Customer Reviews

Lux and Alby: Sign on and Save the Universe

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There were several things about this book that deserve a mention... The first is the fact that the book's format is very unusual for a comic publication and fits neatly onto my shelf..

The book concentrates on the lives of the major characters (Lux and Alby) and their lives on the dole (social security benefit) in Thatcher's Britain of the 80's.. It will give American readers an insight into a very British political and social humour..

The book has a strong storyline and is beautifully illustrated..

I wouldn't normally presume to give my opinion on other peoples work but I thought that this book was woth the effort.. I hope that other readers enjoy it as much as I did..

I like Martin Millar's novels a lot, and picked up Lux & Alby thinking it was just another one. In fact, it is a 'graphic novel', or basically a long comic.

Several of Millar's characters are brought together in the story, a typical Millar fantasy adventure in a London slum world. The story seems a little bit hollow compared to Millar's full length novel stories, but still has many moments and ideas that appeal.

I'd have rated the book higher if it had just been a very short novella, I think. The graphic novel format does not work well for me. It's not that Simon Fraser's pictures are bad, it's just that I don't like having pictures placed in my mind when I'm reading - I prefer to let my mind conjure up the images itself. I'd rather not have somebody else's idea of what Lux, Alby and Ruby look like in my head. Also, the idea that 'a picture speaks a thousand words' doesn't really apply in the case of fiction, IMO. A lot more can be conveyed through description than by illustration.

I'm sure other people will love Lux & Alby as it is, but for myself I almost wish I hadn't read it. I don't want to have those pictures of the characters in my head next time I read the novels in which they really belong.