Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

Ministry of Space: Part Three

I'll do a full review of this entire AH series at some point, but for now:

The book Ellis fans have been waiting for since creation (well, whenever the first two parts came out) has finally arrived. Does it live up to expectations? Not quite, but it’s still extremely good. Of all Ellis’ works, Ministry of Space and Planetary are quite clearly the best.

The mystery referred to in the first two issues is resolved as Sir John Dashwood faces up to his past and his role as the founder of the Ministry of Space. Dashwood has clearly used questionable means to fund the Ministry (such as Holocaust Gold) and the secret is now known to other nations, mainly the Americans. The plot heads swiftly towards a climax that seems inevitable in hindsight; but was a complete mystery to me before reading this issue.

Interspaced throughout the inquisition (it’s not identified as such, but that’s what it seems like) are the book’s other main selling points. The life of Dashwood is broadened by his control of the ministry, appointing the commander of the mars colonising mission, and the tragic death of his best friend.

To conclude, Dashwood’s response to the charges brought against him effectively boils down to who cares? The shocking thing is that I suspect he’s right.

Ellis loves using older concepts (planetary is the best showcase for these talents) for his work. Ministry of Space is clearly based on Dan Dare, with Dashwood as a more mature Dare for older readers – instead of the ‘stiff-upper-lip’ showed by Dare, Dashwood is a ruthless patriot. Ellis fills this book with nice touches that indicate that Dashwood’s influence might have had unintended side effects, for example the sign on Lucy’s room that reads ‘non-white female personal only’.

I tried hard to think of a single critical thing I could say about the art and failed. The pictures are wonderful, the girls are beautiful, young Dashwood is clearly handsome (quite defiantly reassembling Dan Dare) and his older self still looks confident. The scenes of his reaction to the American news are very well drawn.

To conclude, buy this book, buy another copy, and write nice reviews to keep Ellis working.

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