Review: Lunar Ladies
The Lunar Ladies by author Omar Morales and artist Joel Cotejar is a slice of comedy drama that kicks off in a future Utopia inside the Moon. Inevitably, there is trouble in Paradise... This peaceful society has eliminated war by eliminating the cause of war: Men!
Now here is a trope that does not get explored that often, yet it is a very old one (ever since John Wyndham's 1956 novella Consider Her Ways). Maybe the challenge of writing a story with no male protagonists is too much to ask of most authors? Or too much to expect their readers to become invested in? Either way it is a shame because it raises some interesting questions, such as: Get rid of all the men and have you got rid of all the social evils perpetrated mostly by men? Or will the ladies turn out to be no angels?
The artwork is charming, especially the retro-style Moon city and its people, architecture and ships... The Flash Gordon-esque rocket ships and Fritz Lang Metropolis-esque femdroids are a delight.
Zak Webber
But we are not delving into this particular minefield in this particular piece; the setting is just a novel plot device. The woman-only Moon city is a veritable sea of tranquility... But now a rogue scientist threatens to shatter this dream by engineering a Y chromosome.
Queen Velouria flees to Earth with her partner Star and daughter Clare. In her absence the unhinged fanatic Venus Verga seizes power with her army of creepy anime-boy-faced clones and leads a strike force to Earth in search of the fugitive monarch and the powerful magic talisman now worn by the young princess. But little Clare has not been idle in exile; she has befriended the prehistoric humans and animals of Earth, who stand ready to fight by her side. But are they any match for Venus and her fearless boy scouts?
The story is fast-paced and liberally peppered with camp clichés, but this is not the kind of tale to be taken too seriously. It is meant to be enjoyed as a colourful dose of feel-good fun, not deeply analysed for its literary or political messages. Despite the premise there is certainly no feminist or anti-feminist axe to grind here.
Queen Velouria flees to Earth with her partner Star and daughter Clare. In her absence the unhinged fanatic Venus Verga seizes power with her army of creepy anime-boy-faced clones and leads a strike force to Earth in search of the fugitive monarch and the powerful magic talisman now worn by the young princess. But little Clare has not been idle in exile; she has befriended the prehistoric humans and animals of Earth, who stand ready to fight by her side. But are they any match for Venus and her fearless boy scouts?
The story is fast-paced and liberally peppered with camp clichés, but this is not the kind of tale to be taken too seriously. It is meant to be enjoyed as a colourful dose of feel-good fun, not deeply analysed for its literary or political messages. Despite the premise there is certainly no feminist or anti-feminist axe to grind here.
The artwork is charming, especially the retro-style Moon city and its people, architecture and ships... The Flash Gordon-esque rocket ships and Fritz Lang Metropolis-esque femdroids are a delight.
I whizzed through the 70+ pages, plus there is a bonus story at the end drawn by Nic Touris, the toon-style Origin of General Carter to add a little context to the main story.
If you're looking for something light, bright and fun this would be a pretty good choice. If you're looking for deep and meaningful, you won't find that here....just some enjoyable lunacy!
If you're looking for something light, bright and fun this would be a pretty good choice. If you're looking for deep and meaningful, you won't find that here....just some enjoyable lunacy!
Zak Webber
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