Zap! (webcomic)
Zap!, often erroneously referred to as Zap in Space, is a sci-fi webcomic currently hosted on Keenspot. The series began on 2003-07-13. At first it updated twice or sometimes three times a week. Somewhere around February 2007 it switched to updating once a week, every Monday. This seems to correspond roughly with the increased elaborateness of the graphic design. As of January 2009 it was still being updated every Monday on a very regular schedule. The comics are almost universally in color. The comic is co-authored by Chris Layfield and Pascalle Lepas. The webcomic had 557 entries as of November 21, 2011.
| Zap! | |
|---|---|
 Zap! Volume 1. | |
| Author(s) | Chris Layfield Pascalle Lepas |
| Website | http://www.zapcomic.com/ |
| Launch date | 2003-07-13 |
| End date | 2014-09-28 |
| Publisher(s) | Keenspot |
| Genre(s) | science fiction, comedy |
The comic was completed September 28, 2014.
Zap! was nominated for the 2006 Web Cartoonist's Choice Award for Outstanding Science Fiction Comic.
Plot
The plot takes place in an unspecified future. The Galactic Earth Federation, or G.E.F, has steadily grown and conquered planet after planet. They serve as the villains of the story. The story centers, however, around the captain and crew of the spaceship Excelsior—the only ship in the galaxy that actually picks its captain. As the narrative begins, the ship picks a new captain. This happens to be Zap Vexler, much to the consternation of Excelsior's crew.
Cast
Excelsior
Excelsior is the ship of which Zap is the captain. Robot refers to it as a "her," and she is the only ship in the galaxy that chooses her own captain.
Zap Vexler
Captain of the Excelsior, though no one knows why. Brash and rather obnoxious, Zap came into the story fleeing from the G.E.F. he has somehow lost his memory; his earliest memories are sitting in a bar three days prior to boarding the Excelsior, listening to a drunk babble about a Galactic Resistance and then blaming him when G.E.F. forces arrive. Zap is rather childish, this may be a side effect of memory loss. He constantly argues with Robot and Grontar, and repeatedly hits on Reona. However, he has a more serious side, which manifests mainly in his deep devotion to Reona and his psychic abilities. He forgot his psychic ability along with everything else; however, as the story unfolds, his abilities are revealed as being far above that of an average psychic.
Reona Lightstar
First Mate of the Excelsior. The only female member of the crew, she has to endure Zap's constant flirting as well as getting the crew out of the various scrapes Zap gets them into. Her former love, Efrem, was the earlier captain of the Excelsior and is believed dead, something Reona is still coming to grips with.
Grontar Grott
Grontar is a Quadrillian, a large, strong, four-armed humanoid species. He is the ship's mechanic and is very dedicated to Reona.
Robot
Originally known as XR-7439-Q, but one of Zap's first acts as "captain" was to order the robot to change his hard-to-remember designation to just Robot, for which he has never forgiven Zap. His job is to interface directly with the Excelcior (since his persona is male and the ship's is female, this can get rather intimate). Prone to snide comments about the intelligence of his crewmates, especially Zap.
Kasey
Kasey is a Stickle, a lion-like creature, who originates from Sticklebat 7. The other six were, in Kasey's words, "too flammable", and according to Grontar, destroyed by the Stickle's malfunctioning devices. She refers to Robot as "Sparky" and treats him like a superstar. Despite her carefree, happy exterior, she is sad and lonely on the inside.
Galactic Earth Federation
As human territories expanded, they needed to be governed. Humans united under the G.E.F., or Galactic Earth Federation. At first, it was a peaceful federation. However, the G.E.F. became greedy, and began to annex planets by force.
Gunner
An old "friend" of Zap, who is working under the alias of "The Serpent," the former Dean of the Galactic Psychic University, an institute of the G.E.F. His weapon of choice is an old fashion gun, and he uses his psychic powers to amplify his aim.