Review: Laika - the graphic novel
The graphic novel “Laika” by Nick Abadzis, published by First Second Books in 2007, tells the story of Laika the Space Dog.
Laika was launched into space on 3 November, 1957, on the Sputnik 2 rocket, a mere 30 days after the launch of Sputnik 1, on 4 October 1957. Re-entry technology had not been developed at this time, so there could be no plan to return Laika to Earth.
The cover of the book.
This failure reflects the main purpose of Laika’s Sputnik 2 flight, as a piece of propaganda, to celebrate the impending 40th anniversary of the Russian October Revolution, so named because, although it occurred on 7 November, Russia at that time still used the Julian calendar.
The graphic novel weaves real events together with a fictionalized retelling of Laika’s short life - she died at the age of three - as an abandoned stray on the streets of Moscow, her capture and sale to the military for use as a test subject. And her eventual launch into space.
The art work and coloring are gorgeous.
A number of prominent characters from that history appear in the book, including Sergei Korolev, the chief Sputnik rocket designer, and Oleg Gazenko and Vladimir Yazdovsky, space scientists who helped train the dogs for their mission.
Sergei Korolev in real life and in Laika - the graphic novel.
Other characters and events are fictionalized: Gertrude, a fellow stray and companion of Laika on the city streets; Yelena Dubrovsky, Laika’s dog handler and our conscience; among others. While fictional, these additions are carefully and sensitively incorporated into Laika’s narrative.
There are moments of redemption.
The novel provides an illuminating and moving re-telling of this tragic tale. The art blends seamlessly with what we would now call the “atom punk” vibe of the post-World War Two era, being a somewhat impressionistic form of the Ligne Clair graphic art style.
The book is a real page-turner. But only once I had struggled a little with the initial focus on rocket designer Sergei Korolev. I would rate this as the greatest weakness of the narrative: This is Laika’s story and the book should have started with her, beginning with Chapter Two, and moved the admittedly extraordinary originals of Korolev to a point later in the story.
A tough tale but ultimately uplifting in its truth and honesty.
But, other than this one small misstep, the pacing and the framing of the narrative give you the feeling you are watching a movie of the little dog’s life and death. Nick is careful not to anthropomorphize Laika, in the way that Herge did of Snowy in the Tintin stories, but he still gives her a very subtly expressed “voice” so we can better know and understand her.
Knowing the fate of Laika from the outset made tackling the ending of the book an emotionally harrowing experience for me, something I was not looking forward to. Nick tells it as it was, and expect to be moved (unless you are made of stone), but he gives us hope for our own species at the same time, through the responses of those who knew and cared for Laika.
The story does not pull its punches.
In conclusion, this is a graphic novel that transcends its niche. The story is a thoroughly adult and steely-eyed treatment of its subject and I would recommend it to all ages. If I had the money, I would buy the film rights and make the movie, because this story deserves it.
Guy Riddihough
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