| The Travellers | |
|---|---|
| |
| Writer: | Benjamin "Pooka" Maydon |
| Inks: | JjAR |
| Colours: | JjAR |
| Lettering: | Ben Paddon |
| Runtime: | May 15th 2009 - Jun 6th 2009 |
| Previous: | Who Wants To Rule The World? |
| Next: | Rogues and Scallywags |
The Travellers is the sixth issue of Jump Leads. It is a self-contained four-page mini-story.
Plot[]
The action begins in a quiet dimension which is mostly desert. The word "Shazam!" is heard, and suddenly two people - a tall, handsome man named Tim and a smaller, redheaded lady named Sarah appear out of nowhere. Through their discourse, we discover that they are travellers from another dimension, which has been destroyed, and that they have managed to escape due to power from a necklace that Sarah is wearing.
While Tim is thinking out loud, he mentions the possibility of encountering others "making dimensional travel", at which point Meaney and Llewellyn appear from behind a rock and inform the pair that they are Leads, who travel between dimensions. Sarah berates Tim for "talking too much", to which Llewellyn responds: "I know the feeling." Llewellyn then informs the pair that Sarah's necklace appears to use magic (rather than science), and that isn't something the Lead Service has encountered before. He is mid-way through sppech when Meaney decides that they have to confiscate it.
Meaney tells Llewellyn that since Tim and Sarah aren't used to dimensional travel, they shouldn't be doing so because it could cause damage to the "fabric of reality" - or bruise the Lead Service's ego, as Llewellyn then points out. Tim rebuffs this by explaining that, not only have he and Sarah not done anything wrong, he could take them away anywhere with the power of the necklace. Meaney, undeterred, attempts to authoritatively take the necklace, at which point Tim shouts "Shazam!", and the pair disappear.
The Leads return to the Flurry. Meaney is wondering where they went, but Llewellyn - annoyed at Meaney - explains that they could have asked Tim and Sarah to take them back to the Hub, and Meaney has effectively thrown away their first real chance to get back home. Meaney, dejected, remarks that that's the last time he'll try to help other people, to which Llewellyn is sceptical. The JumpShip leaves the dimension.
The desert is peaceful for a while again, until a further cry of "Shazam!" and the re-appearance of Tim and Sarah. Sarah is now holding a piece of paper. They look around for a while and can't see the Leads. It is then revealed that Sarah's paper is actually a poster with pictures of Meaney and Llewellyn and the caption "Missing Leads". Tim remarks, "Bugger."
Appearances[]
Characters[]
Extra[]
Cultural References[]
- The trigger word "Shazam!" is a reference to DC's Captain Marvel. The magic necklace is a reference to Black Adam from the same "Shazam!" series of comics.
- The necklace being based on magic, and the phrase "magic, not science" are both references to the first Green Lantern Alan Scott, also from DC Comics. His power ring is based on magic, unlike the rest of the Green Lantern Corps' rings, which work scientifically.
- Sam Tyler is a reference to Life on Mars.
- Llewellyn mockingly refers to Tim as Nightcrawler, who is a Marvel superhero with the ability to teleport.
Trivia[]
- This story begins with one subset of characters and ends with the same subset, but in between, there is the beginning and the end of another story with another character subset.
- JjAR attempted a new "style" of art with this issue - notably, characters' eyes now had discernable colour.
- Tim and Sarah are named after a real-life couple, friends of writer Benjamin Maydon. With only minimal description of the character, JjAR has managed quite by accident to make Sarah look almost exactly like her real life counterpart.
- Tim and Sarah are also two of only three characters in the entirety of Jump Leads who are not named after a notable figure in the scifi-fantasy genre.
- Although not mentioned in the strip, Sarah's necklace has the ability to take the travellers through time as well as space or dimensions, similar to a TARDIS. Tim's claim of "anywhere" is a true one.
- Since Tim and Sarah have acquired a poster of the missing Leads in their second appearance, it could be assumed that, since their escapade, they have encountered either the Hub or other members of the Lead Service since. The fact that they have re-appeared a few seconds too late indicates the time-travel element.
- Meaney and Llewellyn's part in the narrative starts in medias res, so presumably they have either been in this dimension for some time, or have just arrived, had a short walk from the Flurry, and seen Tim and Sarah almost immediately.
- This is the second issue not to see the Flurry jump into the dimension in which the main action takes place. The first was Trojan Horse.
- Tim physically resembles Pooka, although this is largely coincidental.
- This is the first time Llewellyn has said, "Wait, what?", a running gag in Jump Leads.
- This is a four-page story, designed to contain more dialogue - but less action - than the first, Just Dropping In.