The Manhattan Projects #3 Review


 

The alternate history lesson that is The Manhattan Projects continues with issue 3, “The Bomb,” which focuses on the the construction of the explosive in question, as well as the fallout of Roosevelt’s death and Truman’s inauguration.

Here’s the official description from Image:

The Death of FDR leaves the Manhattan Projects in chaos as questions of leadership arise. The world’s first Artificial Intelligence is created 40 years ahead of schedule. And whatever happened to the THIRD atomic bomb developed by Oppenheimer and his unparalleled Science Team?

Thus far, The Manhattan Projects‘ biggest problem is in the pacing. The plot moves right along, but most of the characters remain unknowns. This encourages a reader to turn to history itself, which is informative in a general way, but unlikely to increase his understanding of the book.

While Hickman is a great writer, and Nick Pitarra’s art does a great job of conveying the quirky-yet-disturbing vibe that this book puts off, I’m consistently reminded of Grant Morrison’s different collaborations with Frank Quitely. Projects isn’t nearly as inscrutable as Morrison’s work tends to be, but it definitely leans in that direction. Pitarra’s somewhat unsteady lines lend the same flawed humanity to the genius scientists that Quitely reserves for superhumans.

That flawed humanity is even more obvious in Hickman’s writing, where almost every character is painted as either arrogant, disturbed, a flake, or overly self-righteous. The characters’ collective failure to be likable is perhaps the largest weakness of an otherwise intriguing title.

Issue 3 is without a doubt the most impactful so far. I’m just hoping the major events we saw will lead to big revelations very soon.

3/5