''The Chimpanzee Complex'' is a

French comics French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

series written by Richard Marazano and illustrated by Jean-Michel Ponzio. It was published by

Dargaud Société Dargaud, doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud (), publishing its first comics in 1943. ...

in 2007–2011.

Plot summary

''Paradox''

In 2035, the

Apollo XI Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, and ...

reentry capsule splashes down in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

and is retrieved by the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. The capsule is carrying Neil Armstrong and

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 A ...

, both claiming to have no knowledge of how they arrived in the future or why history records their successful return to Earth in 1969. The astronaut Helen Freedman, who has been tapped for a

crewed mission Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

, is tasked with verifying the identity of the astronauts. Before

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

and the US military can question the men further, Armstrong and Aldrin die from rapid aging. Helen accompanies a team of astronauts consisting of Mission Commander Konrad, Aleksa, Alex, and Kurt to the Moon on a mission sponsored by the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

to investigate the "true" fate of the Apollo XI mission. On the Moon, Helen, Konrad and Aleksa discover the remains of Armstrong and Aldrin, who inexplicably did not return to Earth, adding to the mystery. Meanwhile, Kurt and Alex encounter another reentry capsule containing the remains of

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

. The astronauts also intercept mysterious radio signals from a lost Soviet crewed mission to Mars. In a subplot, Helen's ten-year-old daughter Sofia Freedman resents her mother's absences and thinks that she is neglecting her.

''The Sons of Ares''

Continuing their mission to Mars, the American astronauts enter into cryogenic sleep. The shuttle is crewed by fellow astronauts Paul and Mark. The latter perishes during a solar storm while the former is driven insane. The astronauts are briefed by the Department of Defense about a lost Soviet mission to Mars led by

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. T ...

, whose death in this story was staged in order to maintained the secrecy of the Martian mission. Landing on Mars, the Americans locate the Soviet base and encounter two surviving members of the Soviet mission named Vladimir and Borislav, who claim that Gagarin went insane and has retreated inside a glacial cave. Helen encounters the insane Gagarin, who talks about

Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg () (5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist and one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics. He published his work in 1925 in a breakthrough paper. In the subsequent serie ...

Uncertainty principle In quantum mechanics, the uncertainty principle (also known as Heisenberg's uncertainty principle) is any of a variety of mathematical inequalities asserting a fundamental limit to the accuracy with which the values for certain pairs of physic ...

and claims that the lost cosmonauts and astronauts have merged into the universe's consciousness. The American astronauts later discover the remains of Gagarin, leading them to believe that the other cosmonauts killed him. They attempt to subdue and sedate the cosmonauts who fight back and are killed in a gas explosion that consumes the Martian module. The other astronauts do not believe Helen's account that she encountered Gagarin. After months traveling back to Earth, the American astronauts discover that the Earth has seemingly disappeared. Meanwhile, NASA loses contact with the astronauts' shuttle. In the Sofia subplot, Helen leaves Sofia in the care of her NASA colleague Robert Conway. A resentful Sofia runs away from home before being returned to Robert's care by the authorities. Following Helen and her team's disappearance, Sofia runs away again to the dismay of Robert.

''Civilisation''

Helen and Aleksa awake after 70 years of cryogenic sleep to discover that fellow astronauts Konrad and Kurt have perished while Alex has disappeared. They find that their shuttle has docked with an abandoned gigantic alien ship. While exploring the alien ship, Helen watches recordings sent by Roger. Reflecting on the Uncertainty principle, Helen comes to believe that the various space missions have disrupted the

spacetime In physics, spacetime is a mathematical model that combines the three dimensions of space and one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional manifold. Spacetime diagrams can be used to visualize relativistic effects, such as why differ ...

continuum. The pair are also attacked by an elderly and deranged Alex, who has spent the past decades cobbling together an escape craft to return to Earth. Determined to return to Earth, Alex attacks Helen and Aleksa but is shot dead by Aleksa. Aleksa's bullet releases poisonous gas. Aleksa sacrifices himself so that Helen can return to Earth and reunite with her daughter. Due to

time dilation In physics and relativity, time dilation is the difference in the elapsed time as measured by two clocks. It is either due to a relative velocity between them ( special relativistic "kinetic" time dilation) or to a difference in gravitational ...

, Helen returns to Earth in 2097 where she splashes down in the Arctic Circle. After being picked up by Russian forces, she is questioned by an American official, who informs her that "Helen" had supposedly returned from her mission and died on Earth 30 years ago. Taking pity on Helen, the NASA official arranges for Helen to be given a new identity. While starting a new life in

Seminole, Florida Seminole is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,364 at the 2020 census. History The first white settlement at Seminole was made in the 1840s. This community was named after the Seminole tribe whose descendant ...

Helen learns that her daughter Sofia became the first female astronaut to leave the

Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

, having been inspired by her astronaut mother. While gazing at the stars, Helen hopes to reassure her daughter that she never really left her.

Awards

*Best Album Award in 2007 Lyon's comic's convention. *Best album and best story in 2008 Le Bourget Museum comic's convention.

Bibliography

#'' Paradoxe '' (April 2007) # ''Les fils d'Arès'' (January 2008) # ''Civilisation'' (November 2008)

Cinebook Ltd Cinebook Ltd is a British publishing company that publishes comic albums and graphic novels. It describes itself as "the 9th art publisher," the 9th art being comics in continental Europe, especially France, Belgium and Italy. They typically ...

translated into English the series, in the following volumes: # ''Paradox'' (September 2009) # ''The Sons of Ares'' (January 2010) # ''Civilisation'' (July 2010)

References

External links

Page at bedetheque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chimpanzee Complex 2007 comics debuts Science fiction comics French comics