Venna’s Planet: Special Edition - Volume Two

Venna’s Planet, Special Edition: Volume Two picks up where Volume One leaves off. Our small group of friends, now being advanced upon from several directions by people with evil intentions, accept the aggressive hospitality of a planetary tribe known as the trakuviads - but cultural boundaries are overstepped, violence erupts and Venna finds herself escaping into a world of underwater tunnels infested with nightmarish amphibious monsters! However, her worst nightmare, in the shape of The Countess, is getting closer by the hour, and is compounded by another bitter enemy, Jylda, who has a personal grudge against our heroine. Fortunately, she is watched over by Geezur, the ever-faithful grumpy mutant, who, as always, expresses disapproval whenever too much human flesh is on show.

This second volume of Venna’s Planet, while being the same story as the previous collection of black and white strips, which was published under the title of Scorching Darkness, is - in addition to being presented now in full colour - a much-expanded version, with new scenes, previously unseen characters and a greatly revised script and backstory.

There is action, there is glamour, there are numerous fights and ray-gun battles, and there is Venna looking fabulous when her dress is (much to Geezur’s disdain) reduced to a few scraps of rag after she takes on half a dozen brutal alien tribesmen single handed, in attempt to protect one of her friends from a beating.

Even the kindly, gentle-natured Venna is pushed to the brink more than once in this book, and we see her at her most formidable, especially when they try to stretch her out on a sacrificial slab!

The characters introduced in Volume One - Venna, Geezur, Galo the Countess, of course... and not forgetting Clayton, Suhl, Marla, Jylda, Grust, Phileas Knullius, Clyg and Dortha - all return. This time we also meet the the trakuviad tribespeople, and H-AM-15H, the clocktronic artillery robot.

Created and illustrated by Robin Grenville Evans, Venna’s Planet, Special Edition: Volume Two is a modern-day masterpiece, a labour of love, and will make a cherished addition to the bookshelf of sci-fi enthusiasts, graphic novel lovers, and fans of stories from the golden age of comics.

Look out for the final volume of the series, scheduled for publication in 2025.