Stanley, Mark
Entry updated 13 January 2026. Tagged: Artist, Author, Comics.
(? - ) US cartoonist known for the webcomic Freefall, originally published in the furry fanzine Yarf! before moving to the Web in 1998. Freefall is a Hard SF comedy strip about the Alien Starship captain/con artist Sam Starfall, his naïve Robot friend Helix, and the Genetically Engineered wolf-woman technician Florence Ambrose. The story is set on the planet Jean, which is in the process of being Terraformed and is still sparsely inhabited. Protagonist Sam Starfall, the sole member of his species of semi-aquatic prey species of Sqids [sic] to come in contact with human civilization, comically disregards the rules of society in favour of his hedonism and greed. In doing so, he inspires the uptight and diligent Florence to both relax and rebel as well.
While Freefall is a short-form gag webcomic, it follows a long-running story about the nature of humanity, free will, realistic consequences of Space Flight, and an Isaac Asimov-style exploration of robots in society. The strip has been coloured by George Peterson since 2006. The first "chapter" of Freefall concluded in 2016, completing a story. A second chapter began in 2019 and is ongoing. [MS]
Mark Stanley
born USA
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