Astronauts Of The Future

Les Cosmonautes du Futur #1-2

by Lewis Trondheim, Manu Larcenet (Illustrator)

Two kid geniuses in a world of parents that are either aliens or robots depending on which one you want to believe and is all a big conspiracy. Fast-paced, humorous series for all ages with a major twist you won?t see coming.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Comix, Graphic Novels Comics

96 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2004

About the author

The phenomenal Lewis Trondheim is never where you next expect him. As an artist and writer, Trondheim has earned an international following as one of the most inventive, versatile, and prolific graphic authors. From autobiography to adventure, from bestselling fantasy and children's books to visual essays, Trondheim's unique, seminal imagination consistently dazzles. His work has won numerous awards, including the Angoulême prize for best series with McConey and he also co-created the titanic fantasy epic Dungeon with Joann Sfar.

He is one of the founding members of the alternative publishing house L'Association, a proving ground for many of the greatest talents in European comics working today. He is also the editorial director of a new imprint called Shampooing, dedicated to comics for all ages.

Lewis lives in the South of France with his wife, Brigitte Findakly, and two children.

Reviews

[Nikola Š · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a typical Trondheim fare - part tongue in cheek making fun of the genre, part lovingly embracing it. And sci-fi seems to have given him even more free rein: what starts as a deceptively simple story, continues building one wild idea upon another. At times you really have to pay close attention to be able to completely grasp what's going on. It's great fun even so. And also 10 years before Rick and Morty.

[Moe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a cute little graphic novel that was fairly interesting. The first half of it before the plot twist was pretty boring, until everything goes haywire and it starts to get interesting right when it ends. I think the author could've turned this into a longer book, using the same idea but maybe explaining and illustrating more.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

French kids comics are always pretty great. Once the big twist of this book is revealed, it is a lot of bizarre fun.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only real problem with this story was that I couldn't figure out who the real intended audience was. Some of it seems more mature than other parts, so that even with the main characters being young school kids, it seemed like older readers would get more of the humor and even some of the plot.
In any case, there's nothing here that would be objectionable for a reader of age 8 and above.
The main characters are both very intelligent, but isolated from their classmates. Each one sees the world as consisting of themselves plus a bunch of unreal folks. Starting from that odd viewpoint, it turns into a very strange science fiction story in which the viewpoints of the kids are partly justified, and partly refuted, as twists and turns keep coming. I'm still not sure about the apparent moral lesson being taught at a key point, but the story is remarkably fun and silly. The book is labeled as being volume 1 of a series, but is a complete story, and I can't find any evidence of later volumes in English, at least.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, I always enjoy Trondheim. The premise is a young boy and a young girl each believe that everybody else around them is either a robot or an alien. So it starts out as a cute look at kids being silly and paranoid and scheming to prove their theories, but not wanting to do anything that will get them into trouble. Of course, it turns out that they're both RIGHT, but it's the reason why they're right that adds the really creative wrinkle. The second story has them facing an alien invasion, whose origins are, again, not what you'd expect.

The art's very good, full of great action and creative designs. The script is bouncy and fun, with plenty of smart kids, snappy comments and fun one-liners. Trondheim has a great sense of how to write a fast, fun and silly kids comic that has enough twists and sufficiently sharp dialogue to keep even cranky old adults entertained as well. ;)

[Dario Malic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trondheim i Larcenet nas vode na urnebesnu, otkačenu avanturu za sve generacije, gdje ništa nije kako se naizgled čini. Ludi i potpuno neočekivani preokreti koji se redaju bez velikih pauza te neprestana jurnjava koja počinje u drugom albumu, čine da se osjećamo kao da smo na vožnji vlakom smrti. Možda su autori malo i pretjerali s ludorijama, na kraju sam gotovo osjećao vrtoglavicu nakon svega što se izdešavalo. No opet, pri drugom čitanju bi sve trebalo biti manje šokantno, a uopće ne sumnjam da će biti jednako zabavno. Originalni i scenaristički i crtački, Astronauti iz budućnosti odlična su zabava za sve uzraste, a Martina i Gojko su s lakoćom našli mjesto među najdražim mi junacima.

[Uva_Be · Rating 5 out of 5]

finally an illustrated book that shows up here in goodreads !

I love graphic novels. This one has plot twists and humor galore, plus very entertaining art. And it's one of the rare good graphic novels that is suitable for kids to read.

[Damon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpectedly super funny, or at least funnier than I expected. This had at least one part that that I not only laughed out loud at through repeated readings, but that I forced others to read while I waited and watched to see if they thought it was funny too. Really enjoyable.

[Bria · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I liked the first half a little better than the second half. But the difference is minimal.

[Tomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The twist and turns in this is just none stop entertainment. What a fun read!

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way trippier than I though it would be. Cool novel that 8-12 year olds should love. Boys AND girls.