Press Release
A vast, unexplored, alien world of natural and scientific wonders. Jungles, deserts and arctic wastes teeming with bizarre and savage beasts, fantastic monsters that defy evolution or reason. A dazzling variety of warlike peoples, whom, despite obvious technological advances, still swear, live and die by the sword.
Then, there’s the princess, of course.
The most beautiful woman of at least two worlds, stunning, sensual and immediately desirable. Strong of will and of unquestionable moral fiber, she is not only worth fighting and dying for, but worth defying a world for, just to receive a kind word or shy smile.
And finally, we have the son of Terra, the noble Earthman (usually a Yank), who from the moment of his arrival beneath the hurtling moons of a strange, new world, finds his fate irrevocably entwined with its destiny…and its princess.
These are the elements of the planetary romance or “sword & planet” story, and with minor variations, the genre has given pop culture everything from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars saga to Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon and DC Comics’ Adam Strange…. and now, the free, weekly adventure webcomic, Perils On Planet X, written by Christopher Mills and illustrated by Gene Gonzales, with colors by Ian Sokoliwski.
Launched in February, 2013 at www.perilsonplanetx.com, Perils On Planet X chronicles the adventures of a 21st Century American astronaut, Colonel Donovan Hawke, as he struggles to survive on the ancient, lost planet of Xylos amid savage jungle beasts, sultry and sexy warrior women, ruthless strato-pirates, and bat-winged simian vampires. It is a world of rayguns, jetpacks, swords and strange, alien science.
“Perils on Planet X is, unapologetically, a planetary romance,” says writer/co-creator Christopher Mills. “It is not a reinvention, reimagining or deconstruction of the genre. Nor is it strictly pastiche, although there’s definitely aspects of that in there. It follows firmly in the literary footsteps of authors I greatly admire and enjoy: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Otis Adelbert Kline, Leigh Brackett, Lin Carter, Michael Moorcock, Gardner Fox, and the stargods know how many others. If Perils differs significantly from its inspirations in any respect, it’s only because it has been written and drawn in the early 21st Century instead of the early 20th, and it cannot help but reflect that.”
Perils on Planet X updates every Friday at www.perilsonplanetx.com. There are no subscription fees or advertisements – the comic is always free to read.
ABOUT THE CREATORS
Christopher Mills is a freelance writer, editor and graphic artist with over two decades of experience in the publishing industry, working primarily for newspapers and comic book publishers. A professional writer since 1990, he has scripted numerous independent comic books in a variety of genres, including Leonard Nimoy’s Primortals, Shadow House, The Night Driver, Kolchak the Night Stalker, the Spinetingler Award-winning Femme Noir, and the critically-acclaimed crime thriller, Gravedigger: The Scavengers.
He has also authored a handful of published short stories, including contributions to Moonstone Books’ The Spider Chronicles, The Captain Midnight Chronicles and Werewolves, Dead Moon Rising. He currently maintains several blogs and websites, including the popular 1970′s sci-fi nostalgia blog, Space: 1970 and the DVD Late Show review site.
His taste in entertainment clearly peaked when he was about 15, which certainly explains his embarrassing obsession with James Bond, hardboiled crime fiction, comic books, paperback pulps, space opera, Universal/Hammer/Toho Monsters, sword & sorcery sagas, old genre TV shows and vintage B-movies.
Gene Gonzales is an illustrator living in Florida. He works in both digital and traditional mediums creating artwork for business training, graphic facilitation, primary, secondary and higher education text books, comic books, movies, and licensing.
He has done comic work for DC Comics, Image Comics, Gemstone and others. He’s also worked on a number of projects for DC Licensing for comics, movies and animation properties. Gene wrote and illustrated Tales of The Cherokee, a collection of myths and legends told in comic book form, and with writer Will Allred, created Diary of Night, a four issue comic series.
2013 marked the end of a daily art blog started five years earlier. The blog has since gone to weekly posts, updated every Thursday.