The Manhattan Projects #11

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Pitarra

One of my favourite monthly titles continues to impress with each new issue.  The Manhattan Projects has moved into new territory, as the American and Russian science agencies have affected a secret merger, and are now setting about making their plans for all their Cold War funding.

To that end, a meeting is held on their new Moon base to come up with some long-term goals.  Of course, Oppenheimer has his plans, and details three projects he would like to commence, which involve space travel, alternative energy, and human longevity.  He has a fourth project as well, but it's a secret...

The heart of this issue lies in the story of Dr. Harry Daghlian.  We see how he became an animated atomic skeleton, and we see just how close his friendship with Dr. Enrico Fermi is.  It is because of Fermi that his containment suit allows him to interact with other people.

This book is impossible to predict, and knowing Jonathan Hickman's penchant for long-range planning, is likely to stay that way for a good long time.

Another thing I like about it are the completely unconventional covers, which reflect the content of the book in puzzlingly tangential ways quite often, but also make the comic stand out like no other book.

The Manhattan Projects #10

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Ryan Browne

Have you ever felt the desire to read a comic that features J. Robert Oppenheimer punching out a horse?  You know you have, and Jonathan Hickman has finally helped you realize your dreams.

To say that this is a strange issue of The Manhattan Projects is a difficult comment to parse.  Does that mean that it's completely conventional and a little dull?  Or does it mean that this issue is even crazier than the series usually is?  Well, yes, as the whole comic takes place inside the head of Joseph Oppenheimer, Robert's twin brother who, in the first issue of the series, killed and ate him.

Robert comes to his senses in a deep well, which he climbs out of to find himself in a strange landscape where his thoughts have power over reality.  At first, everything seems barren, but then he finds the aforementioned horse, roughs it up a bit, and then rides it into the city he has seen in the distance.  As it turns out, the city is his brother's brain, where he finds the infinite copies that Joseph keeps making.

This issue suggests that Robert may be starting the long process of gaining control over his brother's body.  I wonder what he'll think when he discovers that the Manhattan Project has manipulated its way into a position of great power over the United States, and for its own ends.

This issue is guest-drawn by Ryan Browne, an artist I'm not familiar with, but whose art looks remarkably like regular series artist Nick Pitarra.  I'm sure much of the credit for that goes to colourist Jordie Bellaire, who helps maintain consistency.  I'm not sure if Pitarra is just behind a little, or if other changes are in the works for this comic.  Either way, this is a great issue of one of the best series on the stands.

The Manhattan Projects #9

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Pitarra

The staff of the Manhattan Projects, under the leadership of General Leslie Groves, have effected a merger with their Russian counterparts, and have escaped the American government's attempt to stop their machinations towards independence.  What's left to do then, but to figure out who is really calling the shots, and go after them.

In this issue, Groves and his team do just that, acting on information they gain from the artificial intelligence that is all that is left of dead President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They learn that their enemies include the luchadore head of an international banking cartel, a very old Egyptian with mystical powers, an overly corpulent man who controls all emerging markets, and of course, current president and Freemason Harry S. Truman.

It doesn't take long for the Projects crew to deal with all of these guys, and it is a lot of fun watching it happen.  Hickman's taken his time setting up this series, and with each new issue, he's introduced some pretty wild ideas.  Now, he's put the Projects in a new position of power, and has guaranteed that this book, which plays with historical figures with great irreverence, will continue to be a terrific read for a while to come.

The Manhattan Projects #8

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Pitarra

Last issue, the combined leadership of the American Manhattan Projects and the Soviet Star City initiative decided to join forces and pursue their own scientific ends separate from their respective masters' wishes.

This issue, the Americans decide to put a stop to them.  The comic opens on a meeting between President Harry S. Truman and his advisors, which appear to include a man in a luchadore mask, someone who only speaks in Egyptian hieroglyphs, and most surprisingly, the AI of former President FDR, who we thought was firmly entrenched in the Projects' ranks.

What follows is a bit of a bloodbath, while FDR-controlled robots attack Los Alamos, Star City, and the Singularity, the orbital space stations the Russians had built.  Much of the comic focuses on Wernher Von Braun, the former Nazi rocket scientist who drives much of what happens in the Projects, as he has to escape Star City and make his way to Los Alamos to shut off the FDR AI.

This is another very entertaining issue in a series that has surpassed all expectations I had going in to it. Hickman has consistently written a crazier, freer flowing story than I've seen him do before, and Nick Pitarra has been there every step of the way backing him.  This is a terrific comic.

The Manhattan Projects #7

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Pitarra

Jonathan Hickman spent the first six issues of this series introducing the characters, and establishing just how wonderful and weird his universe was.  Now, he's gotten all the groundwork laid out, and it's time to start moving this book into high gear.

