Customer Reviews

Ministry of Space

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ever wonder what kind of world we would be living in if the American War for Independence failed? Perhaps ponder what would modern music sound like had Elvis Presley never walked into Sun Record Studios? We are only limited by our imagination when we conceive about such possibilities. With Ministry Of Space, Ellis invites the reader to an alternate reality where England employs Nazi rocket scientists to secure its prosperity and empire. The scenario is credible as to why The United States and The Soviet Union's achievements in space flight is in full lag when compared to Britain's. The reason is mainly due to the protagonist of the story, Sir John Dashwood, who lacks moral values and is as ruthless as the empire he serves. There is a revelation that should not be too surprising since it is hinted within the first issue that Dashwood is in the same category as Bayer, Mercedes, Hugo Boss, Ford and Switzerland.

Ellis shifts the story's timeline effectively throughout the script. The reader is given the backdrop in doses instead of the usual diarrhoea method that most writers employ when relating past events that led to the current outcome of the story. The flashback sequences does not affect the pacing whatsoever but rather enhances its drama. While the science-fiction aspect reminds me of what can be found in a Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon comic strip, I appreciate that Ellis bothered to make (fictional) reference to the men and their science behind the technology to make the fantastic plausible in our eyes. I also admire at how he manages to lend a sense of authenticity and regard to what presently appears to be out of man's grasp; Colonising other planets in our solar system.

The story may appear to be a wish fulfilment about Britain retaining its past glory but Ellis hammers the point that while England is enjoying the fruits of space travel and the establishment of off-world colonies, a segment of its empire will always be categorised as second class citizens. You may be the daughter of one of the first men to land on Mars as well as a qualified space pilot but if you are not male and (especially) Caucasian, rest assured that you will be segregated. The ethical ambiguity that is at the foundation of Dashwood's vision is really what makes Ellis' story a compelling one since it really emphasises the following question; Does the end justify the means?

The art work and overall production is the literal definition of drop dead gorgeous. Chris Weston's retro-futuristic designs of the uniforms, travelling devices and rocket ships is so highly intricate that one cannot help but think that the technology may be accurate (!).

Weston's realistic style is definitely on par with that of Brian Bolland. The background work is beautifully detailed but it is the sense of perception and depth with the forefront that makes this series a true artistic vision. The Mars landing scenario is totally breathtaking with its cinematic vision that I would dare to compare to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Weston's work on Enemy Ace: War In Heaven and The Invisibles is quite impressive but he has truly outdone himself on Ministry Of Space. Weston has now made my favourite Top 10 artist list!

Ministry Of Space is the graphic novel equivalent of Robert Harris' Fatherland with its original premise and grandiose theme. It will not revolutionise the North American market a la Dark Knight Returns or Watchmen because there are no costumes or powers but it proves that a writer can intelligently use the element of the fantastic to provoke not just a sense of wonder but that of thought.

What's your number one complaint about Warren Ellis? Mine is that he doesn't know how to pace his stories to adequately cover all the ideas be brings to the table. As a result, ripe plot points are glossed over, and the conclusion comes from nowhere, seemingly tacked on, and barely receiving enough space to explain it. MINISTRY OF SPACE is yet another victim of this approach, but unlike Orbiter or Ocean, it works a bit better. That's because this story is not a beat-the-clock adventure, but an alternate history overview, told in flashbacks that begin in World War II. So I guess as long as everything that Ellis writes from here on is in this genre, I have nothing to worry about.

In MINISTRY OF SPACE, the British reached Peenemunde ahead of the US Army and smuggled the German rocket scientists and technology to England, thereby expanding the British Empire into space. Now you may be asking: how could a Britain nearly bankrupted by WWII have funded this massive project? That's exactly what the British government is asking itself 60 years later, and the answer is just one of several historical twists that put a shadow on the glorious empire. The framing sequence of Ellis' story is set in 2001, focusing on Sir John Dashwood, one of the ministry's architects. Flashbacks highlight everything from putting the first man into Earth orbit to landing on Mars, with a few disasters thrown in for good measure. These are well-written segments, in the quick, high-adventure style of The Right Stuff. The final revelation and accompanying twists show that while this Britain certainly is a more industrious and effective explorer of space, there are downsides. Many other historical issues are briefly touched upon, especially in the final chapter, and I would have preferred some expansion here. It would have served the story well. And let's not forget artist Chris Weston, who ably brings the "Dan Dare" style mentioned in Ellis' afterword to the page. His blending of fighter plane design with rocket science leads to the production of some original and beautiful spacecraft. Weston is the perfect artist for this story... I just wish we could have seen more of it!

