Lux and Alby: Sign on and Save the Universe

by Martin Millar, Simon Fraser

Millar, Martin, Fraser, Simon

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 1999

About the author

Martin Millar is a critically acclaimed Scottish writer from Glasgow, now resident in London. He also writes the Thraxas series of fantasy novels under the pseudonym Martin Scott.

The novels he writes as Martin Millar dwell on urban decay and British sub-cultures, and the impact this has on a range of characters, both realistic and supernatural. There are elements of magical realism, and the feeling that the boundary between real life and the supernatural is not very thick. Most of them are set in Brixton, Millar's one-time place of residence. Many are at least semi-autobiographical, and Love and Peace with Melody Paradise and Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me both feature Millar himself as a character.

As Martin Scott his Thraxas novels are a fusion of traditional high fantasy and pulp noir thrillers.

In 2000, he won the World Fantasy Award for best novel for Thraxas.

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel with really strong characterizations. The people who populate this world are a bunch of um slackers living in Brixton, maybe living a somewhat glorified life (its a comic) on the dole, squatting, having revenge on ex boyfriends, so on. Oh yes, also there's the great goddess Ishtar looking out for all her slacker children and trying to keep a zen master from defiling nirvana with his insistent presence. Uplifting, fun, unusual. It's out of print but can be found used on amazon or elsewhere for a reasonable price.

[Gon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Martin Millar for years and have been working my way through his back catalogue. This book is brilliant. It's smart, witty, and is as relevant today as it was back then. If you like mythology and the underdogs triumphing then this is the book for you.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhere between the 'Young Ones' and Douglas Adams.
There's a battle going on in the heavenly realms, but there's also this group of dysfunctional layabouts in Brixton trying to get a handle on their finances, relationships and life in general.

And both stories keep tripping over each other.
Millar's individual novels didn't wow me, but this effort to bring it together into one quirky little universe was fun.

One of those fun little indy comics you'd stumble upon in the 80's that you never heard off before but ended up really enjoying.

[Yrik Valentonis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun tale of two of Martin's quirkiest characters. The universe really is out to get Alby. The universe does in fact revolve around Lux. Read this graphic novel and then kiss someone.