Irwin Allen’s LOST IN SPACE - THE LOST ADVENTURES

Publishers: American Gothic Press

Original Teleplay: Carey Wilber

Adapted and Edited for Comics by: Holly Interlandi

Artist: Kostas Pantoulas

Lost in Space is back in comic book form. This time though, instead of original stories, this series adapts two written, but never filmed teleplays by Carey Wilber (who also wrote Star Trek’s ‘Space Seed’.) The first page of issue one is a nice little piece on Wilber and how AGP come to get the rights to these stories.

The second page is the first page of Wilber’s script to set up the issue.

Both of these are really nice touches.

Holly Interlandi has a nice note at the end of the issue, and she adapted Wilber’s script for the comic. I have no idea how much she added or if she did a straight adaptation, so my comments here will concern myself strictly with what is in the issue.

The best things is, this is without a doubt Lost in Space. The story has the LIS feel and style, and the characters are the ones we know and love. All the elements of a classics LIS episode are here, except for Doctor Smith in this first issue, and the ladies.

We have adventure, something mysterious going on and the ever present feeling of What The @#$*? that permeated each episode. Don’t forget the cliff hanger ending that led into each commercial.

This issue does a really good job of capturing the elements of a LIS episodes, even with the pacing and sudden jumps in story LIS was known for. It feels like the first act of a television episode going into the commercial.

Of course, all this should be a given because it is adapted from script written for the show. But that means nothing. How often do adaptations feel nothing like what they are based on? Ms. Interlandi did an excellent job.

The art is the weak point of this title. Pantoulas’s art isn’t bad, just uneven and weak at points and not as strong as it should be. Especially not for a licensed title where the characters have to look like the actors who portrayed them.

For the most part John Robinson looks like Guy Williams, Will like Billy Mummy. That isn’t the issue. Too often the characters look awkward, they are too stiff, a head or limb doesn’t look right. Anatomical, things look off a little too much.

Sometimes the art looks a little too rushed. Hopefully the second issue will show improvement.

This is Lost in Space and I will be getting the rest of the series.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
I think any Lost in Space fans need to hunt this down. It is a good read for Die Hards (like me) and for casual fans.

For new fans unfamiliar with Lost in Space, it might be a tougher sell. Since this is adapted from unproduced scripts, it is written with the mindset that people know these characters and the universe they inhabited.

RATING: 6.5