Ministry of Space

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Ministry of Space is a three-part alternate history mini-series written by Warren Ellis, originally published in three issues by Image Comics, starting in 2001.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Publication history 3 Plot 4 Afterword 5 Awards 6 References

[edit] Overview

The story is set in an alternate history where soldiers and operatives of the United Kingdom reached the German rocket installations at Peenemunde ahead of the U.S. Army and the Soviets, and brought all the key personnel and technology to England, in a mirror of the real world's Operation Paperclip. Thus is created the Ministry of Space, whose mission is to develop British space technology and establish a firm foothold in space for Queen and Empire.

The book's art is by Chris Weston, and depicts retro technology in a believably 'British' style.

Elements of social commentary are present throughout the book, as is typical of Ellis' work, while the drama of the story is found in the lives of the first pioneers of space exploration (as in The Right Stuff). This social commentary is disguised in a snippet of dialogue here and a background detail in the art elsewhere, relying upon the readers' own observations to bring it to light.

[edit] Publication history

First intended for publication in 2001 the last issue finally saw print in 2004, three years late.

[edit] Plot

The narrative moves back and forth between the last days of World War II, the first few years of the British Space Programme, and the year 2001. The British have captured and relocated to England all the scientists and equipment found in Peenemunde, among them Dr. Wernher von Braun and the plans and pieces of the V-2 rocket bomb. All of this is masterminded by a Royal Air Force officer, John Dashwood, survivor of the Battle of Britain, who manages to convince Winston Churchill to establish the Ministry of Space and fund it with a black budget. The following years see British pilots breaking the sound barrier, building a space station, landing on the Moon, and beyond. The story set in 2001 involves an American attempt to go into space, and their blackmailing of the British government concerning the secrets of the Black Budget that funded the Ministry of Space.

[edit] Afterword

Ellis speaks of how the Ministry of Space came to be. While converting his attic into a library, he found a lost, forgotten copy of Dan Dare: The Man From Nowhere. In the fifties, this was science fiction. Now, it has the feel of alternate history.^[1]

[edit] Awards

The series won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History (short form) in 2005.

[edit] References

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