Art by: Dani Peña

Written by: Nacho Golfe

Von Braun. The Hidden Face of the Moon is a biographical graphic novel about the life of Wernher von Braun, the German scientist who developed the V-2 missile programme for the Third Reich during the Second World War before eventually becoming one of the key architects of the American space programme.

  Von Braun pursued his childhood dream of reaching the moon with relentless determination. During the war he worked for Nazi Germany and became a member of the SS, focusing on his ambitions without questioning the regime while overseeing the V-2 rocket programme.

  After the war, he was recruited by the United States through the secret Operation Paperclip and became a key figure in the American space programme, designing the Saturn V rocket that made the 1969 Moon landing possible. Yet this achievement was built on a darker legacy—thousands of victims of the missiles and forced labour that supported his work, a contradiction explored by Nacho Golfe and Dani Peña in this graphic novel.

ELIGIBLE FOR INSTITUT RAMON LLULL ILLUSTRATION GRANT

Key points:

• A fascinating script that plays with documented information about the events involving von Braun (especially the darker ones) while giving voice to the thousands of anonymous forced labourers who built the V-2 rockets

• A powerful and educational graphic novel, enhanced by Dani Peña’s visually compelling illustrations

Technical info:

• Original title: Von Braun. La cara oculta de la luna

• Published by Yermo Ediciones in November 2022

• 135 pages - full colour - 184 x 230 mm

Available wordlwide