Laika

Love animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled. Do not trouble their joy, do not harass them, do not deprive them of their happiness, do not work against God’s intent.

Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to animals: they are without sin, and you, with your greatness, defile the earth by your appearance on it, and leave the traces of your foulness after you. Fydor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821 - 1881) THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV via Moscow Animals

50 years ago the USSR sent a dog into space to die in the hopes of scoring a propaganda coup. Laika was the first animal to orbit the planet. I have a hard time reconciling what should have been a great milestone in space travel, with the fact that it was created as a pointless exercise in marketing. Nick Abadzis’ new book Laika covers the story in more detail than I’d seen before. Apparently he even researched the phases of the moon and angles of inclination to maintain fidelity to the story. The moon after all was the big prize in the space race.

His illustrations are wonderful. He captures a Russian character in the faces of the people. The energy and warmth of the dogs are expressed in their poses and lines. My only gripe is that I wanted more with Korolev, the Chief Designer of the Russian space program. The book starts off with Korolev being released from the Gulag and having to find his own way back to Moscow in 50 below weather. There is some nice character development here, but Korolev mostly disappears after that. It’s too bad because the groundwork he lays is interesting but never really explored after that. I’d love to see a companion book go into more detail about Korolev.

I couldn’t help myself. I knew the ending but it was still devastating when it came. Mankind’s ability to sabotage our own greatness is a frustrating lesson of history. There is an interesting moment in Laika. Three pages carry a yellow background instead of white. They setup a key theme of the story that nothing lasts (Korolev’s time in he Gulag, Laika’s friendships, USSR’s dominance in space). On the next page is a three quarter page panel highlighting the greatness of Korolev’s achievement with Sputnik I. A moment that would be undercut by the tragedy of Sputnik II and designed by Korolev himself.

Every day, every moment is a frontier to a country that, once crossed, can never be returned to.

…But, once you understand that nothing lasts…everything’s all right. Laika