Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead
When I got the email sometime ago for HLHKIS and saw the concept for what the story is about, I thought it sounded fun. The kind of fun I would enjoy and fast forward to now after reading the GN and to a point, I did enjoy it. As how often do you get something that mixes the Odyssey with 80s themes, McDonalds, and Family Guy/American Dad to a certain extent? Not that often unless I just haven’t been paying attention and that’s certainly possible. Luke Milton and Lizzy Lang’s He Lost His Keys In Space is the story of Vega Ulysses after he’s completed a decade + long quest of establishing Diplomatic relations with various Alien races in the Universe and he’s ready to go home and live in his ‘fortress’ back on Earth. Only problem is… He’s lost the very special key to said ‘fortress’ and can’t quite remember where he put it.
And given he spent a lot of time in Space and on various planets… Its basically like looking for a needle in a haystack but ol’ Vega’s gonna try and find that needle anyway! Leading us to meet the likes of Snax the Kermonian who basically doubles as Vega’s somewhat gullible sidekick that I had faith in but over the course of the story gradually lost said faith. There’s also Samantha, the ship AI who is basically just done with Vega’s crap but has to keep dealing with it no matter how much she wishes otherwise.
Which likely explains how nutty butty her little Robotic Sam self is since its a way to let off some steam! There’s also Vanessica Plandrews and Lil VeeJay…
One’s a fed up woman who just wants to get back to Earth and be declared alive again and trying NOT to throttle the ever loving Hell out of Vega while the other is a Human/Alien relations event gone horribly wrong bordering on the level of Eldritch Horrors. Right off the bat we readers see that Vega’s not that great of a guy and definitely not the best choice to represent Earth/Humanity out in Space, a lesson that repeatedly gets proven through out the story as we bear witness to all the screw ups Vega’s caused and keeps causing.
Essentially making him a Diplomatic Relations Nightmare and a lesson in what NOT to do. Usually, stories of Humanity and Outer Space is a theme of Exploration, Cooperation, and being a Shining Beacon of Awesome. HLHKIS is definitely not anywhere near that and Milton and Lang did it really well.
In a way, its kind of disappointing and serves to remind me why I don’t watch Family Guy/American Dad as you hope for the best but well… It just doesn’t quite happen. But in another way, its not that disappointing as this story serves as an ugly potential scenario of how Humanity could very well be if compassion and friendship weren’t at the forefront of things when expanding into Outer Space. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Vega’s actions led to all out war and given the over top nature this book has, even that would probably be on a level of absurdity. And given the current nature of Politics right now, it just feels really fitting that the President for Earth is a Clown Analog in this story.
Also serves as a reason for why you should read/listen to the entirety of a message before going off to do something that could cause Diplomatic problems. If you’re looking for something that doesn’t take itself too seriously and lessons aren’t learned like they should be and forgotten about like a tv show where continuity is fast and loose, He Lost His Keys In Space will definitely be for you.
He Lost His Keys In Space – Graphic Novel
Black Panel Press
Creators: Luke Milton and Lizzy Lang
Summary: Earth’s first and worst ambassador, Vega Ulysses, has freshly completed a tumultuous twelve-year mission of galactic diplomacy, paid off his mortgage, and can finally return home to Earth. There’s just one problem– he lost his keys in space!
Now, with his reluctant crew of outsiders in tow, Vega must retrace his steps, searching wild, diverse planets teeming with hostile aliens, silly robots, and rude cosmic entities– all forcing him to confront the havoc he has wreaked while haphazardly advancing Earth’s selfish, consumerist agenda.
A delirious take on sci-fi cartoons of the eighties, He Lost His Keys in Space reads like an entire animated series in a book. A darkly funny satire of the most ridiculed planet in the universe: Earth!