So buy this book, enjoy its three issues worth of material, and try not to mope too much when you finish it in an hour or so.

Giving Warren Ellis only three issues to tell an alternate-history version of the space race (involving the British, natch) means a very compressed story.

He did the same thing with Reload and with Red. Decent books that could have been monthlies or at least a few issues longer. But maybe that was his point in writing all of these over the past couple of years - a conscious rebelling against the drawn out minimum 6 part stories DC and Marvel seem to like for almost every current title they publish.

Regardless of the motivation or the execution, it is still an interesting story of one man involved in it all from the beginning. If you like other mainstream publisher things Ellis has done (for example, his run on Authority and/or Global Frequency) then you will like this. It's got all the trademark Ellis elements: hidden agendas, deep dark secrets, way cooler than you characters, and a bunch of snappy dialogue.

I read comics primarily for the writing, but this series deserves mention for the art as well. It is absolutely fantastic. I've loved everything Chris Weston has ever done (for example, The Invisibles or Filth) and this is simply wonderful to look at.

Ministry Of Space is the story of how one man has the ruthless drive and ambition to get the British to have a massive jump on space and space industry, and gain huge economic advantages. He also does see it as important to humans in general.

There is not much he would not do, or think of doing, to get this done. War, murder, espionage, betrayal, manipulation, blackmail, or whatever.

What he has sacrificed and done is revealed throughout the course of the book, horrifying those who find out, as he finally crumbles under the strain.

An interesting story with a somewhat thought provoking end. The art work was quite good too though perhaps not as good as Frank Quitely. Too bad this is the end of the story.

Warren Ellis is the type of writer who has no trouble coming up with interesting and entertaining ideas, but unfortunately, these often see print as overly compressed, poorly fleshed-out narratives that derive from his tendency towards overproduction. [Glance at any comic book store shelves at any month of the year and you're sure to see at least several titles authored by Ellis from several different publishers in several different genres.]

Ministry of Space is a good example of Ellis's strengths and weaknesses. The concept, a sort of post-modern adaptation of the classic British comic "Dan Dare", is certainly engaging and will evoke nostalgia in anyone who, as a child or teenager, admired the graceful swept-wing rocket ships that filled the pages of Atomic Age storybooks.

Unfortunately, the `shock' revelations that occupy the last few pages of MoS will fail to surprise most readers, whom I suspect will recognize where things are ultimately heading well in advance. Indeed, these final disclosures come across as so clumsy and ham-handed that they signal to me that Ellis opted for as facile a conclusion as he could conjure with a minimum of effort. Their net effect is to undermine what had, up till that moment, been an engrossing and well-realized tale of the near future.

The real pleasure in MoS comes from artist Chris Weston, an outstanding draftsman whose artwork supplies the high degree of realism the storyline mandates. He is the rare artist who is as adept at rendering human figures and facial features, as he is at rendering large metal spaceships and the bucolic British countryside. Weston's art is the reason that fans of space adventure and comic art should pick up MoS.

I thought "ministry of Space" was excellent, both the story and the artwork. The premise is simple - at the end of WWII, the British raided Peenemunde before the Americans got there, and spirited the German scientists out of that facility, and back to England. The British then begin an aggressive space program (which contrasts with America's lackluster effort in our own world - virtually no funding for NASA, and no real government support.) The British put men on Mars by 1969 (the same year the USA reached the moon.) There's a very nice suprise ending as well (which I won't give away here.) It answers the question of 'what's the downside of this marvellous space program?'

This is the future that you wish had happened. When the seeds of the modern world germinated into something quite different, something glorious, but tainted. Warren Ellis and Chris Weston take a simple 'What If?' premis, What if the Peenamunde Rocket Scientists had been taken by the British at the end of the 2nd World War. From that they create a spectacular ( seemingly naive )confection of British technological derring do, a beautiful homage to Frank Hampsons Dan Dare and a ripping yarn that waits until it's very last pages to pull the rug from under us.

A small perfect jewel of a comic.

Title: Ministry of Space
Publisher: Image
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artists: Chris Weston (pencils, inks), Laura Martin (colors)
Collects: Ministry of Space #1-3
Price: $12.95

I'm not sure, but this title, originally collected in trade format in 2004, may be out of print, now. It is one of those books that perked my interest when it first came out but I never got the chance to read it. I happened to see it on a list of favorite TPBs on Amazon.com the other day, and it got me thinking about it once again. I sent in a request for an inter-library loan to get my hands on a copy and was thrilled to have it come in just a week later. I'm glad I finally got the chance to read it, as the book is a nice change of pace from my usual fare, and the story is interesting and well-written, too.

