REVIEW: Manhattan Projects #9
Story by: Johnathan Hickman
Art by: Nick Pitarra
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Letters: Rus Wooton
Hmmm… Let’s see, where to begin? Where to begin? Should we eat them? No, I think we should tell them what we thought of The Manhattan Projects #9. So, we are not eating them? No. Not Today.
If you haven’t started reading The Manhattan Projects by Jonathan Hickman & Nick Pitarra, the sentences above may appear to be gibberish. But if you have been following the series you know that it is an imitation of just one of the many unique voices Hickman has created. I thought it was fitting to begin a discussion of the book with a taste of the insanity that might be found between its covers.
To imagine what takes place in The Manhattan Projects, first imagine that you are nine years old and your strange aunt gives you a “Great Scientists of the 20th Century” action figure set for your birthday (I know you asked for Legos, but she is clueless and always gives you “educational” toys). Now imagine incorporating them with the rest of the toys you already own; GI Joes, Transformers, and space aliens. Can you picture it? Madness, absurdity, and chaos, right? If you include a tendency to base the action on historical footnotes, you have some idea of what The Manhattan Projects is like.
This issue in particular might be a good starting place for new readers because Hickman is done pretending to play by the rules of history. The men working on the Manhattan Projects have become a shadowy cabal, with limitless power and resources. Issue #9 introduces the idea that there really is no stopping this group of mad super geniuses. The cast includes the likes of Oppenheimer, Einstein, and Von Braun; and always has one toe in the truth. Now I expect that Hickman might work his way through history and show us just how these men have been pulling the strings all along.
Pitarra’s art in the series is stylized, but not so much so that it is distracting. Instead it is like looking through a slightly blurred Technicolor lens at familiar subjects. Certain aspects of reality are slightly exaggerated. This seems a fitting match for the caricature of history that Hickman has created.
This series should be taken with a grain of salt. If you are still complaining that Hitler dies at the end of Inglorious Bastards, this is not the book for you. On the other hand, if you enjoy a good romp in the absurd with great scientists and historical figures; you can do no better than The Manhattan Projects.
0 Comments
Trackbacks/Pingbacks