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Last Res0rt
From Comixpedia
| Last Res0rt | |
 The cover of the first print compilation, First Against the Wall. | |
| Creator(s) | Rachel Keslensky |
| Website(s) | http://www.lastres0rt.com |
| Update Schedule | Sundays |
| Launch Date | October 2006 |
| Genre | Anthropomorphic/furry, Science fiction, Supernatural, Cyberpunk, Crime/noir, Graphic Novel |
| Rating(s) | Rated Web 14 for violence, cursing, and innuendo |
| Format | Multiple Panel Page, Serial |
| Price | Free to read online, but donations encouraged; first volume available for purchase. |
Last Res0rt (previously spelled Last Resort) is a cyberpunk online comic created by Rachel Keslensky. It updates once a week, on Sundays.
The comic features a deadly, high-stakes reality show with condemned criminals playing to earn their freedom, and a few volunteers in the mix playing for less obvious reasons. The main plot of Last Resort focuses on one of the volunteers, Jigsaw Forte, who has come to save her friend Daisy Archanis, but the plan is complicated by Jigsaw's surprise transformation into a vampire, which she now has to keep secret at all costs.
Started October 2006 on DeviantArt, Last Res0rt has migrated to hosting on Xepher.net in April 2007, coinciding with the comic's relaunch and adjustment to full-bleed print standards.
The comic updates weekly in full-color, full-page format.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The reality show Last Resort has just begun, with a simple premise in mind; Twelve criminals, condemned or otherwise sentenced to life in prison, have offered to play on the show in hopes of earning a pardon at the end of the season. All they have to do in order to win is survive the show's several challenges and presumably avoid taking out each other in the process until the Season Finale. So far no indication has been made as to how many can survive, so it's entirely possible, albeit highly unlikely, for all twelve criminals to be freed if they can work together long enough.
Several volunteer players are also in the mix, designed to help keep the criminals in check as well as offering some to-be-expected drama and fanbase for the show in case none of the criminals manage to win over viewers. Volunteer Jigsaw Forte is an early focus of the series, along with the few characters she befriends early on; Adharia Kuvoe, another volunteer and tribal princess from a partially-uplifted planet, and Slick Giovanni, the framed son of a murdered crime lord.
[edit] Characters
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow
[edit] Volunteers
- Jigsaw Forte
- An alien volunteer on Last Resort, from a feline/marsupial species known as the Talmi. After failing to make the initial cut onto the show due to her inexperience, a brief demonstration of her skills to Cypress soon earned her the job.
- Although the story has already revealed that Jigsaw is a vampire (or at least most similar to one, since according to Damien it's impossible for vampires to be anything but human), it's currently unclear if she even realizes this fact.
- Jigsaw is the fourth (and final) executioner selected in the first season, after being thrown to victory (through a wall) by the Celeste Arikos, who can apparently see her Dead Inside status.
- Jason Spades
- A human volunteer, Jason Spades (aka The Ace of Spades)) is a minor celebrity on his home planet of Fenirel. Often seen with multiple eyebrow piercings and wearing a bomber jacket.
- Jason is motivated by the chance to execute Daisy Archanis, one of the more 'infamous' criminal volunteers. While his true motives (and the extent to which they motivated him to volunteer) are unclear, he believes it to be part of his patriotic duty to kill her.
- Jason was the third Executioner selected, after emerging as the last man standing from the Sniper trials.
- Princess Adharia Kuvoe
- Pink Lion Centaur with blonde hair from planet Sevru. Her grasp of language is a little simpler than the rest of the cast, and refers to the Talmi (Jigsaw's species) as 'kitty people'.
- Adharia was the first of four Executioners selected from the cast of sixteen, after knocking out Geisha in the strength trials (and inadvertantly ripping her shirt off in the process, since it had been grabbed by Geisha for leverage).
- Xanatos Wylde
- Male Kaydin volunteer. Part of his Right ear is missing, with some burn marks and tattered flesh as the only clue of what happened to it.
[edit] Criminals
- Dr. Daisy Archanis
- A major celebrity businesswoman, scientist, and apparent human feminist who has somehow fallen from grace, reduced to being a 'mad scienist' with a metallic leg. It's unclear what criminal connections she has, if any.
- In spite of Jason's professed motives to kill her, she considers him little more than a sexist nuisance.
- Arikos of Nile
- A Celeste human male, who can apparently see (and recognize at a glance) Jigsaw's 'deadness'.
- Spiral Black
- A three-eyed Levriki Female.
- CG-86, aka 'Siege'
- A robot 'female' who is referred to by Zodiac as a "Defective Stepford".
- 'Crosshairs' Charity Drizel
- An Arander female.
- London Flood
- An Aeodah Male.
- Slick Giovanni
- A black Talmi male. Prior to his arrest, he was a young Mafia boss whose family specialized in leather smuggling. One of his bodyguards, a Celeste Talmi nicknamed 'Candycane', had not only poisoned Slick's father, but also had framed Slick soon after his ascension into power in order to usurp his family's business. Since his legal help since that time has been all but nonexistent, he sees Last Resort as the only escape he has left.
- Slick also has some apparent history with Geisha while the two have been incarcerated. It is unclear exactly what that interaction is, except that Slick feared for his life around Geisha enough that he attempted to escape almost upon arrival at Last Resort Station.
- 'Zodiac' Copper Miles
- A Vidian Male with a bit of a mouth on him.
- Alice Quinn
- Djinn Female.
- Silk of the Solar Winds, aka 'White Noise'
- A aged white Anyr with a pale blue mane.
