On one hand, this series continues to showcase plenty of cool ideas and images that make it well worth reading. Harry Daghlian’s transformation from man to irradiated skeleton. Enrico Fermi winding up on the business end of Albert Einstein’s chainsaw. JFK as a paranoid anti-communist coke fiend. The war of the Infinite Oppenheimers. Between the existing plot threads and Jonathan Hickman’s re-casting of previous scenes in a new light, you can sit back and enjoy the book on its subplots alone. Things only get better when you consider Nick Pitarra’s typically strong artwork, and the surreal Oppenheimer warfare rendered by guest artist Ryan “God Hates Astronauts” Browne.
On the other, it’s a good thing that the subplots are so interesting because I’m starting to wonder where “The Manhattan Projects” is going. The main thread seems to be Oppenheimer’s machinations, yet there’s so much else going on here that it doesn’t get a whole lot of momentum going in this volume. While Hickman is known for his meticulously planned-out stories, it feels like he’s testing himself to see how many subplots he can throw in before the narrative buckles under the weight of it all. It hasn’t yet, but unless we get some of that forward momentum going on them it’ll happen soon. The title does remain, for now, one of the most distinctive and demented series out there.
Jason Glick
Comic Picks #260: Genshiken -- Second Season
Comic Picks #259: Letter 44
Comic Picks #258: Snowpiercer
Comic Picks #257: Black Panther by Christopher Priest
Comic Picks #256: Catching Up With Batman
Comic Picks #255: Parasyte
Comic Picks #254: Best of 2017
Comic Picks #253: Inuyashiki
Comic Picks #252: Secret Empire
Comic Picks #251: JLA by Grant Morrison
Comic Picks #250: Rachel Rising
Comic Picks #249: Baltimore
Comic Picks #248: Jeff Lemire -- Old Man Logan/Royal City
Comic Picks #247: Batman -- The Dark Knight: The Master Race
Comic Picks #246: Goodnight Punpun
Comic Picks #245: Inhumans vs. X-Men
Comic Picks #244: Alias/Jessica Jones
Comic Picks #243: Wolfsmund
Comic Picks #242: Guardians of the Galaxy by Bendis
Comic Picks #241: Ichi-F
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