MINISTRY OF SPACE

Warren Ellis (Author), Chris Weston

(Illustrator), Image Comics (Publisher)

> Review by JOE TELL

Ministry of Space is a fascinating graphic novel that documents an alternate/what if? history following World War II. Warren Ellis delivers some of his best work with an excellent, conceptual story that resembles The Right Stuff. His inclusion of Winston Churchill and Dr. Wernher von Braun adds a sense of realism to this jolly good piece of historical fiction. The seamless blending of fact and fiction results in a narrative that is highly believable and realistic. The artwork of Chris Weston is beautifully intricate and highly convincing, so much so that you may believe his rockets and space ships actually exist. The coloring of Laura Martin is so vivid and realistic that the images jump off the pages. The Nazi V-2 rocket bomb and a British version of the United States secret project, Operation Paperclip, are used as a starting point to kick off a bloody good story about the post-war space race. The story is told through the eyes of a ruthless, egotistical pilot who lacks basic moral values. His life is consumed with a patriotic ambition to bring the British Empire back to its former glory. No expense is spared and nothing is considered sacred in the name of King and Country. British pioneering advances include launching the first manned spacecraft, building several operative space stations, landing on the moon in 1960, building a base on Mars in 1969 and even landing on Saturn. All of this groundbreaking innovation is funded by a black budget that is cloaked in mystery until the very end of the story. Ministry of Space is an imaginative page-turner that any history buff will have a hard time putting down.