- The second of four Executioners chosen, winning the agility trials (although Daisy would have beaten him had she not slipped at the final stage of the race).
- Kurt 'Geisha' Straieta
- A Kendril male who is forced to wear a white, featureless mask over his main face. An apparent troublemaker with a surprisingly civilized vocabulary, Geisha often refers to his fellow players oddly, so far considering Jigsaw to be 'perfect' and Adharia as a 'canvas'. Why he pesters Slick is also a mystery.
- Qin Xu
- Human Male.
[edit] Staff
- Vincent Vaeo
- Head of V-Net, and in charge of hiring the various volunteers for Last Resort. He uses unusual hiring practices and interview tricks, and reportedly has a temper (which includes nipping at the ears of other sophonts).
- Cypress Vaeo
- Producer of Last Resort, and Vince's daughter. After being spooked by Jigsaw's 'dead eyes', she is convinced that there is something wrong about Jigsaw, even if no one else believes her so far.
- Damien Vaeo
- Cypress's cousin and Vince's nephew. As one of the 'Touched', Damien claims he knows better about identifying and dealing with the strange paranormal creatures known as the Dead Inside, and hence believes that Jigsaw isn't one of them, because she defies the definitions that he has been taught. However, he still has a keen interest, since he can still tell something is 'wrong' with her, even if he cannot define what it is.
- Nathaniel Vaeo
- Cypress's other cousin, seen with black hair.
- Atlanta
- Currently unnamed in the comic, but visible in the earliest strips as Vince's secretary.
- Nehine
- Winged human Celeste with peacock elements. Illustrated as both a referee in comic continuity (admonishing Geisha after the criminal ripped Adharia's shirt), and also as a lawyer in the bonus pamphlet, the Last Resort 4x4 Special.
[edit] Jigsaw's Family
- Cypher Forte
- Father of the family, seen at the start of Last Resort's series premiere at their home on planet Arael.
- Meridian
- Mother of the family seen at the start of Last Resort's series premiere. Her hips and legs are metallic (but her tail is not), and it's not immediately clear why this is the case. Often works in a laboratory, and knows Daisy Archanis somehow.
- Sudoku
- Cypher and Meridian's daughter, and Slider's older sister. A bit of a gamer, with a cynical attitude.
- Slider
- Cypher and Meridian's son, and Sudoku's younger brother. Effectively the baby of the family.
[edit] Other Characters
- 'Candycane'
- Currently only seen in one flashback, and referred to by his nickname. Previously one of the Giovanni family's best servants, this Talmi Celeste betrayed Slick's father by poisoning him, and then arranged for Slick Giovanni's arrest which led to his current incarceration.
- Presumed to still be running the Giovanni family's leather smuggling operation back on Planet Arael.
- Molly
- Unnamed in the comic, but also featured in Slick's flashback. One of the Giovanni family's 'dolls' and apparently Slick's girlfriend just prior to his arrest.
[edit] Locations and Settings
- Last Resort Station
The main location for much of the comic (or at least the present-day elements). Mostly completed, but with some of the interior still under construction.
[edit] Planets
[edit] Arael
Jigsaw's and Slick's home planet, mostly populated by Talmi. Part of the planet's coastline is defined by high, sheer cliffs and turbulent seas.
- Kitabi Plateau
- A highly-populated section of Arael.
- Third Jerusalem
- A prominent city on the Kitabi Plateau, where the Giovanni crime family based its operations.
- Masada
- A prison located on Arael, where Slick Giovanni was held for five years prior to his appearance on Last Resort.
[edit] Fenirel
Jason Spades's home planet, which Jason believes has been slighted somehow by Daisy Archanis.
[edit] Sevru
Adharia's home planet.
[edit] History of the Comic
Dragon*Con 2006: First Convention Pamphlet released under the working title of "Jigsaw's Puzzle".
October 21, 2006: First strip of Last Res0rt posted to DeviantArt in vertical format (with two 'Sunday-style' pages twice as wide).
MomoCon 2007: Second Convention Pamphlet released as the "Last Resort 4x4 Special"
April 1, 2007: Last Res0rt opens an official website for the comic at Xepher.net, and switched over to 'official' comic page standards (full bleed).
June 11, 2007: Blog of Last Res0rt added to the website.
October 13, 2007: lastres0rt.com domain name obtained.
March 29, 2008: First official convention appearance, at MomoCon.
October 24-25, 2008: Rachel Keslensky illustrates the official artwork for PhreakNIC 12, in Nashville, Tennessee.
December 8, 2008: Last Res0rt featured on the cover of the New Times SLO, as part of an article on furry fandom.
January 27, 2009: Site engine upgraded to Wordpress/Comicpress combination.
February 24, 2009: Provided cover art for the Webcomic Beacon's episode on Furry Webcomics.
September 4-6, 2009: Artwork featured in Mephit Fur Meet 13 Convention Booklet.
July 3, 2009: Rachel Keslensky interviewed for the TGT Webcomics Podcast.
March 20, 2010: First copies of First Against the Wall available at select Atlanta-area conventions.
June 30, 2010: Beta version of Last Res0rt: The Roleplaying Game released.
July 18, 2010: First Against the Wall book available to the online public.
October 1-3, 2010: Artwork featured in Antheria's convention booklet.
January 11, 2011: Last Res0rt featured as one of the participating comics in the Comic Creators' Alliance.
April 1, 2011: Last Res0rt celebrates its fourth anniversary, and is mentioned in the Technique article, Cosplayers Take Over MomoCon.
[edit] External links
- Last Resort
- The Last Dance, Last Resort's Forum space at Clockwork Mansion Forums
- Last Resort comic galleries on ComicSpace
