critical establishment," he stated. Despite much of the comic having been partially inspired by children's stories such as The Wizard of Oz, he believes that the dialogue strikes a chord in both adults and children, as with the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. At the suggestion of his fans, Crilley created a series of issues that takes place on Earth. He had Akiko's friends from Smoo crash land in rural Japan, and he thus hoped to possibly enlighten some readers about Japanese culture. The last issue of Akiko was published in February 2004. On Mark Crilley's blog, he stated that the comic had gone out of production. He continued to write novels in the Akiko book series, with the tenth and final novel released in 2008. In 2004–2005, he created a new book series about extraterrestrials, Billy Clikk; and in 2007 he created the four-issue manga series, Miki Falls. Children's book series The first four books borrow their storylines from the comics (detailing Akiko and her team's quest to rescue Prince Froptoppit from the sorceress Alia Rellapor), while the others introduce original plot lines. In Akiko: The Training Master, Akiko is somewhat older and drawn to resemble a teenager rather than a child. Some reviewers referred to the books as a fun adventures appropriate for younger readers, with some describing them as being free of gender and racial bias. Plot The first book, Akiko on the Planet Smoo, begins when 10-year-old name Akiko is removed from Earth and brought to Planet Smoo because its King Froptoppitt believes she can save his son. There, Akiko is introduced to her fellow questers (Mr. Beeba, Poog, Spuckler Boach, and Gax). The next three books depict a series of adventures, arguments, mishaps, and exotic alien places, creatures, characters, and food, until they reach Alia Rellapor's castle. The next three books contain further adventures (Akiko and the Alpha Centauri 5000 centered on Spuckler while Akiko and the Journey to Toog focuses on Poog's backstory) but Akiko always begins and ends the novel on Earth. In Akiko: The Training Master, set some years later, Akiko and her friends attend a special academy to become official guardians of the Planet Smoo. Publications Comics Akiko on the Planet Smoo (one-shot) The Menace of Alia Rellapor (issues 1-18) (Collected in Vols. 1-3) The Story Tree (issues 19-25) (Collected in Vol. 4) Bornstone's Elixir (issues 26-31) (Collected in Vol. 5)