Then one day a young woman makes a break for freedom and escapes into the outside world.
Free from the restrictions of the dome and the need to wear much in the way of clothing Axa sets off on a series of adventures, driven by an incurable wanderlust and a refusal to be anybody's puppet.
Axa gets tooled up.
Axa was introduced into Britain's "The Sun" newspaper in 1978 and quickly proved a big hit. The series ran until 1986 before being cancelled mid-adventure although the sword-swinging blonde would also appear in a miniseries for America's Eclipse Comics as well as publications in Spain and Sweden.
Considering the limitations of the three-panel set up and the time period creators Donne Avenell and Romero managed to create a surprisingly thoughtful merger of Post-Apocalypse sci-fi and fantasy. "Logans Run" meets "Red Sonja" basically.
So it is a bit of a shame that Axa tends to be remembered as "Blonde bird with a sword. Got her tits out a lot."
Blatant fanservice aside, some of Axa's adventures were nothing but inventive.
Screw Science. We want Dinosaurs.
While Axa did spend an awful lot of time lounging about in a state of decorative undress she could be downright fierce when she wanted to be.
Axa fights a giant ant.
Axa fights a woman with a perm.
And a tree-mutant ...thing. While naked.
From time to time she would travel in company with some bloke or another who were mainly there to act as an anchor to Axa's free-spirited ways. Invariably they would part company, choosing to settle down once they'd found somewhere to their liking or a new girlfriend that didn't keep dragging them into mortal peril. Meanwhile Axa would shrug her shoulders and head on out over the next hill. 
I loved this series when I was a kid, for all the reasons that you'd expect, but Axa did always have more going for it than boobs. The heroine was brave, passionate, always willing to take on injustice and even in her dumber moments remained likeable.
So maybe this is a strip that deserves more respect.
There were a series of paperbacks collecting the freedom-loving blonde's adventures.
Volume 1.
The Beginning - Axa makes her escape and acquires a fur bikini and a sword.
The Chosen - Axa meets her first non-dome people. In something of an ongoing theme, they have certain customs that prove actively dangerous.
Volume 2
The Desired - Axa arrives on an island of rich bastards then has a run in with an undersea city full of man-hating feminists.
Volume 3
The Brave - The one with the dinosaurs. It makes sense in context.
The Gambler - Axa arrives in Post -Apocalypse Las Vegas. Which has managed to get even more rapacious.
Volume 4
The Earthbound - The one with the killer tree. Also makes sense in context.
The Tempted - Axa deals with pirates and a charming nobleman who's too good to be true.
Volume 5
The Eager -Axa meets a tribe of tree-dwellers on the verge of crisis.
The Carefree- Axa arrives at a mountain city full of artists. Unfortunately, so does an old foe.
Volume 6
The Dwarfed - Adventures in an unusual garden. The title is a bit of a clue.
The Untamed - Axa makes friends with a horse and falls out with some Gypsies.
Volume 7
The Mobile - Axa has a go at being a racing driver. Yes, really.
The Unmasked- A tale of illusions, masks and alien spacecraft.
Volume 8
The Castaway - Axa gets shipwrecked and meets a boy raised by apes.
The Seeker - Another story where somewhere perfect has a nasty secret.
Volume 9
The Escapist, The Starstruck, The Betrayed. - No idea what these are about as I haven't read them. Sorry. May possibly involve casual nudity.
Good luck finding a copy of any of these.
It maybe says a lot about the enduring appeal of Axa that not only has a film been mooted but there's now a computer game!
So perhaps there's more adventures yet for the blonde with the big...heart and the broadsword.
follow my blog please! :(
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