YOU'LL GET: Login with Patreon
ARCHIVE
ARCHIVE
PANEL 1: A cloud-covered planet hovers in front of a starry space.
LOCATION: VINNSHASHA
SOUND EFFECT: TSSSH
FILIA (off panel): Always strange, stepping out on a new world. The ASSAULT of odd scents.

PANEL 2: FILIA, the short maker carrying a staff, look from the doorway of his ship on to a dry and cratered landscape.
FILIA: SO. This desolation… is the home of the Vinn?

PANEL 3: FILIA turns back to look inside his ship.
FILIA: Walking the inward earth, it’s easy to surmise what happened: THEIR ENEMIES CAME FOR THEM WITH ATOMIC FIRE. The planet shows all the signs.

PANEL 4: FILIA’s ship sits on the ground, a cloudy sky above him, his small frame in white silhouette next to the ship.
FILIA: “Look, look, look to Vinnshasha,” Ahmis said. Well, here I am Ahmis. LOOKING.

PANEL 5: Extreme close up on FILIA’s face.
FILIA, quitely: looking like a fool, no doubt.

PANEL 6: FILIA turns to walk back in to his ship, placing his staff against the ship.
FILIA: I fear Mard might be right:

PANEL 7: FILIA returns with a box full of instruments, the staff still leaning against the ship.
FILIA: I wills ampel my samples, and test my tests…

PANEL 8:  FILIA exits the frame, still talking to himself. The staff leaning against the ship begins to glow.
FILIA: And I will find no signs.

——
Want to read the full story? Join us at Patreon.com/drive for the *FULL* Tales of the Drive archives, art giveaways, fun community, and more! DRIVE copyright Dave Kellett. Colors by Beth Reidmiller
PANEL 1: A cloud-covered planet hovers in front of a starry space.
LOCATION: VINNSHASHA
SOUND EFFECT: TSSSH
FILIA (off panel): Always strange, stepping out on a new world. The ASSAULT of odd scents.

PANEL 2: FILIA, the short maker carrying a staff, look from the doorway of his ship on to a dry and cratered landscape.
FILIA: SO. This desolation… is the home of the Vinn?

PANEL 3: FILIA turns back to look inside his ship.
FILIA: Walking the inward earth, it’s easy to surmise what happened: THEIR ENEMIES CAME FOR THEM WITH ATOMIC FIRE. The planet shows all the signs.

PANEL 4: FILIA’s ship sits on the ground, a cloudy sky above him, his small frame in white silhouette next to the ship.
FILIA: “Look, look, look to Vinnshasha,” Ahmis said. Well, here I am Ahmis. LOOKING.

PANEL 5: Extreme close up on FILIA’s face.
FILIA, quitely: looking like a fool, no doubt.

PANEL 6: FILIA turns to walk back in to his ship, placing his staff against the ship.
FILIA: I fear Mard might be right:

PANEL 7: FILIA returns with a box full of instruments, the staff still leaning against the ship.
FILIA: I wills ampel my samples, and test my tests…

PANEL 8:  FILIA exits the frame, still talking to himself. The staff leaning against the ship begins to glow.
FILIA: And I will find no signs.

——
Want to read the full story? Join us at Patreon.com/drive for the *FULL* Tales of the Drive archives, art giveaways, fun community, and more! DRIVE copyright Dave Kellett. Colors by Beth Reidmiller
ARCHIVE
Get the Books >>>
Login to Patreon to join the conversation
More ways to read drive >>>

Blog

Act 5. Pg 100

Did you know I give away a free piece of original art every week on the Drive Patreon? EVERY WEEK! It's just one of the reasons that Patreon is awesome.
Join us on Patreon and get:

  •   200+ pages of bonus "TALES OF THE DRIVE"!
  •   Weekly art giveaways!
  •   Behind-the-scenes!
  •   Pal-times forums!

Today: I’m doing a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” with the folks at r/fantasy! Come by!

Drive Pals! Today (Thurs 5/28) I’m doing an “ASK ME ANYTHING” over on the r/fantasy subreddit.

Come on by! Ask anything you’d like about DRIVE, the characters, the world, the creation of it, or any of my other projects.

Here’s the link! See you there! https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1tq8688/im_dave_kellett_hugonominated_cartoonist_of_drive/


The Hugo Awards!

Growing up, the well-read copy of DUNE on my shelf was more than just a book; it was a totem. I spent hours (hours!) staring at that cover. And as a result, the “Hugo Award Winner” blurb became seared into my brain. Through sheer conditioning, I grew up knowing that a Hugo was the ultimate sign that a sci-fi story was worth reading. 

