Manhattan Projects Vol. 4
- Story By: Jonathan Hickman
- Art By: Nick Pitarra
- Cover By: Nick Pitarra
- Image Comics
“Science. Bad.”
There is not one single person in the whole book who has a firm grip on their wits. Einstein is Einstein from a parallel world to ours where magic is science and science, magic. Wernher Von Braun is half robot, half man and a Nazi defector. FDR has been downloaded to a supercomputer on the moon.
Through hidden agendas and secret meetings with Communist Russia, the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project went on to rule the world in the name of science. Too bad they became prisoners of a power mad general who wears the ears of the people he’s slain and a cannibalistic Oppenheimer, swallower of souls.
It’s really hard to find fault with Hickman’s storytelling. Every beat he nails. Just when you think that there actually could be a plot hole (i.e.Laika the canine cosmonaut being lost in space), it gets addressed and set up for the next storyline. There is a lot constantly going on, though. The parts of the story that occur inside of Oppenheimer’s head can cause your own mind to do backflips. Add that to flashbacks and parallel worlds that use the same cast in different roles, it gets confusing at times. Causing one to flip back and make sure that everything is in context and understood. But, an overall enjoyable read.
Pitarra’s art and Jordie Bellaire’s colors are beautiful. Clear lines and vibrant colors make Manhattan Projects look like it could contend as a Saturday morning cartoon (if it wasn’t for all of the gore and blood). Gaping holes where an ear was attached, a genetically modified alien ripping a battalion to shreds…these are all examples that show that they are never shy to present how deranged and how outright graphic science can be when it goes wrong.
This has been one of my more favored books to read. Alternative history has mostly been used to make old ladies swoon with lust for rogues and fall for knights in shining armor. It’s nice to have something for those of us who don’t like the romance of alt history fiction and have a sci-fi spin placed in its stead. This is one of the better books out there right now and those looking for something new and strange, it should be jumped on immediately.
And for those that are on the fence…Einstein the Barbarian!
- Beyond the Veil Tier 194: Catching up 4! - August 3, 2016
- Beyond the Veil Tier 193: Catching up 3! - August 3, 2016
- Beyond the Veil Tier 192: Catching up 2! - August 3, 2016