- airmen in T-shirts.
- scientists in lab coats.
- chimps.
Musings about some of my favorite fantasy literature for young readers, comics old and new, the peculiar publishing industry, the future of books, kids today, and the writing process.
04 December 2008
Second in Reading Pile
First in Space, by James Vining, was the other graphic novel published in 2007 about an animal used in an early space program--the better-known one being Nick Abadzis's Laika. Both were carefully researched by their creators, as the First in Space website shows. After I'd launched my thoughts on Laika, I decided to check out this book as a contrast.
First in Space focuses on a young chimpanzee named Ham. He was the first chimp in space, but not the first animal, nor the first NASA animal, nor the first animal to return safely. But I guess First Great Ape or Hominid to Return from Space wouldn't work as well as a title.
Abadzis's art for Laika is in color, but almost entirely drab, given the Soviet setting. In contrast, this black-and-white comic is almost glaringly sunny. Vining's style seems to owe a lot to cartoons of the period. He makes a stalwart attempt to keep all the characters distinct, but is somewhat undercut by the story's military and engineering cast. The main characters pretty much break down into three uniform groups:
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