The Washington Post Express talks to Laika author Nick Abadzis about the research he did for his new book:
For a work of this scope, gathering facts was both essential and difficult. Abadzis found little information about Laika, and much of what he did find hadn’t been translated. With the assistance of a kind librarian, the cartoonist dug through the British Library and culled “a few choice morsels” from some of the more authoritative books on the Soviet space program. He even visited Moscow to capture the cold, stoic character of the city.
The research also helped him capture the even temperament of the animal, whose obedience allowed the scientists to put her through some very extreme training.
“In those days, they didn’t know what kind of pressures either animal or men could withstand,” Abadzis said. “They just didn’t know; it was all experimental, all theorized.”
