Albert The Alien

Happy Fourth of July! Or as it is also commonly referred to, Independence Day! And what is more of a symbol of independence than an alien standing in an airport before getting on a ship that will change his life forever?

Before we launched Albert the Alien as a webcomic series I commissioned Gabe to do this poster – an image of Albert in front of an alien boarding screen, running late for his trip to Earth. I absolutely love this image of Albert. It gives us a taste of how different – and yet how similar – life in space would be for an alien society. We see Albert with all of his off-worldly possessions. At some point I may write an issue 0 where we show Albert and Gerty’s lives before our adventures begin, but that would be a ways off.

If you like science fiction, you’ll also notice a number of references to other series in the boarding screen:
– Zorrell Prime is a planet that Albert keeps referencing in this series
– Mongo is the planet Ming is from in the series Flash Gordon. We also have a character in Albert the Alien named Ming, who is the vice principal. Don’t worry, he’s not an alien though.
– Praxis XIII I think may be a reference to Star Trek…?
– Prang may be a food from another sci-fi series
– Kronos is the Klingon homeworld from Star Trek. I was tempted to use their mining moon that gets destroyed in Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country (and set the board to say “destroyed”), but I thought that may be too distracting for this image
– Reigel XVI is a character from Farscape. He’s the (former) ruler of his people, thrown in jail when his cousin took power. I love the Farscape series, and I highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t already
– Thanks for All The Fish – is a line from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s the last thing the dolphins say to human before abandoning the planet. I was also thinking of putting in another famous line from the book, “Don’t Panic,” but I didn’t feel that was appropriate at an airport. Although it would have been relevant for Albert, since he’s late for his flight in this picture.

What kind of sci-fi series do you enjoy? Books, video games, movies, TV shows? Tell us about it in the comments, and we’ll see you next week!

We’re at Anime Midwest in Rosemont, Il right now! And you should be sure to check out my panel appearances over the weekend:
FRIDAY
– Panel Room 2 – Making Webcomics
7:30pm – 8:30pm
— Trevor Mueller will be talking about everything you need to know to start your very own webcomic! There may even be special guest appearances in the panel! Swing by to ask this webcomic veteran questions!

SATURDAY
– Panel Room 2 – Writing Comics
6:30pm – 7:30pm
— Join comic creators Trevor Mueller and Russell Lissau to find out how they broke into the business, how to work with artists (or writers, like themselves), and how to talk to editors and get your work published!

– Main Events – An Evening with Trevor Mueller
9:00pm – 10:00pm
— This panel is not to be missed! Join Trevor Mueller for an evening filled with hilarious (and often embarrassing) stories about his convention adventures, celebrities he’s met (or wishes he haded met), what it’s like to work with Doug Walker, and so much more!