The adventures of Yuri Gagarin at the fringes of the galaxy?
Creative Staff:
Story: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Nick Pitarra
What They Say:
Only when he’s lost in space does the great Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, find his true calling. THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS is back with all new stories told in a brand-new format. The greatest FEEL GOOD, BAD SCIENCE book in the long history of man returns in THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS: THE SUN BEYOND THE STARS.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Having read and really enjoyed the first couple of graphic novels for Manhattan Projects, I’ve admittedly gotten behind in my reading there. But when I saw a new series kick off that looks like a jumping on point, how could I resist? Hickman’s got a twisted side that he lets come loose in books like this and there’s a lot of appeal in seeing a true anything goes kind of world for him to work in, especially one that’s tied to an alternate past history like this one. And to work with Nick Pitarra again to bring that style to life in such a rich, grimy and colorful way with Jordie Bellaire? It’s just a thing of beauty and silliness that appeals to a grand degree.
The opening issue of the new series is one that plays in two parts that will surely connect later, and each has a lot going for it. We’re introduced to an alien named Primor that has made a deal with others of his kind to create a certain kind of spore that requires them to literally mine a world in a huge way to get the materials needed for it. The deal was for twelve of them, but he’s only managed to create three and a half so far, and at great cost as more mining of other planets will surely get them noticed. Primor shows his character well here as he concludes the deal by saying he’s got his and screw the rest of you, which plays out in a scary and brutal fashion as he unleashes one of the spores. And to make matters worse for the group that was working with him, he also called in the authorities. We don’t get a lot out of Primor here, but we learn that he’s on a quest for revenge against the Sionnu Science Union and now has the weapons to do it – and the cunning if we go by how well he’s planned things so far.
While that sets the first half of the book and the background storyline, the second half is likely to be more accessible to people. This places us on some fringe facility in space where we’re introduced to Yuri Gagarin, who’s now in jail awaiting trial for trespassing on the station – even though it was a tractor beam that pulled him in. He’s on a quest to find his dog, which has one of the best sequences ever towards the end – and he’s just trying to comprehend everything that he’s seeing and having to deal with. He gets a little understanding from a creature named Garru that’s in there with him – for eating a rare species to genocide as he thought they were a tasty treat on a shelf as opposed to being in a reproduction center – and through him he gets a little understanding of the justice system. Watching that play out is pretty surreal, but it fits with the tone of those property overall and helps to push Yuri into a position where he’s going to be able to get out into the galaxy more. A lot of it right now is just him trying to cope with it all and being pulled from place to place, but you get this sense that once he does start taking firm positions, he’s going to be a wonder to watch.
In Summary:
Science and science fiction is in ascent these days and titles like Manhattan Projects are wonders to behold. This new series throws us off to what should be a pretty fun story on the other side of the galaxy, but it gives us something accessible to work with in the form of Yuri Gagarin. It also makes Garru one hell of a character to enjoy watching and reading while also teasing the other side of the story elsewhere with Primor and his plans. At the start, it really is something that you can pretty much transplant into any other time period or setting with minor adjustments, but what makes it so much fun here is the scripting and artwork as well as a real sense that anything can happen – and often does. Even if this is only half as good as what we see with the main series, it’s definitely a highlight of the year. So far it looks like it’s going to be just as good, but working with something different than usual. If anything can constitute as usual in this property. This series requires a certain kind of humor, but if you’ve got it, you’re going to adore this.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Image Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: March 18th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99