Literature dealing with post-apocalyptic themes is among the most intriguing and frightening to read. This is because they touch on the issues of what will become of the world and humanity after the destruction of everything on Earth. The comic “The Stand: Captain Trips” based on Stephen King’s novel “Confrontation” is an interlude to the events that will take place during the following books. This work is a summary of the first five parts of “The Stand: Captain Trips,” providing a description of the basics of the events of the plot.
Before discussing the comic book, it is necessary to consider the personality of Stephen King and his influence on the literary world. Stephen King is an American writer who made a splash in the genre of fantasy literature. In addition, the main genres within which the author works are thriller, horror, mystery, and drama. A particular characteristic of King’s work is that in each of his books, there is a specific message that often touches on the themes of morality, morality, and topics that can respond to each reader. Research stated that “he is the recipient of the 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters” (“Stephen King,” N.D., para. 2). Thus, the author has an important place in American, and world literature and is a favorite a writer of many generations.
Stephen King’s work entitled “The Stand: Captain Trips” is one of the parts of the writer’s more global work. Initially, the novel on which the comic is based includes four books, the narrative of which is based on a story about a post-apocalyptic world in which people die at high speed from rapidly mutating flu. This intriguing and frightening plot is revealed in the first five parts of “The Stand: Captain Trips.” Visualization of King’s novel increased the work’s popularity and contributed to the expansion of the writer’s fan base, as it attracted comics fans to the audience.
The first part of the analyzed work presents an overview of how the spread of the deadly virus began. Readers are introduced to the future characters of the narrative, who will each have their role in the future. A young family with a small child leaves their home in a hurry. The reader immediately understands that something serious has happened because the man is talking about the dead and that soldiers may come for him. Further, the comic presents a group of other characters engaged in everyday conversation when a car unexpectedly crashes into the gas station they are at (Aguirre-Sacasa, 2010). The man from the original scene is frightening; his wife and child are dead. The first part also talks about a young man Larry, who decided to return home, a girl named Franny, and found out about an unexpected pregnancy.
The second part presents the reader with a completely new picture of the military base. There, the military discusses the imminent spread of an unknown virus that has begun to spread among men at a gas station (Aguirre-Sacasa, 2010). Then, the comic presents a frightening overview of how easily the virus was transmitted from one person to another. When viewing this part, one involuntarily remembers the beginning of the pandemic that struck humanity in 2020. The only one who was not infected in the incident at the gas station was Stu, who came under the supervision of the military and doctors for research (Aguirre-Sacasa, 2010). The man demanded answers as to what was happening and why blood was constantly being taken from him for study. The distraction of Frannie’s story contributes to the difficult realization that the virus may soon affect her family, but the only problem at the moment for her in pregnancy. In the same part, readers get acquainted with Nick, who is brutally beaten and gets into the police. At the end of the second part, Stu has a dream in which he meets a terrifying unknown person.
The third part of the comic further tells about the spread of the virus, which continues to gain momentum and gradually infect people. Frannie talks about her pregnancy to her mother, who is infuriated by this news and does not want to communicate with her daughter, and her father is trying to protect her. Then, the story moves on to Nick, who was released from prison and was at home. However, he had to go back there and replace the sheriff, who got sick and stayed at home. That night, the young man had a strange dream very similar to that of Stu. At the same time, armed robberies and shootings take place in the camp, and the author seems to hint at the unrest taking place in society. Stu is still at the military base, but now his main concern is how to escape from there.
In the fourth part, it is narrated that an increasing number of people, already from a closed circle of the main characters, are infected with an unknown virus. More and more gossip arises since neither the state nor other authorities give accurate comments on the flu, which affects more and more people (Aguirre-Sacasa, 2010). The author shows that not letting people know the truth only contributes to the aggravation of the situation with the spread of the disease and that it is possible that if the necessary measures were taken, many would be able to escape. In the same part, the reader receives a description of the main symptoms, the initial ones of which cannot be distinguished from the common cold. An even worse situation is shown by the fact that Frannie’s mother, who has all the symptoms of an unknown disease, gets on the waiting list in the hospital. This reflects the seriousness of the problem that people are facing and that hospitals cannot cope with the number of patients.
All five parts of “The Stand: Captain Trips” aim to build suspense and the fear that overtakes humanity in the face of an unknown disease. In the last part, readers are introduced to another character, a mysterious man whose appearance inspires distrust and terror. At the same time, people are succumbing to increasing panic; there are speculations about the nature of the disease and a possible vaccine against it. Television shows devastating and terrifying footage of trucks dumping bodies into the river (Aguirre-Sacasa, 2010). The president’s speech, aimed at reassuring the citizens of the country, is announced against the background of the tragic deaths of the main characters’ loved ones. Society is slowly plunging into chaos; people are being killed during strikes, and explosions are taking place in some cities. “The Stand: Captain Trips” ends with the mysterious man from the beginning of the fifth part, Flag, having magical abilities and the ability to transfigure.
In conclusion, “The Stand: Captain Trips,” a comic book based on Stephen King’s novel, presents a chilling plot about a deadly virus killing society. However, this is not the only unique characteristic of the plot, which the author hints at the end of the fifth part. “The Stand: Captain Trips” talks about the gradual spread of an unknown disease, which eventually reaches the comic’s main characters. Reading this work causes many emotions, the main ones being fear, tension, and horror.
References
Aguirre-Sacasa, R. (2010). The stand: Captain trips. Marvel.
Stephen King. (n.d.). National book foundation. Web.