''Astronauts in Trouble'' is the title of a series of

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

and

graphic novels A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics scholars and ...

created by Larry Young.

Charlie Adlard Charles Adlard (born 4 August 1966) is a British comic book artist known for his work on books such as '' The Walking Dead'' and '' Savage''. Career Adlard began his work in the UK on ''White Death'' with Robbie Morrison and '' 2000 AD'' serie ...

is the artist for the bulk of the stories, with

Matthew Dow Smith Matthew Dow Smith (sometimes credited as Matthew Smith) is an American comic book artist. Bibliography * ''Astronauts in Trouble: Live From the Moon'' #1 and #2 * ''Bad Luck Chuck'' #1-5 (Dark Horse) * ''The Book of Fate'' #11 * ''Day of Judgm ...

providing the artwork for early chapters, and

Kieron Dwyer Kieron Dwyer (born March 6, 1967) is an American comics artist. He is best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics as well as for his creator-owned projects. Biography During his career, Dwyer has worked on such comic book titles as ...

, Steven Weissman,

Darick Robertson Darick W. Robertson is an American artist best known for his work as a comic book illustrator on series he co-created, notably ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002) and ''The Boys (comics), The Boys'' (2006–2012; 2020). Robertson has illustrated ...

, Brian Wood, Scott Johnson,

John Heebink John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

, and

Matt Hollingsworth Matt Hollingsworth (born 1968, in California) is an American comic book colorist. As of 2023, he was continuing to color comics for Marvel including such notable titles as Guardian of the Galaxy, Punisher and Doctor Strange. He lives in Croatia. ...

contributing. ''Astronauts in Trouble'' is also the AiT in publisher name

AiT/Planet Lar AiT/Planet Lar is an American comic book publishing company based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1999 by Larry Young and Mimi Rosenheim. The company focuses on releasing original graphic novels into the mass market, although th ...

Plot

''Astronauts in Trouble: Live From the Moon''

The first story arc is set in 2019, 50 years after the first

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

landing. Eccentric millionaire Ishmael Hayes has decided to launch his own mission to return to the Moon, and claim it as his own property. To ensure that he receives the right amount of publicity, Hayes brings along the Channel 7 news crew to film the mission. Along the way Hayes must deal with

eco-terrorist Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmental causes, against people or property. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened use of violence of ...

s, and a nuclear bomb wielding

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

. The stories originally appeared in the five issue limited series ''Astronauts in Trouble: Live From the Moon'' (March - July 1999), and published by

Gun Dog Comics A gun is a device that propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). Solid projectiles may be fr ...

. They were reprinted in the 1999 trade paperback ''Astronauts in Trouble: Live From the Moon'' ().

''Astronauts in Trouble: One Shot, One Beer''

''Astronauts in Trouble: One Shot, One Beer'' () is an original graphic novel published in trade paperback form in 2000. Ten years after the events of ''Live From the Moon,'' the Moon is the home to Cool Ed's, the only bar for 240,000 miles. Prospectors, settlers, and others gather there to tell stories and swap lies.

''Astronauts in Trouble: Space: 1959''

In 1959, Colonel Lloyd Macadam's top-secret Moon-shot program in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

is discovered when the Channel Seven news team investigates the death of a janitor. The

space launch Space launch is the earliest part of a flight that reaches space. Space launch involves liftoff, when a rocket or other space launch vehicle leaves the ground, floating ship or midair aircraft at the start of a flight. Liftoff is of two main ...

is put into jeopardy when a Russian spy commandeers the rocket and Colonel Macadam must choose between his country and his life. The story originally appeared in the three issue limited series ''Astronauts in Trouble: Space: 1959'' (January - March 2000). They were collected in the 2000 trade paperback ''Astronauts in Trouble: Space: 1959'' ().

''Astronauts in Trouble: Master Flight Plan''

This is an omnibus edition published in 2003 () containing ''Live From the Moon'', ''One Shot, One Beer'', ''Space: 1959'', and the one-shot ''Astronauts in Trouble: Cool Ed's'', originally published in September 1999.

''The Making of Astronauts in Trouble''

This book () is not part of the series, but is instead a behind the scenes look at the development of the title. The book covers the original development of the series, and includes preliminary sketches, draft scripts, and a preview comic published before the first issue.

References

AiT/Planet Lar titles Comics set on the Moon {{Comics-stub