A few months ago I was asked to do a comic for an anthology being published by Sunstone Magazine. I had never heard of the magazine before, but I was a fan of several other artists who were asked to do a comic for it, and I liked the idea of doing something short and sweet, and colorless. This is actually my second attempt, the first idea I had was soon mired in a story tar pit. I hope to finish that one someday, because I really liked where it was going.
Anyway, Star Thrower is based off of this story, which was in turn based loosely off of this story. You may have heard a version at church or at a motivational speech or in an email from a concerned parent. I always thought the title sounded sci-fi, and naturally my thoughts drifted into space and to other planets. Eventually, I landed here, on the moon, with a couple of giant aliens and a host of stranded astronauts. The absurdity of it all made me laugh, so I had to comicatize it.
Drawn on 11 x 17 inch paper with my Zebra.
Ha! What a fun comic, Jake. Uplifting, too! That kid’s got a good head on his shoulders.
Beaks! Wonderfully done, thanks for posting.
Brilliant!
the vision of hundreds astronauts strewn over the surface of the moon struck me as straight out of X-Minus One.
and, of course, the astronaut hurtling towards Earth makes me think of the Ray Bradbury story “Kaleidoscope”.
Oh,yeah. It’s very well drawn as usual
The creature reminds me a bit of those energy-eating things that Lucy Nova went up against.
Oh my god!!!! I do not like feeling this jealous!
awesome! great reinterpretation!
i’ve been following you for a long time now. great designs always.
love this so much
haha! Great take on that story my friend! Well done indeed!
This is so wonderful! Fantastic work and sweet story.
awsome
Jake: Is the Zebra re-fillable? My Pentel brush pen isn’t (cartridges) and I think I need a change (plus, the unpredictable nature of the ink quality from moment to moment is frustrating)
Thanks everybody.
Arkonbey: Unfortunately no, it isn’t. But the cool thing is as it runs out of ink it starts to make this nice drybrush effect. So I keep a few in different stages of dryness handy for different effects.
Two Thumbs Up!!!
That’s pretty cool.
Really like the grayscale treatment Jake!
@arkonbey, I don’t think you’ll find a better brush pen than the Pentel. The ink is good but it goes into dry brush mode as soon as I paint fast, the ink doesn’t reach the bristles quickly enough. And it’s cheap
Hey Jake,
Quick question – longer explanation.
Where can I get a zebra? (No-I’m not looking for a small horsish creature with stripes.)
I am a full time seminary student with an art degree. I still love to draw, doodle and occasionally ink. The trouble is I don’t have time to drag out my bottle and brush. A pen like yours could be a good alternative for those moments when I have fifteen minutes of free time here or there. Where can I get one and how much do they run? Remember Grad school is expensive.
In His Peace,
Richard
Very heartwarming spin on the story Jake, and it really hit home on that final page when we saw the astronauts face on his ‘return trip.’
Thanks for sharing it with us. Great, great stuff.
This was so beautiful it made me tear-up! Thank you!
Great comic!
…I suppose it didn’t make much difference once he hit re-entry though :-
Thanks. Very funny comics about flying astronauts. Its real truth about space travelers:)
classic fun stuff. Nice work man. I want to see more
this is a play on the girl on the beach throwing starfish back into the sea story.
pretty old story.
Nicely done and heartwarming
This comic should have a few more panels. The next one should be the astronaut thinking (with his hand on his chin). The one after that a picture of burning up on reentry. The following one with the astronaut’s eyes wide and mouth agape, hands and feet in front trying to stop in terror. The final one should be the aliens again, with the earth in the background and a little poof of smoke or fire on it.
I really like this, but it’s a knockoff from a commercial by the LDS church with a little boy doing the same thing with starfish that have washed up on the beach and his Grandmother told him that he can’t possibly make a difference because of the quantity of starfish. He replies exactly the same way with, “I made a difference to that one.” It’s nice but it’s just not original.
Awww I love that a lot. I’m really glad you did that.
Thanks for the comments everyone. I appreciate them all.
Human, NimbleBJak – I’m not trying to take any credit for the story. I thought I made it pretty clear in my post that it’s based off of an old motivational story. I’ve actually heard it so many times it’s pretty crusty to my ears, which is why I thought I’d do an absurd retelling of it to spice it up again.
sc23 – Thanks. I like leaving it open ended though. Sometimes it’s what you don’t show in a story that really counts.
cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is great! I love it!
