Space Bastards Presents: Chuck “The Magic” Wagon
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, a couple of days after the ending of Issue 6, Space Bastards Presents: Chuck “The Magic” Wagon.
Hello, My name is Chuck…and I’m an alcoholic. I have been sober for two days. Before that, it had been 5 years. It’s what they always say, you never stop being an alcoholic. It’s a never ending process to stay clean and sober. And for five years, I had done just that. It wasn’t easy. I had to fight, sometimes literally to accomplish it. But I’ll spare you the details. Rest assured, my redemption story is full of all those special “magical” moments you might expect. Involving sheep, aliens, personal demons, fighting…and did I mention sheep? If you’re interested, check out my story in Issue 6, Space Bastards Presents: Chuck “The Magic” Wagon.”
Challenges
The whole point is that you never know what challenges you will face in life. Inevitably, the time comes that will put your convictions to the test. In my case, it was collecting and moving a case from here to there. But that’s the job when you work for the Intergalactic Postal Service in the Main Warehouse. They had brought in new management. A guy named Roy. He apparently wanted to shake things up. You know, give the place a kickstart. Even if that meant kicking a guy in the balls. And once again, it required a bit of fighting. But if you read my story, you know that fighting and me are old friends. The reward? A bottle of Whiskey. Possible Kryptonite to a recovering alcoholic.
Falling off the Wagon
Now, I would love to tell you that I resisted the temptation. But since I’m reporting only two days…that was obviously not the case. I fell off the damn wagon. However, for that minute, “I felt better than I had in a long goddamn time.” The plus side is I’m back on that wagon. No one said this would be easy. And believe me, I know it hasn’t been. But just in case you are wondering, I don’t blame IPS for my relapse. I could have stayed out of it. No one forced me to get involved. But damn it, there’s something inside me that can’t resist a good fight. The whiskey was just the byproduct. So, here I am. My name is Chuck and I am an alcoholic. And I work for the best place in the world for someone like me, the Intergalactic Postal Service. Where I can just keep moving…well, usually.
Thoughts
One of the great things that writers do is to emphasize that nothing happens in a vacuum. Even the most obscure action might have a story behind it. Take issue 2, Tooth & Mail: Episode Two: Birth of the Space Bastards. In Eric Peterson and Joe Aubrey’s tale of how Roy Sharpton became owner of IPS, they showed how Roy arrived at his business model. A simple donnybrook over who would deliver a box to him. The winner received the bottle of whiskey he had in his hand. It’s kind of amazing how many people were willing to fight, just to deliver that box and get that bottle. In the end, a non-descript man with an Indian headband won the bottle. It was just a minor scene in the first third of the book. The rest went on to explore in more detail how Roy recruited Manny Corns and the rest, as they say…was IPS history. Except that it wasn’t.
That minor little bruhaha over the whiskey bottle in fact had a backstory to explore. And leave it to Peterson and Aubrey to circle back and reveal it. Our non-descript man had a name (Chuck) and a history that makes that one moment in his life take on a whole new perspective. I guarantee that it never entered Roy’s mind in the slightest that offering a bottle of Alcohol might be a bad idea. it was just what he had on hand at the moment and the results were what he wanted. Makes you wonder what other small details our narrators will go back and explore. Such is the way of creative thinking and good writing. Never leave a stone, or bottle unturned. Although by now, I wouldn’t expect anything else.
Artwork
For the first time in this series, Space Bastards used a different artist. Simon Bisley grabbed the reigns on this story which made for a surrealistic journey. But considering Chuck’s situation and the way that alcohol or the lack of it had on his mind, it was fitting. Bisley captured the demons in Chuck’s head with a disturbing use of imagery and colors. There was nothing clean and neat about it, nor should there have been. In his time in the hospital, he was fighting for his life. At least in his mind he was, so it would no doubt be unpleasant. In that endeavor, Bisley captured it well.
This issue was a definite change of pace. But it excelled in exploring another piece of narrative that might have easily been just blown off. Stories can be found in even the most humble events, if you are willing to tell them. Issue 6, Space Bastards Presents: Chuck “The Magic” Wagon is proof of that. Humanoids Space Bastards, Issue 6 can be found where great comics are sold.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
