Review: David Hopkins and Brent Schoonover's Astronaut Dad, vol. 1

June 28, 12:52 PMMinneapolis Comic Books ExaminerTed Anderson

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Minneapolis Comic Books Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Jimmy's father, just before a (practice) launch.  Courtesy Brent Schoonover.

Astronaut Dad vol. 1, written by David Hopkins and drawn by Minnesota native Brent Schoonover, is a story about heroism and longing, set during the Space Race of the late 50’s and early 60’s. Ten-year-old Jimmy Norton doesn’t have much admiration for his father, a reserve astronaut for NASA; as he puts it, his father and his fellow reservists “probably sit around playing cards all day waiting for Alan Shepard to break his ankle.” To Jimmy, his father’s just a man who’s never home and who will never be as famous as the real heroes, the men who’ve gone into space.

The graphic novel capably evokes the schizophrenic mentality of the 1950’s as seen from the other side of the Cold War: Plastic Fantastic happy-family innocence versus the deep paranoia and fear of nuclear war. A cookout for the families of the three reserve astronauts is all June Cleaver and patio furniture, until Jimmy’s father proudly unveils the latest addition to the house: their brand-new fallout shelter.

Schoonover’s art is perfect for the book; the simple, cartoonish proportions of his characters (the rock-solid jaw of an astronaut, the perfectly coiffed flip of his wife’s hair) call to mind the animation of the 1950’s--like, say, the Duck and Cover instructional film. But when the story calls for it, he produces images of striking beauty and complexity--in particular, a rocket launch towards the end of the book is wonderfully rendered. Hopkins’ writing, while able and confident, doesn’t give quite as much depth to the characters as you might like. They’re more caricatured in their personalities and dialogue: Jimmy’s bratty younger sister, the gung-ho, one-upping fellow astronaut Frankie. But it’s a short book; there’s only so much space to devote to these characters.

Volume 1 of Astronaut Dad is available in finer comic stores everywhere (and has been since its release in 2007--I’m kind of behind on this one). Volume 2 will be coming out shortly--according to Schoonover, he’s got fewer than six pages left to draw. Look for announcements here or at Schoonover’s blog.