What is STYX TAXI?
STYX TAXI is a sporadic comic series that follows the afterlives and accomplishments of the drivers of New York’s only taxi service for the recently-deceased. People die, their souls leave their body, and sometimes, just sometimes, a cab pulls in between them and the Bright Light, offering them a last ride (one stop, two hours max) to anywhere they want to go…a last chance at redemption, closure, or contentment on their way out of this life. (Two hours being how long a soul can still head for the Bright Light before they lose their shot.)
STYX TAXI began for me as an idea of finding fresh life for mythology, taking the myth of Charon and the River Styx and giving it some contemporary window dressing…but the series has grown from another desire, to make what my brother dubs “soft comics,” very human and character-driven stories that draw heavily on everyday elements.
How many issues have come out?
STYX premiered in 2003 with the one-shot, Pastrami for the Dead, written by me and illustrated by Jeremy Arambulo. Pastrami was followed up in 2004 by an anthology issue, A Little Twilight Music, oriented around musicians and/or music, featuring two stories written by me (”Sing Along” and “Encore for my Babies,” illustrated by my brother, Dan Goldman, and Rami Efal, respectively) and one written by Elizabeth Genco (”A Coda Vita,” illustrated by her partner in StreetFables, Leland Purvis). The series continued in 2005 as part of a FWDbooks chapbook, As Above, So Below, featuring two more STYX TAXI shorts (”Rosa,” “Dinner Date #9″) by myself and Rami, as well as short stories from my novel-in-progress, COUNTING TIME.
I’m currently scripting the first STYX TAXI graphic novel, a work that’ll probably end up being between 150 and 200 pages (art by Tim Hamilton), and I wanted to set up a blog that could be a stray-thoughts catcher, a research blog for this book and beyond, and space for hype. I’m also going to serialize most of the existing STYX stories on webcomics site The Chemistry Set, as well as premiere some new stories on TCS first and collect them in print later.
In the meantime, enjoy the website!
–Steven Goldman