The American Manhattan Projects, supposedly under the control of General Leslie Groves (although it looks more like Nazi scientist Wernher Von Braun is calling the shots) enter into secret talks with their counterparts from the Soviet Star City program.  The basis of these talks?  They want to work independently of their governments to explore new options, after the Americans' recent interaction with alien lifeforms.

As much as I've loved this comic, I've been unable to predict where Hickman was taking things; now, I have a good sense of what is going to happen in this title, as the two groups settle into an uneasy alliance, while earning the enmity of President Truman (whose orgy is interrupted by the news of what the Projects are up to).

This is a truly wonderful comic.  Hickman has done a great number of strange and twisted things to the actual historical figures involved in the American atomic weapons project (this issue, we get to see just how alien Enrico Fermi really is), but has also imbued the book with some humanity, especially through the character of Helmutt Gröttrup, a German scientist who has been prisoner of the Soviets for years.

Nick Pitarra is more than up for any crazy idea that Hickman throws at him, and his art just keeps getting better and better.  This book is incredibly unique, and never boring.

The Manhattan Projects #6

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Pitarra

Considering that The Manhattan Projects is set firmly in the middle of the Cold War, it's a surprise that it is only with this issue that we see behind the Iron Curtain, and learn just what the Soviet equivalent of the Projects is.

Like the Americans, the Soviets tried to snap up as many Nazi scientists as possible, and this issue revolves around one of them - Helmutt Gröttrup.  Gröttrup had led the Nazi science base Oberammergau just prior to the Americans seizing it, as was shown in an earlier issue, and instead ran into a Soviet patrol, which was filled with unexplained squid-headed robots.

This comic follows Gröttrup's career, as he is literally branded a Nazi, and made to work in Star City, a Soviet project that involves rockets.  Gröttrup works steadily for his freedom, although personnel changes in the Soviet system make that seem unlikely.

In relation to this book's usual craziness, things are a little quieter this month.  We do learn that the Tunguska Event was alien-related, although Soviet attempts to reverse engineer the technology they recovered have not been too successful.  The preponderance of squid creatures is never fully explained, but I'm sure we'll get back to that at some point.

This issue is much more human than any of the previous ones, as Hickman shows Gröttrup as the victim of a number of unfortunate coincidences.  Visually, this comic is as good as it ever has been, as colourist Jordie Bellaire mostly sticks to a red and blue palette.

The Manhattan Projects #5

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Pitarra

What I like most about The Manhattan Projects is that there really is no telling what each new issue is going to contain.  The covers (which I love for their simplicity and unique graphic design) give away nothing about the content of the book, and Hickman has been playing with peoples' expectations since the first issue.

This month's issue returns to the meeting in Los Alamos between Manhattan Projects director General Groves and the alien ambassador of the Siill.  That meeting takes a turn to the violent, thanks to Dr. Oppenheimer, but because of his peculiar methods of gaining intelligence, we are soon treated to an explanation of the cosmic balance of power in the Milky Way and beyond (complete with a two-page map that must have been designed by Hickman). 

It seems that the Siill have recognized the value of the device that Einstein has created, which they call a Pulling Way, and now they are likely to return to Earth to get it.  This leads the Projects to act proactively, and send a group through the device to the Siill homeworld.  That's when things start to get really interesting.

With this issue, Hickman really gives Nick Pitarra a chance to cut loose, creating alien species and giving them room to breathe.  I especially like that the Siill leader looks to be wearing the skull of another Siill as a sign of office.

I don't have the first clue where this series is headed, and that's why it's one of the best books I'm buying these days.  If you haven't checked this out yet, you need to.

The Manhattan Projects #4

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Pitarra

Since this series began, we've only seen Albert Einstein sitting in front of an obelisk studying it.  Finally, we get to see what the purpose of this object, which does remind me a little of 2001, actually is.  And, as has become typical in this series, it's not exactly what you would have expected, even though the device's secrets echo some of the events of the first issue.

The Manhattan Projects is about the various secret sides of the famous war initiative that gave us the atomic bomb.  Hickman is playing with a cast of historical figures, but has twisted all of them into strange and bizarre characters.  J. Robert Oppenheimer is really his twin brother.  FDR is not dead, but is now the first artificial intelligence.  Things like this are common in Hickman's playground.

This issue opens with a visit from alien beings in the desert of New Mexico.  This apparently happens every decade, and on hand to greet the visitors are Manhattan Projects director General Leslie Groves, Oppenheimer, and representatives from the Soviet Union, Germany, and somewhere else.  The only thing is, it's not the usual visitors, but people from another alien race that conquered them, who have an offer for Earth.

The rest of the issue is concerned with Einstein and his device.  I like the way that Hickman has used each issue so far to explore a different aspect of the Projects, without yet giving us a notion of a larger plot or story-line.  Instead, much like his earliest issues of Fantastic Four, it seems that he is just taking his time laying the groundwork for a gigantic tale.  It works here.

