5 Comics That Inspired the Wonderfully Weird Sci-Fi Saga Kaptara

We’re always on the lookout for that rarest of comics gems: the pop-culture pastiche that is more than the sum of its parts. In that respect (among many others), the first volume of Chip Zdarsky and Kagan McLeod’s sci-fi action-comedy Kaptara is something truly special. Fleeing his family (and planet’s) judgment and intolerance, sardonic scientist Keith Kanga volunteers for a mission to Mars that goes horribly wrong when his team’s ship is pulled into a space warp. Keith is marooned on Kaptara, a strange planet stocked with deadly flora and even weirder fauna. With some help from the loin-clothed heroes of the kingdom of Endom, Keith must find a way to get home in time to save Earth, now threatened by Endom’s mortal enemy, Skullthor. It’s a wild space romp filled with more parodies than you can shake an enchanted broadsword at. We talked with Zdarsky about the influences that shaped Kaptara‘s development, and his answers may surprise you.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: A Complete Guide to the Classic Animated Adventures by James Eatock
“When Kagan and I set out to craft the world [of Kaptara],” Zdarksy explains, “we originally had it very distinctly broken up into cities and towns that represented various action figures and toys from when we were kids.”  If that’s the case, volume one is clearly set deep in He-Man Country. There’s no denying the sword-wielding barbarian hero is a source for parody: Prince Adam himself is mightily lampooned in the character Dartor, whose constant boasting and sexual harassment wearies everyone in Keith’s patchwork team. Meanwhile, the suspiciously absent Skullthor acts as an off-panel stand-in for Skeletor, while the sinister Villektra steps up to take command of his evil empire. Says Zdarsky: “Villektra was, in my mind, Evil-Lyn from Masters of the Universe, but Kagan’s design is so much more that she totally transcends that comparison and becomes her own thing. Really, all the characters change as soon as Kagan depicts them. It’s the magic of comics and collaboration, where possibly simple ideas get elevated and more complicated when pushed through someone else’s lens.”

Transformers Classics, Vol. 1, by Bob Budiansky, Bill Mantlo, Ralph Macchio, and Jim Salicrup
We haven’t spotted any transforming radios yet, but some of this one’s influences still remain. Besides both being about aliens, both Kaptara and the classic ’80s toy-selling machine Transformers feature shapeshifters (see Kaptara‘s Melvon the Wizard, an exceedingly pale and increasingly senile master of body-morphing) and unlikely modes of transport—McLeod’s cat-tanks are arguably way cooler than riding around in a talking car, although not by much.

My Little Pony Omnibus, Vol. 1, by Katie Cook & Heather Nuhfer
Zdarsky also name-dropped MLP, a series with less obvious impact on Kaptara. But take a look at the anthropomorphized bugs known as Hexamen, and tell us there’s not a bizarre set of parallels there. Well, apart for the recreational pesticide use and undercurrent of political dissidence.

The Smurfs Anthology, Vol. 1 by Peyo
We were especially curious about the Glomps, the snot-green gnomes whose outlook on life reminded us of some truly awful Twitter exchanges we’ve witnessed in the past. According to Zdarsky, the “physical idea for the Glomps was really crappy Smurfs. And in the world of Kaptara, there isn’t any overt racism or sexism or homophobia, so, since nature abhors a vacuum, we wanted all of that nastiness to reside within the Glomps, and chuck ’em in the forest. They’re not representative of any specific trolls, but I love that everyone who reads the book links them to some lousy real-life examples.”

Seaguy, by Grant Morrison & Cameron Stewart
Finally, we had to ask about our favorite character: Motivational Orb, a sort of floating message board whose calming platitudes (which appear on its smooth, pearly body when they’re most needed) are a balm to the entire cast. We thought it was a brand-new concept, but Zdarsky revealed that “Motivational Orb has been around since the early 2000s! I doodled him in the old studio I shared with Kagan and fellow comic artist Cameron Stewart. In fact, his first appearance in a comic book was Seaguy, the Vertigo book Cameron did with Grant Morrison. He needed to create a scene featuring hundreds of brand new superheroes, so Motivational Orb slipped in there!” And just like that, we have another new book to read. Thanks, Chip!
Are you on the cat-tank train to Kaptara yet?