Comic Book / Travis

Vlad and Travis, ready to kick ass.

"For everybody else, Steve Travis is just the victim of an unfortunate turn of events. I, however, see him as an unexpected and, by definition, unpredictable agent of chaos."

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Travis is a French Comic Book series created by writer Fred Duval and artist Christophe Quet, set in the same world as Carmen Mc Callum.

The year is 2052, and the world is ruled by Megacorporations. Steve Travis is a freelance Space Trucker, using his shuttle to resupply various space stations. Unbeknownst to him, however, a bunch of terrorists led by nano-augmented killer Vlad Nyrki have been hiding in his cargo deck in order to infiltrate ''Huracán'', a weather-control satellite, where Travis is headed. Vlad has old scores to settle, but who is he really working for? And is Travis truly just a Right Man in the Wrong Place, or is there more to him than meets the eye?

While the first volume of Travis is basically ''Die Hard'' in space, the series quickly develops complex stories of corporate intrigue, industrial espionage, cybernetic conspiracies, and adventure.

15 volumes have been published between 1997 and 2019, divided into several story arcs:

• Cyberner Arc (volumes 1 to 5): deals with the Huracán crisis and the following Corporate Warfare.
• Vitruvia Arc (volumes 6.1, 6.2 and 7): revolves around the schemes of the Vitruvia corporation to expropriate the denizens of the Hameau des Chênes ("the Oak Hamlet").
• H2O Arc (volumes 8 to 10): deals with the attempt of a rogue AI with a God complex to poison the water reserves of Earth. This story actually continues and ends in the sister series, Carmen Mc Callum.
• Marcos' Children Arc (volumes 11 to 13): Travis has disappeared and a dangerous drug-trafficking Cartel seems involved.
• Europe Mission Arc (started in volume 14): Travis finds himself in the middle of a revolt of the genetically-enhanced workers of the megacorporations' space colonies.

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This Comic Book series provides examples of:

• A God Am I: Dommy. The leader of the Merida cartel also counts, as he has renamed himself Buluc Chabtan, "god of death and sacrifice".
• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Averted with Peggy. Played straight with Dommy.
• All There in the Manual: Understanding the conclusion of the Marcos' Children arc relies heavily on the reader's knowledge of the sister series, Carmen Mc Callum.
• Anti-Hero: Vlad, after his Heel–Face Turn.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Pacman delivers an epic one to the Cyberner Construct.

  Pacman: Tell me sir, do you even know who you are?

