Photo credit: Stephanie Downes
Cosmoknights is the story of Pan Leverett, a young mechanic who gets herself smuggled off the planet and swept up in a neo-medieval system of cosmic jousting tournaments and intergalactic revolution. But before she sneaks off to sail the stars with a subversive squad of space gays, she'll need to pack a bag! Here's her helpful guide for the next time you find yourself in a similar position:
Gravitic travel mug
Keeps your drink hot and will never ever spill, even if you’re upside-down. Pretty neat.
Bomber jacket
Everyone looks good in a bomber jacket, and it goes with everything. Plus most of 'em have a secret pocket on the inside where you can put important things, like... a pen. Or some mints!
Mints
For your secret pocket... because what if someone wants to kiss you?! Oh my god!
Your favorite T-shirt
Bring it for luck! Don’t forget to roll up the sleeves.
Socks and underwear
How many pairs do you need if you’re never planning on coming home? Like... 10? And is the jury still out on whether or not it’s safe to wear a bra in space?
Nova-blocking sunglasses
There are tons of stars up there; gotta protect your peepers.
Blackout eye mask
Good luck sleeping without one... there’s no such thing as “night” when you’re out of orbit.
Baseball cap
This won’t really do anything to protect you from sunlight when it’s coming from every direction, but... you’ll look cool. Wear it backwards to maximize gay energy.
The locket that is your most prized possession that your best friend gave you before she disappeared forever
DO NOT FORGET!
Snacks
Dehydrated fruit bars, freeze-dried ice cream, maybe a box of Astro-O’s. But no soda… we all know what happens to cans of pop during space travel.
Cash
A lot of places still only take cash, especially the further out you get. Bring enough for if you’re in a pinch, but not so much you attract attention. Fifty starbits should do it.
Lip balm
Spaceships get really dry! You don’t wanna spend your time on the road all crusty and chapped... and remember, what if someone wants to kiss you?!?!
Stellar multi-tool
For fixin’ things. Stuff breaks all the time in space, almost exclusively when you’re in the middle of nowhere.
A copy of Where to Eat in the Emerald Range
Hear me out — I know you can just look this stuff up online, but if you have the book you can write notes in it and have restaurant owners sign it... and then you can look back over your trip when you get home and all your memories are in one place. It’s nice. And if you spill food on it that’s, like, bonus memories.
Swimsuit
You never know when you’ll pass by an ocean planet. And even if you don’t have time to make stops, everyone has a hot tub on their ship these days.
Holographic playing cards
If you make friends up there, you can play poker. And if you don’t, you can play solitaire. Foolproof.
Voltaic harmonica
You don’t have to know how to play it, just bring it. You’ll have time to learn between planets, and it’ll make you look like a super cool space cowboy while you’re traversing the stars.
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Hannah Templer is a queer cartoonist and graphic designer. She is currently the artist on
GLOW (IDW Publishing, Netflix), with writer Tini Howard, and has also worked as a colorist, cover artist, and interior artist on well-known titles such as
Samurai Jack,
Tomb Raider, and
Jem and the Holograms. She enjoys life with her trusty dog, Thistle, and grumpy cat, Noodle, and plays tabletop roleplaying games as often as she can. Her latest book is
Cosmoknights.
You can read
Cosmoknights online at
www.cosmoknights.space, and
listen to the official playlists on Spotify, and order the book now!