The Manhattan Projects #6 paints the town red, specifically the Russian research town of Star City. What are the Commies up to while the Americans squabble? Here’s the official description Image:

While the Americans have progressively built the Manhattan Projects into massive success and thrust the west into future dominance, on the other side of the world the cold war rages on. Find out the secret history of the Russian science machine.

Jonathan Hickman uses issue six to focus on Helmutt Grottrup (there’s supposed to be an umlaut – the two dots like a colon symbol on its side – over the “o”, but I’m refusing here and now to hunt it down in Symbols,) an underappreciated Nazi scientist who is captured by the Russians. As it turns out, the Russians have made as many bizarre scientific advancements as the U.S., including robot soldiers with jellyfish for heads.  Thematically, Hickman draws parallels between Grottrup’s experiences with his old Nazi master, the (now reformed(ish)) Wernher von Braun and his new Russian ones. It’s an interesting addition to the overall story, but it also means that the other storylines we’ve been following are largely ignored.

Nick Pitarra‘s art for this issue is as strong as before. Where the American setting has had a very surreal appearance, Pitarra uses futurist and retro sci-fi influences for Russia. It would have been nice if we got to see more of Star City itself, because it’s the most interesting portion of the issue, visually. Unfortunately it only appears in one full page panel.

One of the great abiding weaknesses of The Manhattan Projects has been that all the characters are generally unlikable (Pitarra’s art contributes greatly to this, as he makes all the characters visually grotesque). This is true of Grottrup as well, who, while sympathetic and not exactly disgusting on his own, is still, y’know, a Nazi. Jonathan Hickman is an undoubtedly a good writer, but I question his ability to indefinitely maintain a series with no likable characters. While the Manhattan Projects has no scheduled end in sight, I’m confident not only that Hickman has an end in mind, but that it will come sooner rather than later.

3.5/5