The Conquest of the Cosmos
Will be published approx. on 25. August 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-2-925114-61-1 (ISBN)
Description
A wild ride into the depths of outer space and the heights of hubris!
October 4, 1957: The launch of Sputnik—a piece of orbital space junk that goes “beep beep”—kicks off a battle for celestial supremacy between the USSR and the USA, rival superpowers armed with massive rockets, galaxy-sized egos, and zero chill. Over the course of a decade, scientists, politicians, and regular folks on both sides of the Iron Curtain grapple with the big questions: How do you convince a dog to volunteer for a one-way trip into orbit? Wouldn’t it be easier to just fake the whole “moon landing” thing in a movie studio? And how are we supposed to sell commemorative T-shirts and coffee mugs if we don’t get a sweet logo designed ASAP?
Writer Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau (Vampire Cousins) and artist Francis Desharnais (Art Wars) blast off on a ridiculous, irreverent, and utterly un-factual journey through the twists and turns of the Space Race. Across a series of hilarious episodes, the duo takes aim at the excesses of capitalism, the dark side of communism, and the questionable wisdom of launching billions of dollars into the void. The Conquest of the Cosmos is a withering satire of politics, ideology, and human ambition that couldn’t be more relevant to our current moment.
Fans of Tom Gauld, Kate Beaton, and Monty Python will delight in the deadpan humour and minimalist illustrations in this biting comedy!
Winner of the BDGest'Arts Award for Best Comic!
October 4, 1957: The launch of Sputnik—a piece of orbital space junk that goes “beep beep”—kicks off a battle for celestial supremacy between the USSR and the USA, rival superpowers armed with massive rockets, galaxy-sized egos, and zero chill. Over the course of a decade, scientists, politicians, and regular folks on both sides of the Iron Curtain grapple with the big questions: How do you convince a dog to volunteer for a one-way trip into orbit? Wouldn’t it be easier to just fake the whole “moon landing” thing in a movie studio? And how are we supposed to sell commemorative T-shirts and coffee mugs if we don’t get a sweet logo designed ASAP?
Writer Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau (Vampire Cousins) and artist Francis Desharnais (Art Wars) blast off on a ridiculous, irreverent, and utterly un-factual journey through the twists and turns of the Space Race. Across a series of hilarious episodes, the duo takes aim at the excesses of capitalism, the dark side of communism, and the questionable wisdom of launching billions of dollars into the void. The Conquest of the Cosmos is a withering satire of politics, ideology, and human ambition that couldn’t be more relevant to our current moment.
Fans of Tom Gauld, Kate Beaton, and Monty Python will delight in the deadpan humour and minimalist illustrations in this biting comedy!
Winner of the BDGest'Arts Award for Best Comic!
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-2-925114-61-1 (9782925114611)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau does not draw, but he does write comic book scripts... Quite a lot of them, in fact. His graphic novel collaborations include Vampire Cousins with Cathon, The Conquest of the Cosmos with Francis Desharnais, La pitoune et la poutine with Xavier Cadieux, and Pinkerton and Poulet grain-grain with François Samson-Dunlop. He is also the author of non-fiction books Musiques du diable and Vieille école. He lives and works in Montreal.
Francis Desharnais is one of the most prolific authors in Quebec's growing comics scene, with titles including Art Wars, the Motel Galactic trilogy, and Burquette, which was adapted as an animated series by the National Film Board of Canada. Little Russia, his most recent release, has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Prix des libraires du Québec and the Grand prix de la ville de Québec for best graphic novel. He is also a member of Groupe Kiwistiti, an animation collective which he co-founded in 1999. He lives with his family on an island in the Saint Lawrence River.
Pablo Strauss has translated several works of Quebec fiction into English. He is a three-time finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for translation, for The Longest Year (2017), Synapses (2019), and The Country Will Bring Us No Peace (2020). His shorter translations, reviews, and essays have appeared in Granta, Geist, and The Montreal Review of Books. Strauss grew up in Victoria and now lives in Quebec City.
Mary Thaler is a writer, zine-maker and environmental microbiologist. She is currently revising the manuscript of a historical novel about the Arctic. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, and can be found online at marythaler.wordpress.com
Francis Desharnais is one of the most prolific authors in Quebec's growing comics scene, with titles including Art Wars, the Motel Galactic trilogy, and Burquette, which was adapted as an animated series by the National Film Board of Canada. Little Russia, his most recent release, has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Prix des libraires du Québec and the Grand prix de la ville de Québec for best graphic novel. He is also a member of Groupe Kiwistiti, an animation collective which he co-founded in 1999. He lives with his family on an island in the Saint Lawrence River.
Pablo Strauss has translated several works of Quebec fiction into English. He is a three-time finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for translation, for The Longest Year (2017), Synapses (2019), and The Country Will Bring Us No Peace (2020). His shorter translations, reviews, and essays have appeared in Granta, Geist, and The Montreal Review of Books. Strauss grew up in Victoria and now lives in Quebec City.
Mary Thaler is a writer, zine-maker and environmental microbiologist. She is currently revising the manuscript of a historical novel about the Arctic. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, and can be found online at marythaler.wordpress.com