Written by Magdalene Visaggio
Art by Claudia Aguirre
Published by ComiXology Originals
In spite of her self-deprecating Introduction here, Magdalene Visaggio is a young woman with a clear understanding of the concepts most of us seem to have failed to carry over from the Sixties: we all have choices; authority must always be questioned; just because it’s always been done that way doesn’t mean it’s the right way…or the only way; sometimes the hardest part of life is just trying to do your own thing.
Lost on Planet Earth, set in the future and partially in space, isn’t even technically about the Sixties and yet Ms. Visaggio’s solid writing, especially alongside the impressive art and storytelling skills of Claudia Aguirre, emphasizes the fact that some things never change.
Our protagonist is a young woman named Basil (short for “Basilisa,” which means “Queen”). Since the author notes that this started out as a critique of Star Trek, let’s use Trek terms here rather than introduce new ones. Basil is a head of the class student at Starfleet Academy, fast tracked to get her own ship. She has conditioned herself, mind and body, to a level of perfection, all with the singular goal of succeeding in Starfleet.
Her girlfriend Charlotte is also prepared for the exam but unsuccessfully encourages the tightly wound Basil to loosen up. Unfortunately, the unwinding comes in the middle of the long-awaited exam itself, after which Basil falls in with a more radical crowd and, to paraphrase another character later in the story, begins to learn things she didn’t even know that she didn’t know.
We watch Basil’s fall from being the best and the brightest to being a prisoner in space, on the same space cruiser as Charlotte. In fact, as the book continues on, the reader slowly comes to the realization that Charlotte could actually be considered to be the main character!
In the end, which seems to suffer from coming at a faster pace than the rest of the book, all the Sixties values I mention above have come out, along with another Sixties slogan, “All You Need is Love.”
Rich characters abound in this book, and not just drawn from Central Casting. Each has a unique look rather than a standard “type.” Some aren’t quite as developed as others but nearly all are shown at odds with the reader’s expectations.
In the end, Lost on Planet Earth is a deceptive, sneaky story set in the future with aliens and spaceships, but in actuality dealing with much more universal “human” issues and situations. A couple minor reservations, but overall a masterful use of the comics format.
Booksteve recommends.
