Planet Zebeth

Planet Zebeth is a historic sprite comic that was created in 2002 and focuses on the character of Kabutroid and a slew of other unique individuals, as well as many familiar faces from the Metroid franchise. Never one to follow a fixed path, the comic would frequently be split between different scenarios playing out alongside each other; and wily readers could discover a wealth of secrets hidden throughout the website. It left a legacy in its wake, inspiring many other webcomic creators to put their own ideas to pixels and more.

Kabutroid

When I first started Planet Zebeth in 2002, I had no idea how long it would run. Being a fan of other sprite comics, I had decided that there were far too few Metroid-based ones and set about changing that. Almost overnight I had a storyline in my head and wanted to share it with the world. Or rather, less a full storyline and more a set of plot points to reach, and proceeded making comics to bring our characters from one point to the next. The original story has changed a bit over time and new characters were introduced along the way, such as Crocomire Hunter and Boxy. At only four frames per comic, the storyline progressed slowly but steadily. I began by making three comic strips per week, going without a single missed update for six years.

Changes to my life made this difficult, and it has unfortunately slowed down since then, with updates now coming sporadically when time is available and inspiration strikes. My initial goal was to see if I could make 100 comic strips. Once there, I aimed for 500, and then 1000. Planet Zebeth has now continued for over 1200 pages in one giant storyline, with no plans of ending it. There’s plenty more to do once the alfalfa storyline clears up. Where’d Boxy go? How are Gronky and Grunky doing, and the Trabnagians? While the comic strip has run for nearly 16 years now, the in-comic time has only been about one year, progressing with the planting of fields, through winter, and back into summer where Ridley’s crops have begun to grow again (and then be eaten by a pack of Metroids). And it doesn’t end with the comic strip either, the website contains hundreds of bonus comics, fan content, and secret pages accessible through hidden links and other methods.

I made the comic in hopes of inspiring others to create their own, and thanks to my friend Night_Red’s message board ‘Project Jen,’ I had the opportunity to see many of them. When people began posting their own comic strips, I began to host several of them in subdomains on Planet Zebeth. The first ones were ‘Subsector Cyrus’ and ‘Subsector Hiroshi,’ made respectively by Cyrus and Hiroshi Mishima. Cyrus eventually went her own way, and was replaced with ‘Shades of Defiance’ by Lady Icy. Both Subsector Hiroshi and Shades of Defiance are available through the main homepage, and contain hundreds of comics of their own. They have been amazing contributors to the website, and though neither of them presently update, they have been welcomed to return at any time.

A lot has happened since I started Zebeth, and throughout the comic many of my vacations and hardships have been told during ‘pauses’ in the storyline. During these breaks I let my fans know about the adventures that I’ve been on, or what I had experienced such as vacation road trips or coming out as transgender. One of the most amazing parts about running the site has been the fans. When a reader tells me that Planet Zebeth was what had gotten them through a difficult time in their life, or inspired them in some way, it feels amazing to know that I made a difference to them. I’ve had the chance to meet several of them in real life, and spent wonderful afternoons with them. Planet Zebeth is a story that I never want to end, where I keep coming up with new things for Samus and Kraid to do, or follow one of the other characters around for a while. Keep telling a story.

Our Thoughts

KomodoZero

Planet Zebeth is likely a webcomic that many a Metroid fan has a close history with. It might be lost on younger fans, but for anyone who was surfing the web in the early 2000’s with a passion for the series surely knows about this comic. I was only 13 at the time I discovered it and was still struggling through dial-up on my mother’s Windows 98 desktop, but I was frequently rewarded for my efforts with a fun and charming sprite comic based on my all-time favourite videogame franchise. We all wish the best for Kabutroid in her future endeavours as well as the legacy that Planet Zebeth left us for years to come.

Sample Comics

Image Gallery

For more of Kabutroid’s works, please visit one of the links below:

Planet Zebeth
@dragonmotherk
@katielynne_h