Drive: the scifi comic
Encyclopedia
drive: the scifi comic, more commonly referred to as simply Drive, is a weekly webcomic
created by Dave Kellett
. The strip is inked in shades of blue with several rows of panels per page.
site, Sheldon.
An operatic comic strip told in weekly, page-by-page installments, the science fiction tale in Drive takes place in the year 2401. The strip tells the story of the second Spanish Empire—a galactic empire
-- and its war with a race called "The Continuum of Makers".
We follow the crew of the Machito, who have been press-ganged into a unique mission by an Emperor they despise. But their mission ripples out in ways neither they nor the Emperor could imagine, to impact the fate of both warring races.
.
Skitter: The Machito's Pilot. A small alien with amnesia
—and a gift for guiding a ship through "pinched space" that could give the Empire an advantage in its war with the Continuum. Nosh gave Skitter his working name.
Fernando ('Nando) Cruz: The Machito's 14-year-old head of engineering, and member of "La Familia" (the Empire's Spanish Royal Family).
Captain Taneel: Described as an "unhappy grandmother captain," she is in charge of the Machito.
Orla O'Malley: A Xenobiologist assigned to the Machito by the Emperor, and also secretly a member of "La Familia".
Emperor Cruz: Member of "La Familia" who committed regicide
by killing his uncle to take up the throne. Commands the Human/Veetan empire and "La Grande y Felicissima Armada" (the Navy).
of the spaceships
featured in the comic.
In January 2010, Patrick Johns, the author of the webcomic Stickfodder, posted the first of such renderings to his flikr account and, subsequently, to Dave Kellett's Sheldon Talk forums. In response to the forum post, Dave Kellett encouraged other 3D artists to "take a crack at it."
Three months later, a Drive fan known only by his screen name
Maxwell posted a rendering of the Emperor's ship to the Sheldon Talk forums.
To date, the most stunning 3D adaptation of Drive is the work of visual effects
student Dan Taubert. In May, 2010, Taubert created a 1-minute animation that features several Drive ships at a Denny's
in the sky as well as the Emperor's ship and the Machito in space. Taubert published the progress of his DRIVE 3D Visualization project to his personal website, while he posted the final animation on Vimeo
.
Fleen, indicated the first collection of Drive comics (Drive - A Hero Rises) was a must-buy saying it would be "purchased by [him] and probably should be by you." He also indicated he has been "digging" Drive and "[couldn't] wait to get [his] hands on this first collection."
In a review of Drive published on September 19, 2010, Jeff Kapalka of The Post-Standard newspaper out of Syracuse, NY, described the strip as having "taken [...] time to set up [the] universe and populate it with a variety of interesting individuals. The story is serious. The characters are hilarious." He also praised Kellett in the crafting of this comic saying, "It's a fine wire he's walking. Telling a continued story at a rate of one page a week is almost a lost art. Making it funny while not being able to reference modern pop culture
makes it even more difficult. Kellett succeeds at both."
Mike Braff, a columnist for Del Rey Books
' Suvudu
site, published a review of Drive on January 30, 2011. He spoke highly concerning the thought and planning Kellett has put into the comic saying, "Unlike most webcomics, which seem to be made up on the fly, . . . Drive definitely has a story to tell and I, for one, am excited to hear it." After giving a brief synopsis of the story, Mr. Braff went on to praise the workmanship of the narrative, indicating that, ". . .the ideas, themes, and environments presented in Drive are fantastic and make the universe feel very broad.
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
created by Dave Kellett
Dave Kellett
Dave Kellett is the creator and cartoonist of two webcomic titles, Sheldon and Drive, and the co-author of How To Make Webcomics. He is one of a small but growing group of webcomic artists who are self-sufficient.-Early Years and education:...
. The strip is inked in shades of blue with several rows of panels per page.
Plot Synopsis
Drive began as a "Saturday Sci-Fi" storyline on the popular webcomicWebcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
site, Sheldon.
An operatic comic strip told in weekly, page-by-page installments, the science fiction tale in Drive takes place in the year 2401. The strip tells the story of the second Spanish Empire—a galactic empire
Galactic empire
Galactic empires are a common trope used in science fiction and science fantasy, particularly in space opera. Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning empire as background, or written about the growth or decline of such an empire...
