2.5 stars

The story: 3 stars

This started out very cute, with a little girl and boy doing what children do: thinking that they are the only normal ones in the world. I liked that they couldn't agree on how everyone else was different, but that they were. I also liked that they worked out plans to figure things out and then followed through on those plans. The children were children, and the parents were parents, in that they didn't let the children get away with much, but let them continue exploring the world.

What I didn't like: the execution of the last 1/3 of the story. It didn't really go where I thought it would go.

Art: 2.5 stars

What I liked: how clear the panels were about what was happening in each square. I thought that the colouring felt true to the story that was being told.

What I didn't like: some stories or comics do well with simplistic drawings and characters, but these felt too simplistic for the story that they were trying to tell.

What did I just read? Our two young protagonists are science fiction loving and fuel each other's paranoia about how people are not real--they are robots or maybe even aliens. Just when you start getting comfortable with their paranoia, the book takes an unexpected twist that will have you reeling for a while after you are done with it.

'Cosmonauts of the Future Vol. 1' by Lewis Trondheim with art by Manu Larcenet is a funny and strange graphic novel with art that reminded me of some of my favorite comic strips.

Gildas and Martina meet at school and they immediately dislike each other. One believes everyone is an alien. The other believes everyone is a robot. Soon their shared loved of wacky theories and their overactive imagination sends them on adventures to try and prove that all is not as it seems. Accompanied by Martina's dog and Gildas' little sister, they soon find that the world is even stranger than they believe.

This was a fun story. I loved the crankiness of the characters and their weird imaginations that kept them distant from those around them. I loved Gildas' little sister Gaelle, who just seemed to go along with the craziness. The art is fun and colorful. The charcters have oval shaped heads, and there is a lot going on in the background of the panels.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Martina was alone at school. Smart and well-read, but misunderstood equally by classmates and adults. Until Gildas arrives. Birds of a feather, the sympatico duo take n the universe!!! Funny, a tad biting, but clever and colorful, this comic is a delight.

This starts out being a story about odd kids, and this goes on and on, about odd kids who think everyone is either a robot or an alien.

And this is almost the whole book, as the kids try to prove that everyone, but them, is either a robot or an alien. They discuss this, they try to prove it. It is weirdly strange.

And then, something happens. And you aren't sure if the kids are imagining things, or things really are happening.

I often feel that these translations are losing something, and this one, if it was supposed to be funny, it sort of was, but sort of wasn't.



Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Translated from the french version, Cosmonauts of the Future is story about two ten year old children (Gildas and Martina) who team up in order to uncover an alien conspiracy. They are convinced that they are surrounded by robots and aliens who are taking over the world.

The two children decide to expose this alien conspiracy themselves by conducting an investigation. This sees them teaming up with Martine's dog and Gildas' little sister. They hunt and explore and they become good friends having fun and excitement until Gilda's sister is hurt.

Suddenly the world they thought they knew becomes a strange and scary place and their families become strange and alien to them. Their investigation assumes a new level of importance as the two of them search for the truth of their world and their existence, and the real meaning of home.

I really enjoyed reading this. The artwork is clear and colourful and the dialogue is both amusing and engaging. It is a lovely story which needs a sequel showing what happen to the children as they get older.

Copy provided by the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

It took some time for the story here to find favour with me - two children at the same school, who either think the world is populated by robot simulacra of humans or aliens in disguise, who - guess what?! - are halfway towards some kind of truth. I found some of the artwork really cool, but the humongous feet everyone has, coupled with their wonky eyes where one of the two is bulging and the other normal, or both are Coraline-styled black pits, are more than a bit much. In the end the story is OK enough, but while I might get a decently full story from seeing the entire trilogy, I might not rush to read it all as a priority.

Gildas, who believes that everyone around them are aliens, and Martina, who strongly suspects that everyone is a robot, end up in the same classroom. After getting used to having someone who shares some of the same outlook on life, they decide to test their hypothesis getting unexpected results. No one is who they thought they were, not even themselves! An interesting, quirky comic that explores paranoia, world view , and cooperation.

I received this eARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Irony, Deadpan Humor, Aliens, Robots, and Children

This book starts out slowly. We meet eleven year old Martina, who's a bit antisocial and thinks everyone else is a robot. Then we meet the new boy at school, Gildas, who's somewhat more expressive, and thinks everyone is an alien. After some schoolyard back and forth they decide to team up and search for aliens and/or robots. At this point, about ten pages in, the premise seems a bit flimsy and the yucks haven't exactly been flowing freely. But wait.

Once Martina and Gildas totally commit to their mutual complementary paranoias, and once they get comfortable with their nutsy double act, the whole project takes off. It's time to investigate suspicion-arousing adults, and to tear the mask off of the evil alien/robot conspiracy. The kids' delusions are beautifully complex, and they spin out and explain their suspicions and conspiracy theories with reasoning that is subtlely satirical and on point. Along the way Gildas gets saddled with having to babysit his little sister, and her running commentary on their conversations adds a third wise/silly voice to the proceedings.

At that point the plot starts to zig and zag all over. Are their theories correct, or are the adults pulling their legs? It's one blind alley after another, with Martina and Gildas suffering emotional highs and lows as they keep readjusting their alien/robot theories. There is a lot going on here about friendship and teamwork and disappointed expectations and self-delusion, and a lot going on in the plot department, and almost all of it is either touching or straight-faced funny, or both. The book actually builds up a head of steam to a very satisfying conclusion, and by the end I was sorry to see the kids go.

This is a graphic novel, and at first the drawings just seemed sort of cartoony, although competently enough drawn. But, as with the story and characters generally, the drawing became more expressive and effective as the tale progressed, and was quite satisfying by the end.

So, this is a sneaky sort of book, but funny and rewarding and a nice deadpan silly find.

(Please note that I was afforded, for free, the opportunity to read an ecopy of this book, but without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

A fun graphic novel. Nice artwork with particularly good coloring.