To hear today that DRIVE has been nominated for a Hugo Award (under “Best Professional Artist”) …well, that news would absolutely floor younger me. 

With DRIVE, I wanted to take the serious, galaxy-wide novels I grew up loving…but populate it with the goofy, joy-filled characters that I loved from newspaper comics. A mix of high stakes and hijinks.

To see DRIVE recognized with a Hugo nomination feels like a full-circle completion of that childhood dream. It’s a fun reminder that, if you follow your own weird path long enough, it leads exactly where you were always meant to go.

Thanks for reading, pals! New DRIVE is up Thursday!

– Dave

PS: …and don’t forget to tell sci-fi loving friends to try it! The entire story is free to read at DriveComic.com


==================
[EDITED TO ADD: All members of the World Science Fiction Convention are able to vote on the Hugo Awards, including those who have memberships in the virtual portion of the convention. Information about registration is available at lacon.org/register.]



This week’s ComicLab Podcast is live!

Pals! Every week my cartooning pal Brad Guigar and I fire up the mics to talk about comics. It’s half shop talk, half how-to, and half friendship. That’s right: WE SQUEEZED IN THREE HALVES. It’s tips and tricks and all the joys of cartooning as a pro!

———

TITLE: How to Start a Webring

comiclabpodcast.com

Apple Podcasts: https://buff.ly/pmzb68x

Spotify: https://buff.ly/OShfHX4

Cartoonists Brad Guigar and Dave Kellett tackle a surprisingly practical question: How do you start a web ring for comics creators? With social media platforms becoming less reliable for discovery, the classic web ring is making a comeback as a way for creators to promote each other directly.


Dave’s Livestreaming Today, 1-2PM PT / 4-5PM ET!

Sheldon pals! If you’re free this afternoon, swing by! I’ll be livestreaming today from 1-2PM PT / 4-5PM ET, taking questions with my pal Brad Guigar about Sheldon, Drive, ComicLab, and cartooning in general!

It’s part of our new tradition where we livestream the last hour of our Kickstarter campaigns, to celebrate and goof around. Join us with questions, here: https://riverside.com/studio/comiclabs-studio?t=3bd3569dd305a30483da

And here’s the link for the Kickstarter, if you haven’t yet jumped in! Just a few hours left! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smallfish/double-dog-dare?ref=8z4y6m


🏆THE HUGO NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN!

Pals! The nominations for sci-fi’s biggest award — the HUGOS — are officially OPEN! If you’re a past/present member of WorldCon, you got an email today [from “LA V Virtual Convention Team” / [email protected]] asking you to activate your WorldCon account and make your nominations. And gang, it would mean the world to me if you considered these two lil’ sweethearts among your nominations:

  • FOR BEST GRAPHIC STORY OR COMIC:
    DRIVE (
    DriveComic.com) | Artist: Dave Kellett | Publisher: Small Fish Studios
  • FOR BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST:
    DAVE KELLETT  |  Example of their Work:
    DriveComic.com

(NOTE: The “Drive Act 4” book had a copyright of 2024, so that book doesn’t qualify. But the two above do qualify!)

Drive has never been nominated for a Hugo — and I think it would be tremendous fun! Especially since I’LL BE THERE for the first time in a decade! That’s right: With WorldCon being in Anaheim this year — I’ll be at the show, handing out high-fives LIKE THEY’RE GOING OUT OF STYLE!

But honestly, there’s no shortage of amazing sci-fi stories in 2025 — so be generous with your nominations!

Thanks, pals!
– Dave






This week’s ComicLab Podcast is live!

Pals! Every week my cartooning pal Brad Guigar and I fire up the mics to talk about comics. It’s half shop talk, half how-to, and half friendship. That’s right: WE SQUEEZED IN THREE HALVES. It’s tips and tricks and all the joys of cartooning as a pro!

———

TITLE: Why don’t you do MORE?!?

comiclabpodcast.com

Apple Podcasts: https://buff.ly/pmzb68x

Spotify: https://buff.ly/OShfHX4

Are Brad and Dave not doing enough? A listener question sparks a candid conversation about creative bandwidth, sustainability, and why “doing more” isn’t always the smart — or sustainable — choice. The episode then dives into one of the hardest challenges in humor writing: How to judge your own work when readers don’t get the joke. How much confusion is normal, when feedback matters, and how to balance ego with humility without losing your voice.



More of Dave Kellett >>>More Dave >>>