Next Exit is an American manga-influenced comic series created by the comic artist Christy Lijewski. It is her first running series starring the two characters Millicent Retrab (the girl with the map) and Markesh (travelling companion and muito-mysteriouso Alchemist) in their quest to try to escape from the world of Akaline, a plane inhabited by people, figments, shadows, demons, and dolls (all in the most literal sense of the words). The world involves many SciFi aspects, such as alchemy and organic cyber-kinetic dolls, as well as fantasy, such as dragons, talking animals, and magical apparitions. The world also seems to be multilingual (languages resembling if not being Japanese and Korean appear in art throughout the series). The series is currently up to issue 10, and volume 1 (a collection of six periodicals) hit bookshelves June 2006. Characters Main Millicent Retrab The comic centers on her and her friend and travelling companion Markesh, trying to find an exit from the dreamworld Alkaline. The mainstory line of Next Exit is a chain of events started when Retrab wins an Exit Map, one of the most valuable and rare artifacts of Alkaline, in a high-stakes chess game. Retrab lead an abusive childhood in the real world, where she was often the victim of her mother's carelessness and anger. She was very close to her little brother Tony, who she was often left alone to take care of. He died when he fell from the balcony of their apartment while Retrab's mother was out. She blames herself for this, a feeling which was doubled by the blame and punishment of her mother. She became increasingly unstable mentally and was place on an unknown but probably fictional medication for her instability, and eventually attempted suicide by overdosing on them, and it is unknown whether or not this killed her, although it is almost definitely the event that took her to Akaline. Some amount of time after this she met Markesh, and spent most of the past few years with him in Alkaline, although she knows virtually nothing about his past. Markesh Arcadia Markesh is a skilled alchemist, and has a mysterious past. His partner (the female protagonist) is Retrab. Together the two seek escape from Alkaline, the world of dream-stuff. Although he is a printed character by Slave Labor Graphics He and Retrab made the first public appearance as the stars of Christy Lijewski's runner