Ace Trucking Co.
| Ace Garp | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Fleetway Publications |
| First appearance | 2000AD #232 (October 1981) |
| Created by |
John Wagner Alan Grant Massimo Belardinelli |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Ace Garp |
| Team affiliations | GBH, Feek the Freek, the Dopplegarp, Chiefy the Pig-Rat, Ghost |
| Notable aliases | Garp the Barp from Parp |
Ace Trucking Co. is a comedy science fiction series that featured in the comic 2000 AD from 1981 to 1986. Created by writers John Wagner and Alan Grant and artist Massimo Belardinelli, it followed the misadventures of a space trucking company headed by Ace Garp, a pointy-headed alien who spoke in a kind of futuristic CB radio slang. The title was lifted from a 1970s improvisational comedy group whose membership had included Fred Willard, Patti Deutsch, Michael Mislove, George Memmoli, and Bill Saluga.
Ace was the skipper of the cargo spaceship Speedo Ghost, for much of the series the Ace Trucking Co.'s only ship. His crew included his huge 'biffo' (both bodyguard and security) GBH, who believed himself to be dead, Feek the Freek, a skeletal being who acted as the ship's engineer, and the sarcastic ship's computer Ghost. Joining the crew later in the run was Chiefy the Pig-Rat, a small rodent-like creature that became Feek's best friend and missed no opportunity to insult Ace.
In later stories, the crew was also joined by a duplicate of Ace himself. The reason for this is that, tired of the series, the creators killed off Ace by having him believe that he was suffering a fatal disease, causing him to commit suicide by flying into a star. However, the popularity of the series with 2000AD's readers caused it to be revived, the explanation being that Ace passed through a dimensional rift in the star, and ended up being discovered by his counterpart in another universe, but not before a brief detour in the offices of Tharg the Mighty in a drawer filled with other characters that had been killed off over time. Technically, the second Ace is the 'real' one from the earlier stories.
Other recurring characters were Jago Kain, the human boss of Ace's business rival Yellow Line, Cap'n Evil Blood, a space pirate who was always trying to kill Garp, Ace-hating officers Kroxley and Zagger of the Galactic Police and Fatty Arkl, a rotund alien who ended up as the skipper of Ace's second ship (Old Peart The Third).
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