-- and its war with a race called "The Continuum of Makers".
We follow the crew of the Machito, who have been press-ganged into a unique mission by an Emperor they despise. But their mission ripples out in ways neither they nor the Emperor could imagine, to impact the fate of both warring races.
Characters
Nosh: The Machito's Science Officer. Nosh is a Veetan (a burly Alien race) who learned to speak English while in RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Skitter: The Machito's Pilot. A small alien with amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
—and a gift for guiding a ship through "pinched space" that could give the Empire an advantage in its war with the Continuum. Nosh gave Skitter his working name.
Fernando ('Nando) Cruz: The Machito's 14-year-old head of engineering, and member of "La Familia" (the Empire's Spanish Royal Family).
Captain Taneel: Described as an "unhappy grandmother captain," she is in charge of the Machito.
Orla O'Malley: A Xenobiologist assigned to the Machito by the Emperor, and also secretly a member of "La Familia".
Emperor Cruz: Member of "La Familia" who committed regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
by killing his uncle to take up the throne. Commands the Human/Veetan empire and "La Grande y Felicissima Armada" (the Navy).
3D Representations
Some of the greatest fan response to Drive has been in the form of three-dimensional renderings3D rendering
3D rendering is the 3D computer graphics process of automatically converting 3D wire frame models into 2D images with 3D photorealistic effects on a computer.-Rendering methods:...
of the spaceships
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
featured in the comic.
In January 2010, Patrick Johns, the author of the webcomic Stickfodder, posted the first of such renderings to his flikr account and, subsequently, to Dave Kellett's Sheldon Talk forums. In response to the forum post, Dave Kellett encouraged other 3D artists to "take a crack at it."
Three months later, a Drive fan known only by his screen name
User (computing)
A user is an agent, either a human agent or software agent, who uses a computer or network service. A user often has a user account and is identified by a username , screen name , nickname , or handle, which is derived from the identical Citizen's Band radio term.Users are...
Maxwell posted a rendering of the Emperor's ship to the Sheldon Talk forums.
To date, the most stunning 3D adaptation of Drive is the work of visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
student Dan Taubert. In May, 2010, Taubert created a 1-minute animation that features several Drive ships at a Denny's
Denny's
Denny's is a full-service coffee shop/family restaurant chain. It operates over 1,500 restaurants in the United States , Canada, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan , Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Denny's is known for always being...
in the sky as well as the Emperor's ship and the Machito in space. Taubert published the progress of his DRIVE 3D Visualization project to his personal website, while he posted the final animation on Vimeo
Vimeo
Vimeo is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. It was founded by Zach Klein and Jake Lodwick in November 2004...
.
Praise for Drive
On his way to Comic-Con 2010, Gary Tyrrell, author of the webcomic blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
Fleen, indicated the first collection of Drive comics (Drive - A Hero Rises) was a must-buy saying it would be "purchased by [him] and probably should be by you." He also indicated he has been "digging" Drive and "[couldn't] wait to get [his] hands on this first collection."
In a review of Drive published on September 19, 2010, Jeff Kapalka of The Post-Standard newspaper out of Syracuse, NY, described the strip as having "taken [...] time to set up [the] universe and populate it with a variety of interesting individuals. The story is serious. The characters are hilarious." He also praised Kellett in the crafting of this comic saying, "It's a fine wire he's walking. Telling a continued story at a rate of one page a week is almost a lost art. Making it funny while not being able to reference modern pop culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
makes it even more difficult. Kellett succeeds at both."
Mike Braff, a columnist for Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
' Suvudu
Suvudu
Suvudu is a genre site created by Random House, Inc., to provide additional content, such as author interviews, chats, chapter previews, reviews, previews, and news around science fiction, fantasy, comics, graphic novels, and video game guides and books published by Random House, Inc., across all...
site, published a review of Drive on January 30, 2011. He spoke highly concerning the thought and planning Kellett has put into the comic saying, "Unlike most webcomics, which seem to be made up on the fly, . . . Drive definitely has a story to tell and I, for one, am excited to hear it." After giving a brief synopsis of the story, Mr. Braff went on to praise the workmanship of the narrative, indicating that, ". . .the ideas, themes, and environments presented in Drive are fantastic and make the universe feel very broad.