yohhhanna's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
3.75
Super cool story but I don't think I would have been able to understand it without having read a lot about space before. especially the references to their life before the Apollo program were quite hard to understand without background knowledge
katievank's review
3.0
Struck me as not enough. Would have liked more exploration of any one of the directions they hinted at: anticipation of the mission, astronauts’ personal lives, responses on earth before and during the mission, more details and reflections and reactions of astronauts during the mission, return process and experience after returning to earth - many of these were briefly touched but none were deep enough to really compel me to the story. Even a story as compelling as the first moon landing needs more to hook the audience. It was also very “Rah Rah USA” which I get was the genuine feeling at the time but being not an American that aspect didn’t land for me.
What was there was good, it’s what I felt was missing that caused it to fall a little flat in some areas. I’m also very new to graphic novels as a medium so I can’t say if this is typical for the genre, but it didn’t captivate me or leave me hungry for more whereas a few other graphic novels have.
What was there was good, it’s what I felt was missing that caused it to fall a little flat in some areas. I’m also very new to graphic novels as a medium so I can’t say if this is typical for the genre, but it didn’t captivate me or leave me hungry for more whereas a few other graphic novels have.
arrianne's review
3.0
Graphic novel about the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Some of the art work is beautiful but with the flashbacks, the story can be hard to follow and I was left feeling a little bit meh.
Some of the art work is beautiful but with the flashbacks, the story can be hard to follow and I was left feeling a little bit meh.
estellabelle92's review
4.0
Beautiful illustrations for this out of the world historical event. As I read, I was reminded of James Michener's Space which is one of my favorite books.
sfian's review
5.0
A smart little graphic novel that mixes that facts of the Apollo 11 mission with sequences that get inside the heads of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins.
I particularly liked the grumpiness of President Nixon, the splash page of the iconic "one small step" moment and the way that Collins' loneliness is depicted, especially the Spirit of America being presented as a kind of hippy-biker type, rather than the usual Uncle Sam.
I don't know how much some of it is true - did Nixon really refer to himself in the third person? Did Aldrin make a bid to be the first person to step on the moon? - but I don't care because it all works in the context of the story presented in this manner.
The grainy style of art took a little time to get used to, but eventually won me over.
A quick, but still detailed read that was perfect for the fiftieth anniversary of the landing.
I particularly liked the grumpiness of President Nixon, the splash page of the iconic "one small step" moment and the way that Collins' loneliness is depicted, especially the Spirit of America being presented as a kind of hippy-biker type, rather than the usual Uncle Sam.
I don't know how much some of it is true - did Nixon really refer to himself in the third person? Did Aldrin make a bid to be the first person to step on the moon? - but I don't care because it all works in the context of the story presented in this manner.
The grainy style of art took a little time to get used to, but eventually won me over.
A quick, but still detailed read that was perfect for the fiftieth anniversary of the landing.
roksana's review
3.0
I'm not a huge graphic novel/Manga fan. But something about this one made me pick it up. I'm not sure how to rate a graphic novel as I never have done that before.
I can definitely say that the art in this one was really beautiful but I found the story itself a little bit confusing. I was expecting that this comic would deal with the very first landing of the man on the moon. But it merely touched on that topic. The graphic novel was more focused on the experience of the family and how it felt to be the wife/father/mother of the first man on the moon. It also showed the past/childhood of the astronauts, which to be completely honest, I did not understand why those moments were shown.
Overall, I think that it was definitely a great story and a great first experience of reading a graphic novel.
I can definitely say that the art in this one was really beautiful but I found the story itself a little bit confusing. I was expecting that this comic would deal with the very first landing of the man on the moon. But it merely touched on that topic. The graphic novel was more focused on the experience of the family and how it felt to be the wife/father/mother of the first man on the moon. It also showed the past/childhood of the astronauts, which to be completely honest, I did not understand why those moments were shown.
Overall, I think that it was definitely a great story and a great first experience of reading a graphic novel.
kasbeth's review against another edition
5.0
A great book about the biggest achievement of its time beautifully drawn.
lowthor's review against another edition
4.0
Really well put together version of the Apollo 11 mission, with a really nice retro art style and some interesting creative touches.
arrianne's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic novel about the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Some of the art work is beautiful but with the flashbacks, the story can be hard to follow and I was left feeling a little bit meh.
Some of the art work is beautiful but with the flashbacks, the story can be hard to follow and I was left feeling a little bit meh.