The Manhattan Projects is a series about an alternate World War II. It explains to you the “what ifs” if The Manhattan Project, the research and development project for WWII, didn’t just work on atomic bombs and things of that nature, but was a front for all sorts of weird projects that cross into the realm of science fiction. Our main characters are well known names like Einstein, Oppenheimer, Roosevelt, and others. Only they’re different. For example, Oppenheimer is actually the twin brother of Robert Oppenheimer (the “father of the atomic bomb”) who killed and ate his brother, as well as many others, in order to gain their knowledge. Because of this, he now has multiple personalities.Now the reason for Point of Entry: is it noob friendly?Absolutely. This is not necessarily just for comic book fans. It’s for everyone interested in alternate histories, WWII, any of the scientists, science fiction, the list goes on. You do not need to know anything about this world in order to read it like so many comics. It’s cool if you know some of the history because when you read you’ll think, “Wait a minute…” and have to go look something up.All that said, I think this is wonderful…for some people. Just not me. Let me tell you why, then let me tell you why you just might think it’s awesome.First, I couldn’t get into the drawing style right from the get-go. It just wasn’t as crisp as I prefer. But hey, not all art styles are for everyone. This one was not my cup of tea.Second and final, I like science fiction. But let’s be honest, I only like light to fluffy style science fiction. This was crossing into realistic stuff that is really well thought out. I guess that says something about my tastes, but it’s true. I don’t really care about all the intricacies. I don’t really want to know all about plutonium and aliens taking over our world.On to the pro: I mentioned I didn’t really like the drawing style, but I really liked the coloring style.tumblr_inline_mlctxqfPWI1qz4rgp I like it when you can read something deeper in what you’re seeing than the words allow. At first every time I saw blue and red I equated it with bad vs. good. Then later on it became normal vs. abnormal. But then there is one breaking point where everything is blue (my good/normal color) including Adolf Hitler but the flower he is holding is red (my bad/abnormal color). It makes you think a lot about what you’re seeing and it’s kinda fun to see what the artist is trying to accomplish.Overall, it’s not for everyone. But I think there are way more people out there who enjoy it than don’t. I checked out the Goodreads page for it and it has an average rating of 4.01 out of 5. So obviously I’m in the minority. It seems like it’s going to have a solid story that will ride out through the duration. It might be your next favorite, but if you’re like me, just pass on it. Jonathan Hickman is omnipresent in comic books these days. He's writing about twelve or thirty titles for Marvel, all of which apparently have the word "Avengers" in it. And he's also writing about ninety other comics for other smaller publishers. (And every other comic not written by Hickman is written by Rick Remender or Robert Kirkman, apparently. I covered Kirkman's Invincible a while back, and there's some other thing he writes that's insanely popular, though I forget the name at the moment.*)While I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the second and final Jonathan Hickman Fantastic Four Omnibus (WHEN THE HELL IS IT COMING OUT?!?!?), I'm catching up with some of his other stuff, and earlier tonight I caught up with The Manhattan Projects.I strongly suggest you read this book. I also think that, the more I tell you about it, the less likely you are to believe me. So you should just read it for yourself. You may not enjoy it, but I strongly doubt that--well, let me rephrase and say that, if you like science fiction, extreme ultra mega gonzo violence, grotesque caricatures of your favorite science heroes (Einstein! Feynman! Fermi! Von Braun! Oppenheimer! all done crazy crazy wrong!!), and obtaining multiple personalities through cannibalism, then hello and welcome to your new favorite comic book.I will also say that, after you read this volume (which collects the first five issues), you may well think, oh, okay, I think I know where this is going. But as of right now, I just finished the eighteenth issue, and I can assure you, it's going places you would not believe.Also also: fill-in issues by Ryan "God Hates Astronauts" Browne! What a pleasant surprise. (Nick Pitarra, the regular artist, is some kind of twisted genius.)I'm going to try to catch up with some of Hickman's other works very soon (on deck: East of West), but he seems to be writing faster than I can read. And I can read pretty damn fast. I'm not bragging necessarily. I'm just saying.* Obviously kidding.
What do You think about Nouvelles Expériences (2013)?
Fun! Wacky with interesting characters, a nutty plot and interesting artwork.
—angelikah
stupid, entertaining, just a tiny bit thoughtful... sweet
—mas
