Cosmonauts of the Future v3 cover detail header for Pipeline review
|

Cosmonauts of the Future v3: “Resurrection”

The third and final volume in the series goes full rock ’em/sock ’em action/adventure!

Future Credits Await!

Cosmonauts of the Future v3 cover by Manu Larcenet and Brigitte Findakly
Writer: Lewis Trondheim
Artist: Manu Larcenet
Colorist: Brigitte Findakly
Lettering: Sylvain Dumas and Cromatik Ltd.
Translator: Mercedes Claire Gilliom
Published by: Dargaud/Europe Comics
Number of Pages: 48
Original Publication: 2004

Catching Up With Old Friends

Manu Larcenet draws an establishing shot of a space station for Cosmonauts in Trouble v3

It’s a couple years after “Cosmonauts of the Future” volume 2.  Gildas and Martina are still on the ship with Nikad, Gaelle, and Professor Vater when they come across a space station.

Inside the space station, they discover a tourist trap dedicated to their own lives.  This, needless to say, freaks them out.  It freaks out the people running the station to see them, also, and a 15 page action sequence ensues. It’s a real page turner, because the action never stops and the situation only gets worse as they go along. A simple running chase turns into a car chase and a spaceship battle. It’s a great a case of escalating action.

Manu Larcenet draws a car chase in Cosmonauts of the Future v3

It’s as creative, as adventurous, and as hair-raising as your standard car chase action romp that you might find in the pages of a Chuck Dixon Batman comic.

It sets the tone for this book right off the bat.  There’s a high concept of why everyone in the universe thinks their lives are interesting and a lot of people seem to be cosplaying as them.  Then, there’s the action scene.  This book has plenty of both of those things.

Thus begins an investigation into just when and where they are, and why is it that they are stars of the universe?  And in a world where cloning is illegal, despite being the O.G.s of the universe, are they in grave danger?

Of course they are. There’s your dramatic tension!

Manu Larcenet draws a space ship chase scene in Cosmonauts of the Future v3

We meet several new frenemies along the way who promise to help and guide them, but who might not be all they’re cracked up to be. We also meet a couple old friends and get a better glimpse of how their lives went since Gildas and Martina’s original ship crash.

What starts as a nifty science fiction/fantasy mystery quickly warps itself into something larger and crazier, leading to all sorts of antics.

It’s a great wrap-up to the series.  Now that we know the characters, we know a little bit about what to expect with their characterization, and we’re more invested in them.  We’ve read two of their books already, so we’re prone to like them if we’re sitting here reading the third.  That helps to raise the stakes even further.

The Drawing Exercises of Manu Larcenet

I was going to say that this book is just a continuation of the same great job Manu Larcenet did in the first two books and leave it at that, but there’s more here.

For starters, he’s aged Gildas and Martina just a bit. We know what their fate and their future looks like.  We’ve seen that picture in an earlier volume.  They’re nowhere near that yet, but they do look just a slight bit older in this book, like they’re entering their teenaged years. Gilas looks a little bigger. Marina is dressing a hair older, with her mid-riff just peeking out.

The kids of Cosmonauts of the Future are starting to grow up.

And, then, given the plot line of the book, we see Larcenet draw even older versions of both characters, as well as variations on them.  It’s a lot of fun to see the variations.  Larcenet easily distinguishes between them with subtle changes in his art.  For a book that look so cartoony and simple as this, that’s impressive.

As tricky as that might be, drawing car chase scenes is an even more daunting task for comic artists. Think back to all of the outstanding car chase scenes you’ve read in comics.

It’s OK. I’ll wait.

Not too many come to mind, do they? There was a Peter David/John Buscema issue of the Hulk. Greg Rucka wrote one in a Batman title once with Rick Burchett on art. Now that I’ve come up blank, I bet ten of you will remind me of European albums I’ve reviewed with great sequences in them…

Car chases are tough to draw. They’re difficult to film for a movie or TV show, but with proper planning they’re do-able. (Let’s all go watch “Ronin” again! I’ll also sit down for “The Rock.”)

The car chase scene in this book is only a small part of a larger action sequence that goes all over the place, but it works well. You get lost in the moment and understand everything that’s going on, including the collision in mid-air. It’s just a great sequence, and Manu Larcenet deserves extra credit for that one.

Recommended?

Cosmonauts of the Future v3 cover by Manu Larcenet and Brigitte Findakly

Yes! If you’ve come this far in the series, it’s a bit of a no brainer. This book is different from the first two, but maintains the twists and the humor that are the trademarks of the series.  It leans a bit more towards the action side of things, but that’s a lot of the fun.

Buy It Now


What do YOU think? (First time commenters' posts may be held for moderation.)

2 Comments

  1. One of my all time favorite series. I actually optioned Cosmonauts from Trondheim for an animated feature film back 2005 but couldn’t manage to sell it. Studios told me that animated children’s movies couldn’t star children which sounded ridiculous even back then. We did a 2 minute animation test that this review inspires me to try and find. I still think the series would make a great movie. I had planned to fight tooth and nail to preserve the twist somehow as I always suspected a marketing team would give it away in the trailers.

    1. Unfortunately, you’re right. There’s no way the whole point of that first book would be kept a secret. You’d have to construct it in such a way that you could have it both ways and — yeah, the comic version would still be SO much better. Still, I’m sorry it didn’t sell. I’d definitely watch it.

      I’m surprised that they didn’t want kids in the movie, though. I thought usually the problem was usually the opposite, with studios wanting nothing but kids. That’s crazy. But, hey, that’s Hollywood for you, right?

      If you find that animation test, don’t forget to share it with the rest of the class. We want to see it now, for sure!