As we approach the sixtieth annivesary of the first man to go into space, Spaced Design brings us a “graphic story” of the events leading up to that momentous journey.
Yuri's Day: The Road to the Stars by Andrew King, Peter Hodkinson and Piers Bizony tells the story of Yuri Gragarin from rural farmboy to space pioneer and his trip into space in Vostok on 12th April, 1961. It also follows the life of Sergei Korolev, architect of the Vostok spacecraft, from his brutal treatment in one of Stalin's Siberian gulags, to mastermind of Russia's rocket program.
The black and white artwork is simple and perfunctory though technically accurate. It serves the story well which itself follows events in a strictly chronological order. Taken altogether, the books 64 pages work well as a documentary narrative and is packed with lots of information, much of which I didn't know. It is not really a comic story or drama though; the short length means we never dig deep enough into the lives of the protagonists to form any emotional bond to them. It is however a powerful document of a world-changing event that was for so long shrouded in secrecy from the West.
If you enjoy the comic documentary form, or are a space geek like me, then this book could be for you. It is a fascinating and little-explored period of history and deserves to be known. Find out more here.
Yuri's Day: The Road to the Stars by Andrew King, Peter Hodkinson and Piers Bizony tells the story of Yuri Gragarin from rural farmboy to space pioneer and his trip into space in Vostok on 12th April, 1961. It also follows the life of Sergei Korolev, architect of the Vostok spacecraft, from his brutal treatment in one of Stalin's Siberian gulags, to mastermind of Russia's rocket program.
The black and white artwork is simple and perfunctory though technically accurate. It serves the story well which itself follows events in a strictly chronological order. Taken altogether, the books 64 pages work well as a documentary narrative and is packed with lots of information, much of which I didn't know. It is not really a comic story or drama though; the short length means we never dig deep enough into the lives of the protagonists to form any emotional bond to them. It is however a powerful document of a world-changing event that was for so long shrouded in secrecy from the West.
If you enjoy the comic documentary form, or are a space geek like me, then this book could be for you. It is a fascinating and little-explored period of history and deserves to be known. Find out more here.
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