• Atrocious Alias: Vlad uses "Bram Tepes" as an alias at some point.
• Back from the Dead: Harry Hausen is decapitated in volume 4. He comes back in 6.2 as a Cyborg.
• Bait-and-Switch: in the Marcos' Children Arc, the characters (and so the reader) believes the Winged Serpent AI that controls the cartels is actually Dommy. It's not. Although Dommy is up to no good in the background.
• Badass Normal: Travis is an ordinary man. Don't let that fool you.
• Berserk Button: God helps you if you hurt someone Vlad cares about.
• Big Applesauce: New York figures prominently during the H2O Arc.
• Big Bad: The Cyberner Construct in the first arc. Harry Hausen in later stories.
• Bio-Augmentation: Hinted at in Marcos' Children arc, where human-feline hybrids can be seen among the cartels' forces. Becomes the main focus of the following Europe Mission arc.
• Blood Knight: Even after his Heel–Face Turn, Vlad's methods are pretty... brutal.
• Brainy Brunette: Anna Carlsen.
• Boom, Headshot!: How Harry Hausen is finally killed for good at the end of the H2O Arc. It's even a bit anticlimatic.
• Brought Down to Badass: Vlad, after getting rid of the Nanomachines.
• Code Name: "Nowhere Man" for Travis.
• Corporate Warfare: What the Cyberners are trying to achieve.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: It's Cyberpunk, so a whole lot of them. Sir Baxter and Lord Martin, in particular.
• Cool Old Guy: "Uncle" Terry Flint.
• Cool Ship: Travis' shuttle.
• Crapsack World: Becomes increasingly obvious as the series progresses.
• Cyberpunk
• Cyberpunk with a Chance of Rain: Averted. All kinds of weather are seen in the series.
• Cyborg: Harry Hausen gets decapitated, but his severed head is later mounted on a cybernetic body.
• Damsel in Distress: Anna, and later Ashley.
• Dark Action Girl: Miss Thundercat.
• Deadpan Snarker: Vlad and Pacman.
• Death Seeker: Miss Thundercat after being freed from the Cyberners' control. She changes her mind after helping save New York at the end of the H2O Arc.
• Determinator: All main protagonists.
• The Dragon: Harry Hausen is originally the Dragon of the Cyberners.
• Dragon Ascendant: Harry Hausen takes over the Cyberners' operation after volume 5.
• Dumb Blonde: Averted big time in the series. Louise Beaulieu is a Tomboy and scientist, Sandy Strummer is a corporation CEO's Hyper-Competent Sidekick, Elena Dinova is an Intrepid Reporter.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Harry Hausen appears on the first page of the first volume.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Travis really doesn't like to be called "Stevie".
• Everybody Calls Him "Barkeep": Everybody calls Terry "Uncle".
• Evil Brit: Sir Baxter and Lord Martin.
• The Face: The Cyberner Construct is the mouthpiece of the Cyberners' collective consciousness.
• Faustian Rebellion: Vlad and Pacman both turn on the Cyberners.
• Fiery Redhead: Mary Kate.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Travis and Vlad, against all odds.
• French Jerk: Averted, thanks to being a French Comic Book.
• Friendly Enemy: At the end of the H2O, Miss Thundercat leaves the heroes on good terms.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Pablo Sanchez used to deliver tacos. Now he runs The Cartel.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Dommy. Her schemes affect the whole franchise.
• Grey-and-Gray Morality: Even heroic characters like Travis often take morally ambiguous decisions and side with questionable people.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Played straight at first with Vlad, who has a scarred face and is a villain. Subverted later, when he becomes one of the heroes.
• Happily Married: While not married per se, Vlad and Ashley are living together and seem pretty happy by the beginning of volume 11.
• Heel–Face Turn: Both Vlad Nyrki and Pacman start as villains and become Travis' allies later on. Vlad is even the main protagonist of several albums.
  • Averted with Miss Thundercat, who becomes a Friendly Enemy but is still a remorseless killer as of volume 14.
• The Hero: Steve Travis, complete with Lantern Jaw of Justice.
• Heroic BSoD: After the Wham Episode described below, Travis becomes depressed and alcoholic.
• Honest Corporate Executive: Pierre Levallois.
• Honor Among Thieves: In the end, Buluc Chabtan refuses to abandon his "brother", the Winged Serpent AI, even if it means going Off the Grid and renouncing his plans.
• The Infiltration: Travis is actually working for the European Parliament to keep an eye on the megacorporations' actions, using his work as a Space Trucker as a cover.
• Intrepid Reporter: Elena Dinova, bordering on being addicted to danger.
• Karma Houdini: Vlad might become a good guy as the story advances, he still brutally kills a lot of innocent people in the early albums and never really faces justice for it.
• Lantern Jaw of Justice: Travis definitely qualifies.
• Last-Name Basis: Travis.
• Meaningful Name: When he first meets Ashley, Vlad is amused that her family name is Harker. Travis doesn't get the joke. Vlad and Ashley later begin a relationship.
• Meat Puppet: Contrary to Vlad and Pacman who were Forced into Evil, Miss Thundercat is fully controlled by the Cyberners.
• Mega-Corp: Baxter & Martin, Transgenic, Vitruvia...
• Mental Fusion: The true nature of the Cyberners.
• Morality Pet: Elena becomes this for Buluc Chabtan.
• Multi-Part Episode: Volume 6 is actually split in two separate albums, numbered 6.1 (focusing on Travis) and 6.2 (focusing on Vlad).
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Buluc Chabtan, "god of death and sacrifice", leader of The Cartel. His real name is actually Pablo Sanchez.
• Nanomachines: They keep Vlad alive and give him superhuman strength. Unfortunately, also used by the Cyberners' to control him. He's cleansed his system of them by volume 11.
• Narm: The series has a few narmy moments, especially when characters exchange romantic banter.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: A few side characters look like famous actors. One of the Cartel leaders in the Marcos' Children arc is clearly based off Danny Trejo for instance.
• Off with His Head!: How Miss Thundercat kills Harry Hausen the first time.
• Playful Hacker: Pacman's persona is this at times, although he can also be dead serious if the situation calls for it.
• Poison and Cure Gambit: Vlad and Pacman need regular injections of Nanomachines to survive, which is how the Cyberners kept them under control.
• Portmanteau: Pacman's real name is Paquito Mannoni. Also Miss Thundercat is really Catherine Thunders.
• Put on a Bus: Louise Beaulieu is an astronaut, and midway through the series she leaves Earth for several months, maybe even years, as part of a mission to Jupiter. Travis and her are still a couple nonetheless, and he receives news once in a while.
  • The Bus Came Back: In volume 14, the Europe Mission is back, and Louise gets a lot of focus as a result.
• Private Detective: Jerry Dammers, of the Punch-Clock Villain variety.
• Psycho for Hire: Vlad, in the beginning. Also Harry Hausen, especially after being Back from the Dead.
• Sadistic Choice: Harry Hausen seemingly puts Vlad through one, by forcing him to choose between Pacman and Anna. Ultimately subverted as Harry needs Pacman and always intended to kill Anna, the choice was just a way to make Vlad suffer.
• Red-Headed Hero: Travis.
• Rescue Romance: Travis and Louise Beaulieu. Later, Vlad and Ashley Harker.
• Ripped from the Headlines: The story of the Oak Hamlet during the Vitruvia Arc is inspired by real estate scandals such as the "Ghost Village" of Pirou [1].
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Seems to be Vlad's motivation at the beginning of the series. While it's partly true, he's also being forced to do the Cyberners' bidding to get his dose of fresh Nanomachines.
• Shark Pool: How Dommy decides to get rid of Ashley Harker.
• Smug Snake: "Slim City" Hunter.
• Space Station: A few of them.
• Space Trucker: Travis' job.
• Take That!: One of the corporate reps in volume 14 looks suspiciously like French President Emmanuel Macron, even using the exact same words regarding the "crazy money" improving the life conditions of space workers would cost them. Louise promptly compares him to an 18th century slave trader.
• The Cameo: Carmen Mc Callum, after being namedropped a few times, makes a short appearance in person in volume 14.
• Those Two Guys: Jeffrey and Howard, Pacman's protégés.
• True Companions: Vlad and Pacman.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Buluc Chabtan at the end of Marcos' Children arc.
• War for Fun and Profit: Harry Hausen's main motivation for working with Dommy.
• Weather-Control Machine: The Huracán satellite.
• Wham Episode: Volume 7, La Tarentule (The Tarentula): both Anna and Mary Kate are killed, Pacman is being held by the bad guys, and Travis has blown his cover.
• Write What You Know: Stories usually take place in Europe or in France.

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