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Prom
on Mars is a futuristic comic book that looks at the everyday
lives of a group of college kids in the future. Imagine if
American Pie met The Jetsons and you'll have
a pretty good idea of where this collection is aiming...
Originally
illustrated with clip art (but then changed when author Alex
Bernstein decided to have a go at drawing his own versions
of events), Prom on Mars tells the everyday story of
a group of kids at Liberty High in the year 2053.
All
the stereotypes are here (and you'll be able to pick out similar
kids from your university/high school days) There's Liz, the
main character and senior class president; Lena, a "sex
athlete"; Marc, a loser and a depressive; Wade, a sexually
confused young woman; Mel, Liz's best friend; and Claire,
a student protester.
I
was interested to read, in the author's comments at the back
of this collection, that his original, much darker, script
never made it past the the draft stage as his agent at the
time wanted him to concentrate more on the futuristic elements.
Sadly, Bernstein's original idea sounds like it would have
been a lot more interesting than what we finish up with -
and I wish he'd stuck with that.
That's
not to take anything away from the finished version of Prom
on Mars. It's amusing, well conceived and well illustrated.
While the artwork - which is a little clip art like - is a
little on the crude side, this adds to the charm of this collection.
The art work is not the most important element here, it's
the story telling.
I
did find this collection a little too short. No sooner had
I started to warm to the characters, when the story telling
was all over. Thankfully volume two should be available soon.
You
can either buy this or read it for free online, I'd suggest
buying a copy - it's cheap and well worth it. Visit www.promonmars.com
for more information.
Nick
Smithson
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