The Stand: Captain Trips Explained

Publisher:Marvel Comics
Date:September 2008 - January 2009
Issues:5
Main Char Team:Randall Flagg, Stu Redman, Fran Goldsmith, Larry Underwood
Writers:Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artists:Mike Perkins
Creators:Stephen King
Sort:Stand, The

The Stand: Captain Trips is a five-issue comic book miniseries, the first of six The Stand series by Marvel Comics, adapting Stephen King's 1978 novel of the same name. It was overseen by King, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, illustrated by Mike Perkins, and colored by Laura Martin.[1] "Captain Trips" refers to both the title of the first third of The Stand and of a slang term used within the novel for a viral biological weapon that obliterates a significant portion of the world's human population.

A promotional sketchbook for the series was released in July 2007.

Issues

Release DatesDescription
1Sep 10, 2008On a secret army base in the Californian desert, something has gone horribly, terribly wrong. Something that will send Charlie Campion and his wife and daughter fleeing in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for the Campion family - and the rest of America - they are unaware that all three of them are carrying a deadly cargo: A virus that will spread from person to person like wildfire, triggering a massive wave of disease and death, prefacing humanity's last stand.
2Oct 8, 2008The story continues in this issue as the unseen killer, the super-flu Captain Trips, spreads a tide of disease and death across the entire country. Meanwhile, in Atlanta, in the Center for Disease Control, the US government has taken a keen interest in Stuart Redman, who seems to be the only person immune to the Captain Trips infection. They are determined to find out why - with or without Stu's cooperation. And what do the recurring nightmares Stu's been having - about a dark man with red eyes standing in a cornfield - mean? Plus: Frannie Goldsmith and her father; Larry Underwood in New York; and Nick Andros takes a wrong turn in Shoyo, Arkansas.
3Nov 12, 2008As the superflu known as "Captain Trips" continues to spread across America, the lives of major characters such as Larry Underwood and Frannie Goldsmith begin to be affected. As the media begins to catch wind of rumors about chemical warfare and bubonic plague, the actions of the American government begin to devolve, local and global legal systems start to deteriorate, and two wild and crazy outlaws - Lloyd Henreid and Poke Freeman - decide to take advantage of the situation, wreaking a path of destruction through the American southwest.
4Dec 31, 2008For Larry Underwood, Nick Andros, and Frannie Goldsmith, the deadly superflu has immediate - and devastating - consequences, striking down people near and dear to their hearts. Meanwhile, Lloyd Henreid gets some grim news from his attorney and General Starkey is relieved of his duties - in the most definitive way possible. And somewhere far away, but getting closer, the Walkin' Dude is making his presence known...
5Jan 28, 2009The violently contagious superflu Captain Trips has now encompassed the entire country in its deadly embrace and there's no turning back. America is rapidly becoming a country of the sick, the dead, the damned. Against that ever-darkening backdrop, Randall Flagg, the Walking Dude, the Dark Man, at long last saunters onto the scene. Abandon hope all ye who enter here...

A collected edition of the mini-series was released on March 11, 2009. It included all five issues of the series, as well as the previously released Sketchbook, a comprehensive cover gallery, and additional pages on the development of the series (e.g., character sketches, script pages, sketch pages).

Promotion

Artist Mike Perkins appeared at a midnight signing at Midtown Comics in Times Square, Manhattan to promote the book.[2] Perkins appeared with Peter David, the co-writer of Marvel's Dark Tower comics, who was present to promote the publication of .[3]

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=158855 WW Philly: Inside Marvel's Adaptation of The Stand
  2. http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/09/10/interviews-peter-david-and-mike-perkins/ Alan Kistler. "Interviews: Peter David and Mike Perkins" comicmix.com. September 10, 2008
  3. http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.4746.Dark_Tower~colon~_Treachery_Midnight_Launch_Details "The Dark Tower Midnight Launch Details" marvel.com. September 9, 2008