For those who have never heard of the book or aren't familiar with it, I'll give you a brief description: This book focuses on post WWII Great Britain. The story is an alternate history book that presents a sort of "What If..." story of British soldiers taking control of space before anyone else - with the help of German scientists who they emancipated/captured from their research facilities in Germany at the close of the war. The story centers around one person - Air Commodore John Dashwood - and his single-minded drive to catapult Great Britain into the space age before anyone else. The story covers the timeline from 1945 all the way to the beginning of the 21st century. In those years, Great Britain not only launches the first satellite into space, they also land the first man on the moon, build the first space station, and eventually go on to colonize Mars. All the while, the secret and dirty methods used to fund and drive the program are hidden in the deepest files and vaults.

Some may not enjoy this type of story. Certainly, there are no super heroes to be found, here, and the story is much more realistic than most stories you find on the shelves these days, but I really liked the angle of the story, and the art is very good as well. Chris Weston is not a name I'm familiar with. His art style reminds me quite a bit of Dave Gibbons crossed with Mike Perkins. All artwork is highly detailed and colored well by Laura Martin. No complaints at all in that area.

Give the book a try if you're a sci-fi fan or a history fan and take a look at Warren Ellis' vision of what might have been had things turned out just a bit differently 60 years ago.

Writing: 8/10
Artwork: 8/10
Cool Factor: 8/10
Overall 8/10

The space race, the first man in space and the first man to set foot on the moon. Events from decades ago that, despite being great accomplishments, have seemingly fallen by the wayside and become somewhat forgotten today. Imagine that at the end of World War II the German scientists, led by Dr. Wernher von Braun, had went over to the British instead. Imagine that nation, its empire fading into history, using those scientists to extend that empire into space and changed history in the process. That intriguing premise takes proverbial flight in the graphic novel Ministry of Space.

On the writing side is Warren Ellis. Beginning at the end of World War II and stretching across the next fifty-five years, Ellis blends fact and fiction together to bring to life this vision of how humanity's first steps to stars might have taken place. To do this, Ellis focuses the story very much on one man: Sir John Dashwood, the RAF officer who becomes the founding father of the Ministry. Through him, the reader witnesses the history of the Ministry: its launching of the first artificial satellite, Dashwood becoming the first man in space, the founding of the Royal Space Force, Britain establishing the first space station, the first landings on the Moon and Mars and more. Dashwood also interacts with some notable historical figures along the way including British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Dr. Wernher von Braun. Yet as great as all those accomplishments are there's a devastating secret and the heart of it all that could destroy Dashwood and his Ministry which builds as the novel goes along. Ellis also asks an important question as well: what good are all these accomplishments if everyone can't benefit from them? That question, like the secret at the heart of the Ministry, builds as the novel goes along and comes crashing home in the final pages. The result is not just a intriguing alternate history of space exploration but a thought-provoking read at the same time.

On the visual side of Ministry Of Space is artist Chris Weston and colorist Lauren Martin. They bring Ellis vision to life by mixing the historical and the retro-futuristic together. The historical can be found mostly in the earlier parts of the novels time-line, especially in the sections from 1945 to 1950 in the first chapter. From then on, the novel becomes a mix of the two elements as our history and the novels history begin to diverge from one another. Throughout the novel the art work as an almost cinematic quality to it that owes much to the classic 1983 film The Right Stuff as can be seen in sequences where Dashwood becomes the first man in space, the panels on page five of chapter two and during the first landing on Mars. As a result, the artwork helps the story move at quite a pace as it travels across time and space.

Yet the biggest flaw of the novel actually lies in that fact. Ellis keeps switching the story back and forth between an elder Dashwood's 2001 journey to a meeting on a space station and the accomplishments of the past. Ellis tries to do this with a character saying something to Dashwood that triggers a memory and then flash back to 2001 and then once again into the past. This plot device doesn't work more often then not and the results can be rather jarring at times. There are times when it does work such as the aforementioned panels on page five of chapter two for example. For the most part though, the transitions prove to be more of a distraction then a help.

Despite the flaw in its ability to move back and forth between time periods, Ministry Of Space makes for an intriguing read nevertheless. Warren Ellis gives a story that gives us an alternate, but perhaps not always better, history of space exploration while artist Chris Weston and colorist Lauren Martin give the story a cinematic quality with one foot in the historical and the other foot in the retro-futuristic. The overall result is a thought provoking tale that looks at what might have been and the people who would taken part in it.