Yuri Gagarin. Full-time Cosmonaut. Part-time cowboy.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Nick Pitarra
What They Say:
“SINGULARITY” A secret alien science experiment spins out of control, sucking Yuri and Laika up into a singularity of chaos the likes of which no human, or human-dog-person-thing, has ever seen. 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):
Returning to the world of Manhattan Projects with this spinoff back in March was a great thing and even with the length of time between installments I can’t help but to be giddy over it. The work as a whole has such a particular look and tone to it that I’ll wait a year between issues just to savor this kind of unique experience. With it focusing on Yuri searching for Laika the first time around and finding him while also getting an education on galactic life, there was a lot to take in but also the basic setup for where it can go from there. Putting Yuri in a position where he basically can go anywhere after that makes a lot of sense and with an eye towards adventure and weird group to associate with, it’s really unlimited in what it can do.
So the focus it decides to turn here may feel a bit mundane but it applies the particular skewed approach that works so well. The gist of it is that we get a Sinnu Gray being that has thrown off the yoke of slavery is intent on a good bit of revenge by heading to the core system world in order to achieve it. There’s some mild philosophizing with it, but at its core it’s about his intent on revenge. Hiring the ship that Laika works on board with Primor and Blarg, it’s the kind of weird and wacky group that you can only do well in comics – and particularly with Pitarra’s excellent design style. Unfortunately for the crew, in order to get to the Sionnu prime world they have to go through some elaborate tricks which includes acquiring a particular gate key that will let them warp through. Though there may be hundreds of thousands of these throughout the galaxy to service the trillions of Sionnu out there, there’s only one on the station under lock and key.
That takes us to a simple grab and run caper with the judge on board since it seems fun and exciting, which is why he hooked up with Yuri after the midnight court dealings as something that could be new. He may not get much new for a lot of it, but it’s a wonderfully fun romp as the group goes to swipe the key and run into all sorts of troubles all while the Sionnu Red side of the equation is starting to realize that something’s up and they’re going to have to deal with it soon. With a book like this, it’s the kind of thing where you just have to savor the characterization over plot to a degree, at least until the twists hit – which we do get here. The cast is just a hoot with such distinctive personalities and quirks, especially with Yuri now trying to figure himself out and clean up after his larger journey, and with Laika being quite the personality himself. The rest certainly aren’t hurting for quirks either.
In Summary:
While it’s going to take awhile to get this rolling, The Sun Beyond the Stars is exactly what I was hoping for from this series. Hickman and Pitarra work exceedingly well together in crafting a really particular kind of world and the work as a whole here is just completely engaging even if the bones of the storyline are predictable and familiar enough. It’s the quirks, characters and the sharp pivots that makes it a blast to read with the twists and turns you don’t expect – and then realize you should. With the caper fully underway and the job at hand in motion, we get a strong second installment that leaves me craving more and ready to re-read both installments a few times between now and the next. Very, very good stuff.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Image Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 29th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
