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jeriendhalIt's sometime in the early 21st century. Ten years years previously, the NASA Shuttle Venture was launched into orbit, and promptly dissapeared from radar without a trace. America gave up on the manned space program entirely, and the KSC now populated by a large gathering of poor and dispossessed people.
Then Venture comes home to land, with only one of her seven crewmembers aboard, covered in some form of translucent skin, and with Martian soil in her wheel wells.
If Ministry of Space was Ellis' jackboot in the face to British Imperialism and Uncle Werner's Conquest of Space, then the Orbiter graphic novel is his love letter to the dreamers of space, the ones who long to go, and know they'll never really have a chance. The three main protagonists, an ex-astronaut who flew on the last flight before Venture's ill-fated mission, a young wunderkind propulsion expert who dreams of ships he'll never fly in, and a psychologist who lived out vicarious adventures by recording astronauts' impressions of spaceflight, are all frustrated dreamers brought together to solve the mystery of the Venture. The only clues are the orbiter herself, and the catatonic astronaut found aboard her, who hasn't apparently aged for ten years, and suffers no ill-effects from apparently living in microgravity for all that time.
The story is short, about four issues, and the mystery isn't much of mystery for anyone who's read any sci-fi really. The enjoyment from the story will be watching the characters puzzle out the details, and realize that something absolutely wonderful is going on. The only sour note really comes from the Prop Box US Army general leading the investigation (and why Army? Would the Air Force or Homeland Security be more likely candidates?). He's basically there as a minor speedbump and an excuse to provide some sense of urgency to the proceedings, though he does get one good line where he basically asks why the hell they shouldn't be scared of something that kidnapped seven astronauts?
If you ever dreamed about space, only to dissapointed by the reality, then this book is worth reading.
Then Venture comes home to land, with only one of her seven crewmembers aboard, covered in some form of translucent skin, and with Martian soil in her wheel wells.
If Ministry of Space was Ellis' jackboot in the face to British Imperialism and Uncle Werner's Conquest of Space, then the Orbiter graphic novel is his love letter to the dreamers of space, the ones who long to go, and know they'll never really have a chance. The three main protagonists, an ex-astronaut who flew on the last flight before Venture's ill-fated mission, a young wunderkind propulsion expert who dreams of ships he'll never fly in, and a psychologist who lived out vicarious adventures by recording astronauts' impressions of spaceflight, are all frustrated dreamers brought together to solve the mystery of the Venture. The only clues are the orbiter herself, and the catatonic astronaut found aboard her, who hasn't apparently aged for ten years, and suffers no ill-effects from apparently living in microgravity for all that time.
The story is short, about four issues, and the mystery isn't much of mystery for anyone who's read any sci-fi really. The enjoyment from the story will be watching the characters puzzle out the details, and realize that something absolutely wonderful is going on. The only sour note really comes from the Prop Box US Army general leading the investigation (and why Army? Would the Air Force or Homeland Security be more likely candidates?). He's basically there as a minor speedbump and an excuse to provide some sense of urgency to the proceedings, though he does get one good line where he basically asks why the hell they shouldn't be scared of something that kidnapped seven astronauts?
If you ever dreamed about space, only to dissapointed by the reality, then this book is worth reading.
