Comic Review: Ministry of Space by Warren Ellis & Chris Weston

Editor's Note: Already broke my promise to have a video once a week. O well, here is a nice review instead.

When you ask someone for an example of alternate history in comics they will likely suggest Watchmen, but Ministry of Space (written by Warren Ellis and art by Chris Weston) is a close second. This 2005 Sidewise Award winning graphic novel is well known throughout the alternate history community, but does it still hold up today?

In Ministry of Space, our story begins in 2001 with the news that the Americans are about to launch into space. Retired Royal Air Force officer, Sir John Dashwood, has to take a trip into orbit to Churchill Station to discuss an announcement the Americans are threatening to make if the British won't allow them into orbit with the Royal Space Force. As our story progresses, we get flashbacks on how Dashwood conceived of the plan to capture all of the German rocket scientists at Peenemünde and use them to give Britain a monopoly on space travel. Prime Minister Winston Churchill is at first reluctant to back Dashwood's plan, but eventually agrees to it and creates the "Ministry of Space" which is funded by a "black budget".

The British soon break the sound barrier (1946) and put the first satellite into space (1948). Dashwood himself becomes the first man in space (1950) after flying a rocketplane into orbit, although his plane crashes and he loses his legs in the process (but gets a knighthood, so it wasn't a complete waste). As time goes on we see the British Empire expand across the solar system, but all of the progress is called into question when the truth about the black budget is revealed and, without spoiling anything, Dashwood defiantly declares that it doesn't matter since Britain was given the stars.

Ministry of Space is worth a read if you haven't checked it out already. The design of Britain's space technology has a Jet Age sort feel to it and the story sort of captures the optimistic belief of that era that technology will make things better from everyone. The story, however, also highlights the dark side of the Age, since those stories often assume that the cultural/societal status quo will stay the same. In both the art and dialogue, we catch subtle ways the story-tellers are trying to tell us that this is not an idyllic timeline (i.e. the "Non-White Woman" quarters on Churchill station). In some ways Ministry of Space is trying to tell us that progress has a cost and we often forget those who had to suffer to create our present.

That all being said, Ministry of Space does have its issues. They seem to imply early on that the United States was keeping the secret of nuclear weapons from the British, despite the fact that Britain participated in the Manhattan Project in our timeline. Additionally, Bruce Munro in his take on the graphic novel also suggested that the British would have needed the helps of alien space bats to get as far as they did in this alternate timeline.

Despite the implausibilities, the Ministry of Space is a good looking comic with a strong message about how the world came to be what it is that resonates with this timeline as well. I was happy to finally read it and I think you will be too.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Review: Southern Cross: Annuit Coeptis by Dorvall and Philip Renne

American Civil War alternate histories are a dime a dozen. It has become hard to bring something new and fresh to the concept, but I think the good folks at Sekwana Comics have made a good start with their graphic novel Southern Cross: Annuit Coepti, volume one in the CSA Confederate States of America series. Written by Dorvall and illustrated by Philip Renne, the series will showcase the post-war world where the South won the Civil War, without the aid of alien space bats. But does Volume 1 hold up?

At the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee takes Longstreet's advice for the third day of battle turning Gettysburg into the ultimate Confederate victory. Washington is captured, Lincoln is overthrown in a coup led by McClellan, large swatches of Union territory is ceded to the Confederacy and free blacks who fought for the North are marched south to be sold into slavery. We see this from the point of view of various historical figures and four fictional characters who are implied to have larger roles as the series progresses.

I don't want to give to much of the plot away since the book is only 64 pages long. I was impressed by their ambitious plan to tell a pure alternate history in comic form, which is something you don't see often since most alternate history comics either involve superheroes or steampunk. There is a suggestion that someone is influencing events, but I am holding out hope that is not time travelers or other such ASB hand-waving. The illustrations by Renne were really good and captured the stark reality of war in mid 19th century. I also liked how the Confederacy was protrayed as being disorganized during the war, which is something even more traditional histories fail to grasp.

All that being I had a lot of issues with the scenario in general. Victory at the Battle of Gettysburg has become cliche and even some historians suggest that a Confederate victory would not have won the war for them. The Union would still have its defenses around Washington, their armies in the west and central Confederacy and their navy blockading southern ports. In Southern Cross, the Confederate victory completely destroys the Union's will to fight and they meekly surrender everything to the South. Considering the South only wanted independence, conquering the North just doesn't sound plausible. Even McClellan's coup is implausible and it is more believable that his bid to run for President in 1864 would have been successful with a loss at Gettysburg, followed by a negotiated peace where the South gains their independence with little loss to Union territories.

I did like the multi-dimensional characters and Nathan Bedford Forrest looks to be morphing into the series main antagonist. I found the female abolitionist to be a straw man (or would it be straw woman?) when it came to discussions about slavery and the reasons the Union was fighting. I also thought Dorvall confused Lincoln's pragmatism toward slavery as he strove to get elected as having no strong opinion toward abolition. You have to look at this entire life for a better picture of his views on the subject.

Despite my issues with the overall scenario and some of the characters, I found Southern Cross to be a good start for this pure alternate history comic series. There are so few of this type out there that it would be shame if this remains the only one of its kind.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new short story "Road Trip" can be found in Forbidden Future: A Time Travel Anthology. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.