Neotopia

"Neotopia" is a comic book series written and drawn by Rod Espinosa, and published by Antarctic Press. It is set some 800 years after the rise of a movement which tried to destroy the capitalist system and build a new, better world; hence the title's name, 'Neotopia'. The Neotopia series is divided into five miniseries, each consisting of between three and five issues. As such, the stories are easy to digest.

Characters

Nalyn--Supposedly the Grand Duchess of Mathenia, she is secretly a maid playing the role, mainly because the real Duchess, Nyladania, is arrogant, lazy, and a terrible diplomat.

Philios--An inventor who is fascinated with the industrial past, he tries to modify ancient machines to make them more environment-friendly. He and Nalyn often argue about the subject--Nalyn believes the past should stay where it is.

Nimn--Nimn is a Faerie, one of Nalyn's closest friends, and one of two that knows she isn't the real Duchess.

Ki-Ek--A Dalphinii dolphin, gifted with telepathy and telekinetics, Ki-Ek is the only being besides Nimn that knows of Nalyn's secret. Marro--An elf, a member of the Bodyguard Elite, the Grand Duchess's personal guard. He and Philios don't always get along well.

Sergeant Tinbolt--another member of the Bodyguard Elite, he is the last surviving Orgot, a type of robot. He is getting older, and tends to forget things, but is still an excellent fighter.

Monti--a Chiropterian, one of Philios's best friends, he is a recently retired royal pilot, and now serves only Nalyn.

Professor Felder--He is a Tridactylian and the Grand Duchess's teacher. He noticed a change in the Duchess's attitude toward her lessons a while back--when Nyladania switched with Nalyn. However, he still isn't aware of the switch.

ynopsis

By the time of the story, Neotopia is long gone, but other nations have sprung up. The comics follow a conflict between Mathenia, which follows the precepts of the Neotopians, and Krossos, which is a dystopian industrial dictatorship, ruled by the Lord Emperors (a group of inhuman-looking men).

In this world, the change in humanity has resulted in the emergence (or in some cases, "re"-emergence) of various nonhuman civilizations, such as wood-elves, chiropterans (large bats), Dalphinii dolphins, and Tridactylians (aliens).

The story begins with Princess Nalydania, a woman who orders her serving girl, Nalyn, to impersonate her at all public functions, including lessons. She then leaves to attend an important ball in another country. The land of Krossos declares war on Mathenia, and attempts to kidnap the look-alike Nalyn whom they mistake for the actual Princess Nalydania (a la The Prince and the Pauper or The Man in the Iron Mask). Nalyn escapes with the help of a motley collection of friends, and goes on the run, looking for allies in the war.

In her travels, Nalyn and her friends meet many civilizations, including a race of humanoid hyena corsairs, the utopian island of Eriden, and a queendom of amazons on the island of Eriland (due to the intervening years, names have changed - it is implied that this is in fact Ireland).

In the final issue, Nalyn and her friends and allies attack Krossos' fortress capital. Within it, they find gold in incredible amounts, patents to all known devices, and the deeds to the entire world. They also find the Lord Emperors of Krossos - who it is revealed are actually men who forsook their humanity in order to gain 'perfect' bodies through technology. Desperate, they offer Nalyn a share of their wealth - 40% of the world, as well as technological immortality - only to discover that she set fire to their library of patents and deeds on the way in. She offers them a choice - surrender and let the old world die, or refuse and die themselves. They refuse, and she leaves, ordering her forces to shell the palace. They are never seen again.

Based on the epilogue, everyone involved in the story lived, surprisingly, happily ever after.

Political stance

The story of 'Neotopia' is decidedly socialist. Its portrayal of the final days of the old world, and most notably of its greatest empire, Elyssion, is harsh. In a series of monologues written from the viewpoint of the Mathenians, Espinosa touches on such issues as capitalist oligarchy, pollution, the lack of community in large cities, slave labour, gender bias, and cruelty to animals and children.