Too bad they’ll burn up once they hit Earth’s atmosphere
A futuristic take on the star fish story. The language used in this adaptation is still identical to the language found within the starfish story, almost word for word even. For this lack of creativity I give the artist an F
Man I wish people would read before posting… I had a funny quip about reentry but I see it is exhausted here. Awesome Jake… I was laughing so hard my office matte asked me to keep it down. Love it. Way to make a fun parody of an old tale.
I really loved this. Extremely inspiring!
Won’t he burn up on re-entry?
that was too cute. and i love this comment – Greg Baldwin Says:
Oh my god!!!! I do not like feeling this jealous!-
cuz thats how I feel. haha
Probably the best spin on this little tale I’ve ever seen.
The style is really cute too.
Love it Jake – very waterson-esque
it’s all very nice! until the astronauts burn up on re-entry, of course
loosely based?
Really good reinvention of the old Starfish story.. Looking up at the comments, its kind of sad more people don’t seem to know it..
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”
“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, “It made a difference for that one.”
Really nice adaptation of this classic story. I thought I’d comment because the amount of comments cursing the unoriginality were irritating me.
We all know it is a classic tale and I’m sure there will be many versions of it in years to come.
This is however a very nice modernized version of the story. I love it. <3
Hey Rob maybe other people wanted to make their “funny quips” too maybe?
Good day, go to deivantart.com I think the other artist would love to see your work !!
If I was that little guy I would have eaten them.
too bad he doesnt have a parachute.
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lulz.
aww thats sweet
Great comic, I like the imagery, and the idea of rescue.
Silly rescue.
Good comic, bad magazine…
This is totally an old story about a guy throwing starfish back into the ocean… I like the alien astronaut theme but between the totally stolen idea like word for word and the fact that the astronauts would die upon re-entry i give it a 3 out of 10
Awh!!!! That’s so cute=]
I LOVE IT!!!!
Beautiful reinterpritation
eddieruxpin: seriously, can you not read? Full attribution is given in the post above the comic. Jeez!
Look at his face going back home…
“HAHA!” says the astronaut. Now about that re-entry….
Um, isn’t this a copy of a story about starfish being thrown back into the ocean? Shame on you, you naughty cartoonist. Also, would the astronaut look so happy if he contemplated his forthcoming fiery demise?
Now if only some talented cartoonist would draw a strip about all the numbnuts out there that absolutely have to have their 2c worth but can’t be bothered to read the comments above theirs before posting. I’ve never been more convinced that people should have to take a test and be issued a licence before being allowed to comment on the internet.
By the way, Author, I liked the strip but it’s just not realistic, our government would never fund that many ventures to the moon without a solid return, and the astronauts themselves wouldn’t count as a solid return if they burn up in the atmosphere.
Thanks for this. Unlike those carping about originality, I had never heard the original story, and following it from Eisely through Barker to here is interesting, different takes, like a blues standard or something.
Those who harsh my buzz with predictions of re-entry flash and burn need to consider that the moonmen would have thrown the astronauts at the space elevator.
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Great work, Jake. A fun retelling, well illustrated.
Hope you are not disheartened by some of the idiotic comments here.
I thought this was really neat, even though I had heard the original one and it’s offshoots. Kinda shows there are *nice* aliens out there who don’t want to destroy all humans.
Besides, since when are comics realistic? Where are the critics of a flying man who breaks the sound barrier and can catch bullets?
Aside from the near word-for-word verbage, I really think it is a neat interpretation. 8 of 10!
too bad aliens don’t exist on the moon.
I’m sure at those speeds, slamming into the space elevator would be equally fatal. Their fate has been sealed… either suffocate, burn to death, or splatter upon a technological marvel.
What a gruesome world we live in. Best not to offer your assistance.
Amazing! If that last frame was available on a t-shirt, I would buy that in a heartbeat.
- Aaron
Thank you. Feeling good after this.
Won’t the flying astronauts be eaten by the space cthulu??
Brilliant! Face palm when I read the comments by some. I didn’t Even read the intro and I could tell that the author was giving a twist to the old story and not trying to take it at their own. Also the people going on about re-entry!!? It’s a goddamn comic telling a fun and thought provoking story, it’s not meant to be real. Although the guy detailing the little puff of smoke was amusing. If you really want to kiss the point and pick holes then what about the original… I believe Starfish are not an animal you want to save and are usually a sign that the water is not very healthy.
