ISSUE 1
The whole point of issue no.1, “New Recruits” is to study how Alice, Wren & Sage react to the arrival of a stranger in need. When they see someone who needs to be clothed, will they clothe them? When they see someone in need of food and shelter will they feed them and put a roof over their head?
Matthew 25:35-40
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Starseed’s arrival is meant to pose a question to the reader: “What would you do when faced with a stranger in need?” If an alien arrived at your doorstep would you recognize God’s grace within the stranger? Would the difference of origin or appearance blind you or would you see beneath the surface?
You might not come across an alien to find out for yourself but there are strangers around you everyday in the most ordinary of places. Opportunities abound to give a stranger a little grace.
Alice, Wren & Sage all show these common courtesies to Starseed but not all of them leap at the chance immediately.
Alice is an initiator.
Alice is curious and eager to investigate. Some would consider her impulsive, others would call her faithful. Her power is audacity and her obstacle is naïveté. She’ll need to learn to slow down and consider the long term consequences of her actions to avoid pitfalls in the future.
Sage is the “Doubting Thomas” and sometimes even the denying apostle, Peter. She is slower to action and does not count on the kindness of strangers. She is not an initiator but she is fiercely loyal. So, when her friends show her the way she follows through. Sage aims to be the voice of reason but her overthinking is her own worst enemy. She cannot always count on other people to show her the way. Eventually she will be called to rise to the occasion and lead the pack.
Wren is the balancing element between the two and often acts as the glue that holds the group together. She is considerate of Sage’s hesitations but can help Sage see their way and spur her to action. At any cost Wren will make sure no (wo)man is left behind, even if she has to drag the straggler (Sage) along kicking and screaming. Even if Alice is the cardinal force of the group I consider Wren to be the Braveheart. Courage is not acting without fear, it’s knowing there may be danger ahead and going into battle anyways. THAT is who Wren is.
Regarding my choice to have Starseed in the nude at the outset of the story:
Practical reasons: she is a reincarnation so her arrival on Earth is also her birth. She literally hatches from an egg. I see no practical reason why she would be clothed in that scenario.
Women’s bodies are not inherently sexual. It is not their fault whether voyeurs choose to sexualize their bodies.
Like in Genesis regarding Adam & Eve, nudity is a signifier of innocence. There is no shame around naked bodies until after “The Fall.” Many times after the first issue Starseed will continue to appear in the nude because it is her natural state and her peers do not force a shameful mindset upon her.
Out of care, however: to comfort and protect her they do provide Starseed with clothes to wear when they go out and about in public
I consider these reasons fundamental to the narrative, at the cost of this series not being PG-rated and therefore unavailable to a younger audience. I do hope that an older teenage audience might happen upon this series and glean some valuable insights from it, on top of some good ol’ fashioned sci-fi fun :)
ISSUE 2
The title for this issue: “In-a-Mada-da-Vee-da” is both a song reference and an anagram. The song referenced is “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by the 70’s psychedelic rock band, Iron Butterfly. The song title is a mumbled pronunciation of “In The Garden of Eden” and the original version of the song is a record-breaking 17 minutes! My alterations Mada and Vee are anagrams for the names Adam and Eve, respectively.
Environmental restoration is brought about by mending the relationship between two lovers (Mada and Vee). The fruit of knowledge in this retelling is a tool for healing rather than of undoing.
This formula is a reversal of “The Fall” and a rehabilitation of the Garden of Eden.
This rehabilitation is confined to Sage’s realm of the Mindscape, a.k.a. her conceptualization of Eden and her Anima (Vee) and Animus (Mada) that populate it. The others visiting Sage’s realm (Alice, Wren & Starseed), however, experience healing also, simply by bearing witness and participating in Sage’s restoration.
ISSUE 3
S+HPW is not a “main character = Christ-like figure” story. That would rob Starseed of the complexity her character is owed. She will have pitfalls. As she adapts to Earth she will make mistakes and learn from them.
In issue no. 3 Wren gives Starseed a driving lesson. When she’s alone at the wheel she has a run-in with a deer. In that moment the reader’s probably praying Jesus will take the wheel! But she finds the power within herself to course-correct.
ISSUE 4
While in Alice’s realm of the Mindscape
Sage is informed by the siren leader, Rosewater, of an ongoing feud between the sirens and the sailors.
Rather than pressuring Sage to pick the lesser of two evils, Rosewater brings her to a hidden portal, representative of a Third Way where she can forge her own path.
ISSUE 5
Simply put, this is the queer one.
ISSUE 6
Starseed’s story in the first few issues is relational to the character arcs of Alice, Wren & Sage. In this issue and the pilot episode “UTOPIA'' I set out to retell Starseed’s arrival story and the events leading up to it from her own perspective. In the issues/episodes that follow Starseed will continue to question whether her entire life’s purpose is to guide Alice, Wren & Sage or whether she is destined for more.
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