Thursday, October 09, 2025

That time Napoleon conquered the stars.

Imagine an alternative timeline where Napoleon not only conquers not only Europe, but all of Earth and then reaches out into the stars to extend his imperial realm throughout all of the galaxy! Napoleon was a polarizing character in history, to say the least. As with so many figures in history, he was a mix of positives and negatives.

On the one hand he was hailed as a great commander and leader, yet, on the other hand, he was also a ruthless raider of antiquities and a looter of artwork. During his campaigns in Egypt, he discovered the Rosetta Stone, used to unlock the ancient Egyptian language, but then subsequently took much of what he discovered back to France with him. Throughout his military career he won over 50 battles and ruled more than 44 million people in Europe and overseas colonies.


Now imagine if this shrewd and unrelenting emperor-general had access to modern-day technology and took his conquering ways across the solar system to other inhabited planets so that Napoleon could Conquer all of Space itself!

Napoleon’s Starship is a hardbound, sci-fi graphic novel published by Wayward Raven. The story is told through the eyes of the main character, Gavroche, a young revolutionist and artist. On Earth, she joined the protests against Napoleon’s cruel rule. No longer being able to stand his tyranny, Gavroche stows away on Napoleon’s Starship, determined to assassinate him.

Napoleon’s Starship is told through the eyes of Gavroche, a young revolutionist and artist. On Earth, she joined the protests against Napoleon’s cruel rule. No longer being able to stand his tyranny, Gavroche stows away on Napoleon’s Starship, determined to assassinate him.

When she is caught by Napoleon’s troops, Napoleon’s Master of Artistic Propaganda attempts to force her to use her art for propaganda. Gavroche resists, eventually meeting the denizens of this new planet. A kinship is formed with these creatures that speak through scent and Gavroche devises a desperate plan to overthrow the galactic emperor!

Katherine Blakeney the creator of this amazing book is an artist, writer, animator, archaeologist and pilot. Her stop-motion animated short films have been screened at numerous international film festivals and have won several awards. Katherine’s paintings have been exhibited at Cork Gallery in Lincoln Center. Every summer she works in ancient Egyptian tombs, uncovering the secrets of Ancient Egyptian craftsmanship.

The story of Napoleon’s Starship directly draws upon Katherine’s experience as an archeologist and what she has seen on her digs in Egypt. She is very passionate about preserving our ancient history and art while still bringing it to the people. Art isn’t just something for the privileged,

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