The Manhattan Projects #3

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Pitarra

I guess if you're going to have a comic about the hidden scientific projects that received funding from the real Manhattan Project, it's probably best to drop the bomb at some point, and that's exactly what Jonathan Hickman does in this issue.

This comic has been laying the groundwork for Hickman's large-scale vision of scientific mayhem, but with this issue, much of it comes together into a cohesive whole.  The issue opens with Richard Feynman approaching Albert Einstein for advice on which delivery system to use for the atomic bomb (build both, says Albert), and then follows through Hickman's interpretation of the bombing, with a few forays into theology and governance.

Hickman is clearly having a great time writing this book, using real-life members of the Manhattan Project to his own ends.  We learn in this issue that scientist Harry Daghlian didn't die when exposed to high amounts of radiation, but instead became an undead living skeleton in a containment suit.  Hickman also hints in the back of the book that Italian scientist Enrico Fermi is not actually human.

Most amusingly, we are shown a scene where Harry Truman is presiding over a particularly bloody Freemason ritual when he learns that Franklin Delano Roosevelt has died, making him the president of the United States.  Of course, Roosevelt's body is being hooked up to a machine in the Manhattan Projects, so that he can continue to live.

Hickman has conflated Roosevelt's death with the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, events that took place almost four months apart in real life, which adds a lot more dramatic tension to the comic.  I'm really enjoying this book, which has excellent art by Nick Pitarra that still reminds me a little of Rick Geary's work.  I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something a little different.

The Manhattan Projects #2

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Pitarra

The second issue of Jonathan Hickman's new 'mad scientists of WWII' comic, The Manhattan Projects, upends some of the expectations I had for this series coming out of the first issue.  It seemed to be setting up a comic that was mostly about J. Robert Oppenheimer and his twin brother, and their involvement in the Manhattan Projects, plural; a wide-ranging scientific effort fronted by the quest for the atomic bomb.

This issue shows that Oppenheimer is only a small part of the operation, as the Americans try to recruit German rocket scientists to the cause, and we figure out that many other figures, including Richard Feynman, are going to be profiled and share the spotlight.  Also in this issue we are introduced to Wernher von Braun, a Nazi scientist who hung out with Hitler, and who has a gigantic robotic arm.

These scientists are all real people - I will admit that while I recognized some names, I have no knowledge of the history of 20th century science, and so am probably missing some pretty funny stuff.  I do enjoy seeing some lighthearted Hickman work, and am enjoying Pitarra's art.

It is difficult to predict where Hickman is going to be taking this series, but he is a comics writer who has gained my trust time and again, so I know enough to just sit back and enjoy this comic.  I definitely applaud the bold cover designs that he is using for this series - this issue really stood out on the stands.

The Manhattan Projects #1

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Pitarra

I'm not even sure where to begin with this new series by the brilliant Jonathan Hickman.  I am very happy to see Hickman make a more solid return to independent, creator-owned comics, after his recent announcements that he will be leaving the Fantastic Four and Ultimate Comics Ultimates in the coming months.  The Manhattan Projects, with his The Red Wing collaborator Nick Pitarra, is (I believe) an on-going series that is like nothing he has written before (although it is easy to see his slept-on Transhuman as a direct precursor).

The concept behind this series is that the famous wartime Manhattan Project, which created the first atomic bomb, was in fact only the surface of the much larger Manhattan Projects, which investigated any number of strange scientific applications that could be used for weapons.  This issue opens with the acceptance of Dr. Robert Oppenheimer into the Projects. 

He is given a tour of the facility that houses the Projects by the unnamed General in charge of things, right before it is attacked by Japanese robots coming through a gate that was lobbed into the facility.  While all of this is happening, we are given flashbacks detailing the life of Dr. Oppenheimer, and his twin brother Joseph.  It's hard to discuss this part of the issue without giving away a couple of surprises, and so I won't, except to say that I found it very enjoyable.

I will say that Hickman's writing in this series more closely resembles something written by Joe Casey or Matt Fraction than his usual well-orchestrated and plotted projects, which always contain a sense of great order to them.  Here, there is a sense of improvisation and maniacal oneupmanship, as he attempts to outdo himself with ever more crazy ideas and dialogue.  Here are a couple quotes that help demonstrate the timbre of this series:

"This is America... everyone gets a gun."
"A Red Torii.  No doubt Zen-powered by Death Buddhists."

Pitarra matches the writing with the correct level of insanity in the artwork.  His work is looser than it was in The Red Wing, with a little bit of a Rick Geary flavour to his faces - especially Oppenheimer's.  This is a very visually interesting book, as he has to design retro-futuristic scientific devices, which is always a fun exercise. 

I'm very intrigued to see where this series is headed.  If you have been enjoying Hickman's Marvel work, here's your chance to get in on the ground floor of something more satisfying.