A few months ago I happened upon a webcomic that seemed like it would appeal to me. The initial draw of “Space the Comic” was nostalgia for me: it is made with and as a tribute to the Lego Classic Space theme! Immediately I was like “Oh! I had that guy/ship when I was a kid!” It was neat to see some of my favorite childhood toys (who unlike Transformers and G.I. Joe never really had any “official” fiction behind them) having wacky adventures. I was horribly behind on my own comic at the time, so I bookmarked it for later and kept an eye on the new updates via the FaceyPlace.
A few weeks ago, I got a chance to dive into the archives and get caught up with the story. When I did and saw that the strip went back to 2008, I thought “Awww, man. I could have been reading this for the last 4 years?” While the strip is mostly a sort of space sitcom, I was pretty amazed with how author Kevin J. Guhl (no relation to Ra’s Al Ghul – that I’m aware of) interweaves elements of science fiction and horror (yes, Lego horror). The storyline “The Last Face You See” is sheer terror on an existential level, being a bit reminiscent of Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” in that they both present a doomed man’s frenzied but futile struggle to survive and have somewhat similar twist endings.
Whether comedy or horror is the prevalent theme of the current storyline, Kevin does a great job of infusing those little brick fellas and fillies with tons of personality. In fact, I was so inspired by Valkyrie’s sporting goods shoplifting spree and little exchange with poor, lucky Lawrence in “Bootlegs” Part 7, that I drew this fan art. There are a lot of webcomics I like, but his is the first one I’ve ever enjoyed enough to be compelled to do a fan art for. So, if you enjoy my art of Valkyrie (or even if you don’t, but want to see how awesome a comic’s gotta be to inspire me to draw fan art) please check out the source comic.
I really appreciate the kind words (and the fan art, of course)! I do approach the comic with a humorous perspective, but try to infuse real emotion and an epic plot. I don’t know that I planned the comic to be the style it is, but it certainly reflects the kind of fiction I like – Red Dwarf, Seinfeld, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Doctor Who, etc. Giving personality to perpetually smiling LEGO minifigures can be a challenge, so it makes me focus on physical expression in the way the figures are posed and personality conveyed through dialogue. Thanks again for the support!
Oh, and I always come across Ra’s Al Ghul when I do ego searches in Google. My Satan Pit is in the basement.