, wristwatches and light-dimmers? If so, would you be interested in playing with different ways to stop your static charges problem? I have some ideas for cures, but no victims on which to experiment! If you live in Seattle (or Tacoma, Bellingham, etc.), go to this site for more info.

music

Popism: Pocket Radiodrops Volume Two
a creeping bent anthology

Creeping Bent's first release of 2006 celebrates pop in the broadest sense - The Nectarine No9 weigh in with a brightly cut guitar pop gem 'Hanging Around/Re-model'. Another jewel is Port Sulphur v Colditz with 'Towerblock' featuring a shimmering guest vocal from Monica Queen - comparisons with Dionne Warwick's best work with Bacharach and David are not excessive. Future Pilot AKA conjure up an enchanting Punjabi dub version of Orange Juice's 'Rip It Up', Freecloud take us on an impossibly sunny road trip with 'Meet Me In Milan' while new Bent flavours of King Creosote and Say Jansfield enrich old favourites such as Gareth Sager and Vic Godard. 'Popism' concludes with Fire Engines 'Discord' - a blistering version caught 'live' at Valentino's in 1980. White light, White heat! Available for down at the creeping bent site.

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