Anyway nice comic, will be sharing this link around.
Oops should have proof read my post… Typing on an iPad is not the best
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yeah well drawn good story IIIIII LIKE IT !
Very good
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Very nice indeed, the highlight of my day, well done and congratulations.
and then the astronaut burns to death while entering earths atmosphere… assuming he didnt already starve on the way there
This is a wonderful comic. It made me smile because the little things that a person can do can make a difference to even one person. Extremely well done. I enjoyed it very much and I love the basic message.
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful thing with us.
that’s so cool, so clever even
That is pretty sweet.
I think it’s BRILLIANT.
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Awesome!
i love this, the art work is reminiscent of bill waterson’s calvin and hobbes and also a lot like the roughs for Pixar’s works, its beautiful. This is how stories should be re-worked, take an old story and add your fingerprint to it.
To those who comment about unoriginality and about the burning up on re-entry issue, come on, this is a beautifully drawn cartoon about a lovely story, nothing more and certainly nothing less!
then the astronaut lands safely on solid concrete and lived happily ever after. (after he survived burning through earth’s atmosphere) :3
i like being a downer
I like the imagery you came up with. But I didn’t know that many astronauts were stuck on the moon. haha.
Didn’t you learn about plagiarism in school? Tsk tsk, taking someone else’s work, putting your own ‘comic’ to it and calling it you own. You are a shame
Whenever I’m reading comments like these I have to ask myself “Are people really THIS stupid, or do we really have such a great supply of totally unoriginal, boring trolls?”
Frankly, either answer is equally depressing.
As mentioned above, the comic is preceded by information about the original story – nobody is trying to steal it and pass it off as their own. Doing what the comic author did – reimagining an old, well-known story in a radically different setting – is a common thing to do. In this case it’s done very successfully, because not only does it keep the old message intact, it also adds completely new elements of comedy through the absurdity of the situation and the reaction of the astronaut.
.
Oh man. I love these comments, Jake. People are hilarious.
Aaaw. ;w;
This is why I save worms when it rains.
I mean.. maybe the worms don’t (can’t) even care, but.. I can’t watch them writhe in the puddles like that. ;A;
..I don’t see how anyone could possibly think that he’s taking credit for this story. It says -right- at the beginning that it’s based off of another story… Why not read to find out what’s happening before you jump all over it with negative comments?
Anyway, I think it’s a funny/cute take on the story. I’d never heard of ‘The Star Thrower’ before, but I’m glad I ran across this post (I read some other versions of the story after seeing this). It’s a really cute, lighter version, and it brings awareness to the original story as well.
Nice work!
Thanks Sept. Glad you liked it.
jj – And why I save moths in the house.
Hi Jake,
I stumbled on this comic when I was looking up “Star Thrower” on Google. I really like this comic, and I was wondering if I could re-post this on my blog (I’ll make sure to credit)?
Thanks,
Maria
Sadly for those thrown astronauts, they would burn when entering Earth’s athmosphere…..but i guess that it is better to burn than to fade away…
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how sweet.
Okay then wtf ;o;z
.Yeah i thought that was a bad idea but yet not a good idea either and here is why.Because the kid is right,he’ll die but yet when that guy was thrown he was being thrown to the earth as he gets closer to earth he’ll get faster and faster.Because the gravitoinal force about the earth and he will burn up in the suit as he is going to fast and as he hits earth he will expoled it millon of little peices even if he hits the ocean he will probley go really deep and will die there.So to the gov. that was a wast of money and the kid just pretty much kill’d the man
Okay then wtf ;o;z
.Yeah i thought that was a bad idea but yet not a good idea either and here is why.Because the kid is right,he’ll die but yet when that guy was thrown he was being thrown to the earth as he gets closer to earth he’ll get faster and faster.Because the gravitoinal force about the earth and he will burn up in the suit as he is going to fast and as he hits earth he will expoled it millon of little peices even if he hits the ocean he will probley go really deep and will die there.So to the gov. that was a wast of money and the kid just pretty much kill’d the man.
So really i feel sorry for the guy being thrown
What a fantastic strip
Are they available to buy as individual prints anywhere? They’d look lovely in a sequence of frames.
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