Electro-Pop Singer LIGHTS Gets Animated

By Lonny Knapp Posted Nov 16th 2009 04:35PM

When LIGHTS joined forces with Marvel Digital Comics artist Tomm Coker to produce the animated mini-series 'Audio Quest: A Captain LIGHTS Adventure,' the Canadian electro-popper joined The Beatles, Britney Spears, and Red Hot Chili Peppers in the long list of pop stars immortalized as cartoon characters.

For the ten semi-animated shorts airing on MTV and Youtube, LIGHTS swaps her keytar for a blaster and travels the universe searching for a beat in a futuristic world void of music. Along the way, she visits far-flung planets, encounters strange creatures such as the turtle-headed Wha Whas, and battles her music-hating nemesis Lotar and his robotic henchman.

Sure, the whole thing sounds hokey. But for LIGHTS, a skilled graphic artist in her own right, the transformation from pop star to comic book hero was a natural evolution.

"Captain Lights had been drifting around in my head for a while. She's the girl I want to be some day."

LIGHTS is no stranger to speech bubbles. She's an authentic comic geek and has a giant Wonder Woman tattoo on her back to prove it. "It's an adaptation of the cover of Wonder Woman 2, Volume 3," she said.

Audio Quest premiered to coincide with the US release of her debut, 'The Listening.' Each episode features album tracks such as 'Ice' and 'Saviour,' but you needn't be a fan of LIGHTS and her brand of hook-heavy synth-pop to enjoy these sci-fi vignettes.

Hard-core anime fans will appreciate Tomm Coker's dark animation, and each action-packed episode promises to leave even hard-core detractors wondering what will come of Captain Lights on her intergalactic adventure.

"Music videos are outdated. We wanted a creative new platform to get people to hear this music," Lights said. "This is for comic fans, music fans, and anyone looking for something new."