Trish Trash: Rollergirl of Mars - The Collected Edition

Patricia can fix her uncle’s thresher faster than he can, but she’s got her heart set on more than being an indentured moisture labourer on Mars, producing water from the land; Trish wants to play in the local Roller Derby league. The coach sees Trish’s potential and offers her an intern contract, where she spends most of hr time mending the other girls’ shoes. Not exactly the dream.

Yet when Trish saves a native Martian from the freezing desert, the Martian pays her back by making her some amazing new skate shoes and giving Trish’s family a field of alien plants that mean their water production – and maybe the production of all water on Mars – will be changed forever. But does Arex – the government – want that? And will it change xenophobic Terran attitudes to the Native Martians?

This collection of Trish Trash: Rollergirl of Mars, issues 1-3, is a fascinating graphic novel, melding a dystopian Mars society with the popular American sport of women’s Roller Derby. Add to that the classic science fiction themes of colonising new planets, issues of xenophobia and environmental collapse with a talented, sporty engineer heroine and you’ve got a pretty absorbing teen read.