The Conquest of the Cosmos

English version $34.95

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!

Awards and mentions

  • BDGest’Arts Award 2021 — Best Comic

Reviews

  • “This is historical satire with teeth, but it never forgets to be fun. It is smart without showing offpolitical without becoming a sermon, and visually restrained without ever feeling empty… A deadpan dismantling of propaganda, capitalism, communism, political vanity, technological obsession, and humanity’s eternal need to plant a flag on something before figuring out what the hell we are doing there.”

    — Al Mega, Comic Crusaders
  • “I love the caustic humour of this book… this book is well worth checking out.

    — Stergios Botzakis, Graphic Novel Resources
  • “As you may have guessed, the story is far from faithful to reality… With wit and humor it takes a critical look at the absurdity of this competition, while cleverly echoing recent events.”

    — Marie-Lise Rousseau, Metro
  • “It’s funny, it’s clever, and there are some gems that will make you laugh out loud. Get your hands on it, without hesitation.”

    — François Lemay, Le Devoir
  • “It’s irreverent, it’s silly, and it’s not the least bit educational (Thank God!).”

    — Stéphanie Morin, La Presse+

Details

ISBN
9782925114611
Release Date
Aug 25 2026
Pages
208
Language
English