LIGHTS Explains Her Comic Book Character, Wants To Fight The Borg

Exploring the galaxy and defending the universe from music-stealing villains sounds far removed from the practical demands of the music industry. But Captain LIGHTS might never have embarked on her adventure if her keytar-rocking real world alter-ego LIGHTS had never been forced to write a bio.

"When I first got started, I had to make a bio," says LIGHTS, explaining the origins of her cartoon doppleganger Captain LIGHTS. "I ended up making a comic and I illustrated it and sort of told the story in a fictional way.

"It was just meant to be a bio when I first did it because it described that much more about my personality because I love comics and everything, but it was kind of a big hit."

The longtime comic fan started selling her bio as a merch item, and the comics-influenced LIGHTS esthetic was born.

"It kind of became synonymous with my stuff, like comics and even the way I was illustrating everything and it only made sense to take that a little further and maybe even create a comic book."

That next step involved meeting with Tomm Coker from Marvel Digital and telling him about a character she'd been thinking about named Captain LIGHTS. Together, the pair started to think of the best way to introduce this spunky heroine to the world.

As both artists are heavily involved in the online world, they wanted to come up with a format that would utilize everything the Internet has to offer a comic geek.

"We came up with the semi-animated comic because we can put the music in the background and then we can do the voiceovers and it's that much better. It's like a glorified comic book reading experience."

With that vision in mind, Coker and LIGHTS developed the motion comic series Audio Quest: A Captain LIGHTS Adventure. The 10-part series, currently available online and on MTV, is only part way through its run, but LIGHTS already has some grand plans for her captain and her future.

"I hope to take it even further, like maybe a movie someday or a video game or maybe even just more episodes. Or all of the above. That would be ideal."

Given the chance, she'd even like to see her sci-fi persona take on the infamous Borg from Star Trek fame.

"Resistance is not futile for Captain LIGHTS!" she giggles.

Here are LIGHTS' upcoming tour dates:

Jan. 21 Kansas City, MO @ The Beaumont Club w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Jan. 22 Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Jan. 23 St. Louis, MO @ Pageant w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Jan. 24 Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Jan. 26 Madison, WI @ Majestic w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Jan. 27 Cincinnati, OH @ 20th Century w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Jan. 28 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Jan. 29 Towson, MD @ Recher Theatre w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Jan. 30 Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Feb. 1 Charleston, SC @ Music Farm w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Feb. 2 Jacksonville, FL @ Freebird Live w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Feb. 3 Tampa, FL @ State Theatre w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Feb. 4 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Feb. 5 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues Orlando w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Feb. 6 Athens, GA @ Melting Pot w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Feb. 8 Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Soundstage w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Feb. 9 Baton Rouge, LA @ Varsity Theatre w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
Feb. 10 Little Rock, AR @ Rev Room w/ Owl City and Deas Vail
March 30 Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
March 31 Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory
April 1 Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
April 2 Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
April 3 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
April 5-6 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
April 7 Pomona, CA @ Fox Theatre
April 8 San Diego, CA @ Soma
April 9 Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia
April 10 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
April 13 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
April 15 Austin, TX @ Stubb's Walker Creek Amphitheatre
April 16 Houston, TX @ Verizon Wireless Theatre
April 20 Atlanta, GA @ The Tavernacle
April 22 Washington, DC @ Constitution Hall
April 23 Boston, MA @ House Of Blues
April 24 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
April 25 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
April 27 Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
April 28 Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
April 30 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
May 1 Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre
May 2 Mikwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom