A yup and a nup

I had some credit to use up at Phantom Zone, Chatswood, so I purchased the graphic novels "Ministry Of Space" (Ellis/Weston/Martin) and "Star Wars: Tag And Bink Were Here" (Rubio/Marangon).

The former I can recommend. I'd descibe it as a mix of "Dan Dare" and "The Right Stuff", with a dash of "Tharg's Future Shocks" (from "2000AD"). The premise is that England, not the US and USSR, captured all of the German rocket scientists at the end of WW2, and used them to become the sole space power. While the alternate historical timeline is enthralling and the artwork retro-ravishing, the most interesting aspect is the social consequences Ellis imagines.

"Tag And Bink" ain't so hot and definitely not the "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead" of the "Star Wars" universe I'd been led to believe. While the title characters take us behind the scenes in the six blockbusters, the plotting and dialogue could hardly be described as witty. More enjoyable was spotting the famous sci-fi faces (including George Lucas himself) who pop up in the background. By "Revenge Of The Clone Menace", the gag had begun to grate.