Why I Read: Planet Chaser

Hi, everybody.  Delta-v is back with a fun webcomic to offer for your inspection.  Consider, if you will what might happen if a headstrong, adorably cute, and extremely capable teenage girl were to inherit a starship?  Artist and author ZeroGee said it was all right, so let’s go find out.  Hang onto your hats and heartstrings, here comes Planet Chaser.

Synopsis:

Having spent most of her life in the Sisters of Arcturus school, eighteen-year-old Clarissa is given a claim check, and goes to find the spaceship she has inherited.  A virtual orphan, knowing neither father or mother, Clarissa doesn’t expect much.

Sleek, powerful, and beautifully appointed, her new ship, the Neutron Star is nothing like she expected.  Hurrying aboard, she marvels at the cleanliness of it and it’s general state of good repair, whereupon she meets the reason for the good condition of her ship.

Clarissa is not best pleased with “Murphy”, as she calls him, but grudgingly accepts him as part of her inheritance.  They blast off, accidentally avoiding someone trying to stop them.  Hurtling into space, they avoid another trap, and escape into FTL travel.  Murphy suggests a destination, citing a desire to meet some people he knows.  Finding them, he gives a report.

Introducing himself s “Dr. Carroway”, one of the group tells Clarissa that he knew her parents.  He gives her a kind of flash drive and leads her to a “memorial wall” where, looking at the pictures, Clarissa is stunned to discover who she is, and that the other men in the group knew her father well.

Making her way back to the Neutron Star in a bit of a daze, Clarissa gets lost and is offered assistance by a local.

They are attacked by assassins, and although the assassins are driven off, Arv doesn’t make a very good first impression.  They part ways, and Clarissa returns to her ship.  She and Murphy lift off, and head for another star system.  While in hyperspace Clarissa checks the cargo, and finding a suspicious crate, opens it to reveal a familiar face………

Among the other things Clarissa inherited, was the enmity of Clothis Clu, a leader of the alien race humanity had fought.  Clu seems to think that Clarissa can thwart him, somehow.  Clu has been behind the attacks on Clarissa, including some bounty hunters, especially a  beautiful blonde with the most appropriate attack I’ve ever seen.  Read the comic, and tell me if you don;’t agree.

Clarissa blithely weaves her way through all this, defeating evildoers, foiling Clu’s plots and generally having a great time.  Sorry, no dragons (unless you count Clu, who’s kind of green and ugly), but there was this princess…..

How I Found It:

Heh, I clicked on ZeroGee’s username in a comment section, which took me to the profile page, and the link to Planet Chaser was sitting right there.  As far as I can tell, ZeroGee isn’t on any social media–at least, not under that name.

Why I like It:

The artwork is well done, the story is engaging, and it’s pretty funny.

The starfields are captivating, and the people are vibrant and alive.  The various craft and cars are sleek and streamlined, and make sense for the general milieu.

The style is a form of manga with clean lines which my bleary old eyes greatly appreciate, and the usual manga-style sound effects, asides, expressions and eye depictions.  Clarissa, herself is designed to be as adorable as possible, with wide-set eyes, a perpetual head tilt, a sweet little smile,and a slender, almost waifish, build.  This is brilliantly done, since an important part of the comic is people underestimating her, and being surprised by her true abilities.  It’s also a lot of fun.

One interesting note is ZeroGee’s use of screen tones for the occasional background.  I’m not a certified manga reader, so it was new to me, and I rather liked the effect as it gave and almost wallpaper (the original meaning) look to the panels

With sure strokes and a confident approach, it’s obvious that ZeroGee has had a lot of training/practice, and has absorbed it well.

The story itself is interesting, with a good pace that carries the reader along without being confusing.  Clarissa sometimes seems to be a person of age and great experience, seeing through ruses and traps, while at the same time being playful and inquisitive.  It’s a potent mix, and very effective, especially when skillfully applied.om grouchy snark.  In fact, I’m not completely convinced that his literas

It also covers a lot of subjects, friendship, honor, emotional healing, determination, courage…..the list grows longer with each succeeding chapter.  Why, it’s almost as if we’re tapping into someone’s life experiences and the wisdom that comes from them.

A good deal of the humor of the comic comes from Clarissa herself; her attitudes, viewpoint,and reactions.  Some of the characters are a bit buffoonish (especially the bad guys), and that helps, too.  Then there are the situations which by themselves are funny–it’s always amusing to see someone underestimating Clarissa–and Murphy (who has apparently never even heard of Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics”) can always be counted on for some grumpy snark.  In fact, I’m not completely sure that his literal-mindedness isn’t him simply him interpreting commands in a way which pleases him most.

There’s quite a bit of physical humor to be had, the occasional put-down with a side of snark, and aside from the company (and comic) name very few puns.  Which will please some people and disappoint others, I’m sure.

Things I Think Could Be Done Better:

The lack of social media tie-ins in this day and age is probably hurting the comic’s footprint a bit, but since I’m no expert on it, I can’t say more than that.

I also like descriptors or page names in the archive to aid in searching for a particular page, but especially at Planet Chaser‘s page count that would be a staggering amount of work.

Other than that, I’m happy.

Final Thoughts:

This is another comic that I feel is being drastically underexposed, and deserves a much larger readership.  It hit a rough patch a while back.  As life rushed in and took over, the posts became sporadic.  Things are going much more smoothly now, but I’m sure some damage was done.

The other readers here are fiercely loyal, and some of them vote.  What I’d like you to do is read, comment (even just to say “Hi”), and vote.  I hereby provide my traditional voting link HERE.