In 1995, I wrote a song called “Oldsmobiles With Laser Guns,” influenced by the high-energy sound of the Ramones. The lyrics were inspired by my parents’ Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, which we drove all over Canada. As a kid, that car was my spaceship, so I made it an actual spaceship in the song.

Rediscovering “Oldsmobiles With Laser Guns” in 2023 taught me that creativity lies dormant, ready to be reignited. Just like my characters navigating space, we explore our dreams, sometimes returning to past passions with renewed energy. Embrace the journey, cherish your growth, and let your creativity soar, much like an Oldsmobile with laser guns in the cosmos.

The song inspired me to draw a few rough comics of some really stupid guys trapped in outer space. None of it really made any sense, but it was the beginning of an idea that wouldn’t let go. I knew absolutely nothing about making comics, so I had to learn everything from comic scripts to storyboarding, and the hardest part was teaching myself how to draw because I wanted to do the art myself.

Fast forward to early 1997, and I recorded the song with my punk band, Undermind Authority. I was just a high school kid then. Me, Derrick (bass), and Jason (drums) met up early one winter morning to record our first album in the basement of a music store. “Oldsmobiles With Laser Guns” was one of our high-energy tracks, so much so that we nailed it in a single take. That energy was never captured again, and as the band evolved with new members like Nathan (drums) and Bryce (saxophone), along with various bass players, the song never sounded the same. Finally, in 2023, I recorded a new version by myself, capturing that old energy, even recording the tracks that sounded like Nathan and Bryce to get the right sound and harmonies.

By 2023, I felt a lot of my creativity was being stolen by the places I was working at. This reminded me of some of the subplots I had in the back of my mind for “Oldsmobiles With Laser Guns.” I had great story ideas, but I didn’t resonate with the characters anymore. One night, while trying to sleep, I decided I needed different characters—who would I want to be traveling in space with? When I thought about Nathan and Bryce being there with me, I realized that was it. That was the way to move forward, and I started the next day.

The characters evolved from space smugglers to just being lost in space. Giving them the goal of getting home just made sense, and their interactions with space cops became a mystery rather than them just being criminals.

Readers Take-Away

I want readers to find a parallel between them and the characters. These characters will face a lot of realities we ourselves have to face: thoughts of self-harm, addictions and recovery, meaningful friendships, trust, gender and sexuality, living with ADHD. For me as an artist, each comic is like a window into my progress and development. Issue 1 clearly shows the early stages of my drawing skills, and side by side between each issue, you can witness that growth.

A lot of inspiration for the character art comes from classic Archie and Tintin, with a heavy dose of art inspiration and style from Charles Burns and the pages of Heavy Metal magazine.