Pushinka is the latest offering from Edinburgh based writer and artist Aimee Lockwood and tells the true story of a Cold War doggy romance in the Kennedy White House.

The first living creature in space was the Soviet dog Laika in 1957, a story ably related in graphic novel format by Nick Abadzis in 2007. For Laika her trip in Sputnik 2 was always going to be one-way however the next two dogs in orbit were Belka and Strelka in Sputnik 5 in 1960 who survived their planned round trip. Strelka had puppies afterwards and one of them, Pushinka, was given by Nikita Khrushchev to John F Kennedy in a gesture of Cold War friendship (or propaganda, depending on your point of view).

Aimee’s delightful full colour A5 comic tells the story of Pushinka as she arrives in the USA, is taken to the White House and befriends Charlie, one of the Kennedy family’s many dogs, who she goes on to have puppies with.

Aimee has just launched Pushinka at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival in Kendal and it will also be available at Thought Bubble in Leeds over the weekend of 5/6 November 2016.

Aimee will be sharing Table 151 in New Dock Hall with Zu Dominiak who will also have a selection of her own titles available including the new Hair.

There are more details of Aimee Lockwood’s work on her website and Facebook page.

There are more details of Zu Dominiak’s work on her Zyzanna Illustration website and Facebook page.

Jeremy Briggs

News, reviews, interviews and features for print and on-line: Spaceship Away (since October 2005), Bear Alley (since February 2007), downthetubes (since June 2007), and Eagle Times (since October 2008). Plus DC Thomson’s The Art Of Ian Kennedy, Titan’s Dan Dare and Johnny Red reprints, Ilex’s War Comics: A Graphic History and 500 Essential Graphic Novels, and Print Media’s The Iron Moon and Strip magazine.

Categories: British Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News

Tags: Adventure Comics, Aimee Lockwood, downthetubes News, Laika, Pushinka