reviewed by J. Hartman (10/13/99)

Eleanor: You were right not to frolic with someone you didn't wish to... But no one should stop frolicking between two or more consenting adults, regardless of their species, race, or sex...
Lyssa: Unless they're married.
Eleanor: Don't be naive, dear.

Utopia Unlimited is a comic book.

Wait! I hear you reaching for that mouse to click the Back button, but don't go just yet. If you think comic books are for kids, or if the phrase conjures up images of spandex-clad musclebound oafs and women whose breasts are larger than their heads, then you haven't seen the good stuff.

There are plenty of extremely good comics for adults. Some are science fiction; some are Medievalesque fantasy; some are comedy; some are autobiography; some are the equivalent of film noir; some can't be easily classified. And, yes, some are smut.

There are plenty of bad sexually explicit comics out there, of course. And there are a lot of technically well-executed porn comics that don't provide anything terribly interesting in plot, character, or situation; they're only a little more imaginative than low-budget porn flicks.

However, there are also, scattered here and there amid the morass of explicit comic books, some real gems. And Utopia Unlimited is such a gem.

Phil Foglio's Xxxenophile comic book made the world safe for intelligent, funny, explicit science fiction smut. I'd have reviewed it here, but it's probably so well-known that it doesn't need to be reviewed.

However, Mr. Foglio's showcase line, Xxxenophile Presents, is far less well-known. In this series, Foglio (under the imprimatur of his publishing company Palliard Press) published the sexually explicit work of a few select comic book artists who might otherwise not be seen by a wider public. The Xxxenophile imprint is something of a guarantee of quality, like a Good Housekeeping seal of approval for comic-book smut. The two issues of Utopia Unlimited were published as issues 3 and 5 of the Xxxenophile Presents line; the one I'm specifically reviewing here is issue 3, but issue 5 is quite good too.

Utopia Unlimited tells the story of the crew of the H.M.S. Iolanthe, a starship belonging to the trading company Utopia Unlimited. Those of you who are Gilbert & Sullivan fans may have noticed a certain theme already -- the story is littered with Gilbert & Sullivan references, though most of them occur in the background where they won't trip up anyone who doesn't get them. These are not the only in-jokes by any means; for instance, the Iolanthe's serial number, parodying the Enterprise's "NCC-1701" from Star Trek, is "NC-17."

Our story begins with an internal affairs auditor assigned to the Iolanthe by the parent corporation, "to report violations of company policy." The auditor's name is Lieutenant Lyssa Strada -- and if you don't get the joke don't feel bad; I missed it entirely until I said her name aloud, and even then only barely caught the reference to a certain ancient Greek play -- and she's a teensy bit unhappy with the fact that the officers of the Iolanthe are, ahem, frolicking with the natives that they're supposed to be trading with. On page 2, Lyssa turns down a native woman's request for sex, and thereby sets the plot in motion.

Meanwhile, the captain of the Iolanthe is busy with a session of "training the maid." Her partner in this endeavor turns out to be a whirlygirl -- an android trained in the arts of sex. The captain and the whirlygirl engage in a bit of DS play before the captain is summoned to (as one of her more inept officers puts it) "the -- oh gosh. The, uh, the big room in the front, with all the... you know..." That is to say, the bridge.

I won't describe any more of the plot; it's fun to watch it unfold, and there's plenty else worth mentioning about the book. The art, for instance: Wise's drawing style has a curvaceous, organic look like very little else in comics. His space ships are all curves and bulges, none of the hard edges one might expect from science fiction. His layout is unusual -- he rarely uses an unmodified standard nine-panel page layout, and in the sex scenes the characters and objects splash across the page without panel borders of any kind. And I do mean "splash"; it's impossible to forget while reading a Charlie Wise sex scene that there are fluids involved in sex. The sex scenes are delightfully sexy (and explicit); the orgasms are shown in loving visual metaphor; the characters (and their creator) are clearly having a great deal of fun throughout, and it would be hard for a reader to avoid getting caught up in that fun.

I see I haven't explicitly mentioned the fact that the book is funny. Wise's comedic pacing is spot-on, as is his dialogue; even if this story weren't particularly sexy, it would be well worth reading for the humor.

(In fact, Wise's other comic book series, Blue Moon: The Adventures of Lyssa and the Pirates, has sexy parts but no explicit sex; it's nonetheless worth reading, and may be easier to find in comic book stores than Utopia. Blue Moon features many of the same characters in an entirely different milieu: a modern-day version of Lyssa gets transported to a pirate ship by Eleanor's discombobulationotron. An advertisement for the series sums it up: "Blue Moon has hardly any sex and nudity, but it does have good funny writing, strong female characters, and pretty cool art.")

In short, if you're looking for something to read that's funny, sexy, and well-drawn, with charming characters and an entertaining plot -- why not try a comic book?

Note: If your local comic book store doesn't have copies of Utopia Unlimited, ask them why not, and then order directly from XXXenophile. Supplies are limited, and there may never be another printing, so don't delay. Alternatively, you can order directly from Charlie Wise.