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theartolater's review against another edition
4.0
If you love Saga, but wish it was grittier and more complicated, this might be the comic series for you. The tale of some spacefaring folk who jump universes through, it's a pretty interesting, multi-layered story that, when working right (as it does most of the time), ends up being a really fun and enjoyable ride.
It's definitely weightier than Fear Agent, and the narrative does run the future risk of kind of collapsing in on itself, but for now I'm really impressed with what is a dark, heavy-yet-pulpy science fiction adventure. Worth trying, and I know I'll be sticking with it.
It's definitely weightier than Fear Agent, and the narrative does run the future risk of kind of collapsing in on itself, but for now I'm really impressed with what is a dark, heavy-yet-pulpy science fiction adventure. Worth trying, and I know I'll be sticking with it.
jakekilroy's review against another edition
5.0
YES. YES. YES. I AM FUCKING IN FOR THIS. This opening trade had me by the balls, shoulders, and brain throughout. I want to see the weird get weirder and the spiral go bonkers. A science team hops through worlds to make it back home, with little bits being pulled back, revealing the deeper truth about characters and motivations after everything goes wrong.
thecommonswings's review against another edition
5.0
Ostensibly the rise of Image Comics as the front runner of mainstream alternative comics has been in part fuelled by DC’s neglect of Vertigo. For so long the only real way weird comics could become hugely popular, and very reliant on creators from 2000AD, was as to be published by Vertigo. But the weirdest thing about Image’s rise isn’t that they have become Vertigo 2.0 (although you could argue it has relied on a handful of really big tent pole comics to allow the weirder stuff to be published like they did)but that their main stylistic influence is what 2000AD has become since those early creators were tempted away
Although many later prog writers did follow in the steps of writers like Alan Moore and Grant Morrison, it’s been great to see 2000AD find a new and strange way to tell stories from a range of writers so if an Al Ewing, say, hits the big time there’s still a bunch of other creators still bubbling under. And under Matt Smith’s tenure as Tharg the comic seems to have new confidence in telling big, mad and eccentric stories with increasingly different artistic styles to match them. And where Vertigo seemed to be a weirdly inward looking, melancholy range of comics about gods and demons after a while (with exceptions), Image seems to enjoy adopting the huge mad ideas any prog reader is very familiar with
Which brings me to Black Science. Like Saga it starts in media res, but is a lot more frantic and disjointed in doing so. We join the action literally in a wild and extraordinary sequence with two people we vaguely guess must be our heroes pursued by the strangest of strangest alien races. Saga has been so popular because Vaughan and Staples enjoy wildly strange alien cultures, but Remender and Scalera are incorporating even wilder ideas - the sort of territory Moebius relished in his collaborations with Jodorowsky. And by the end of this volume you kind of get where things are heading but only about as much as you get where things have started from. It’s tremendously confident to barely pause to allow you to understand these characters, and Remender seems particularly not fussed about slowing down to do so. In fact it feels like another Image classic, The Manhattan Projects, in the sheer giddy rush of ideas but that comic sped up considerably. Yes it’s a bit too manic but by god it propels you along into their creative vision. Extraordinary stuff
Although many later prog writers did follow in the steps of writers like Alan Moore and Grant Morrison, it’s been great to see 2000AD find a new and strange way to tell stories from a range of writers so if an Al Ewing, say, hits the big time there’s still a bunch of other creators still bubbling under. And under Matt Smith’s tenure as Tharg the comic seems to have new confidence in telling big, mad and eccentric stories with increasingly different artistic styles to match them. And where Vertigo seemed to be a weirdly inward looking, melancholy range of comics about gods and demons after a while (with exceptions), Image seems to enjoy adopting the huge mad ideas any prog reader is very familiar with
Which brings me to Black Science. Like Saga it starts in media res, but is a lot more frantic and disjointed in doing so. We join the action literally in a wild and extraordinary sequence with two people we vaguely guess must be our heroes pursued by the strangest of strangest alien races. Saga has been so popular because Vaughan and Staples enjoy wildly strange alien cultures, but Remender and Scalera are incorporating even wilder ideas - the sort of territory Moebius relished in his collaborations with Jodorowsky. And by the end of this volume you kind of get where things are heading but only about as much as you get where things have started from. It’s tremendously confident to barely pause to allow you to understand these characters, and Remender seems particularly not fussed about slowing down to do so. In fact it feels like another Image classic, The Manhattan Projects, in the sheer giddy rush of ideas but that comic sped up considerably. Yes it’s a bit too manic but by god it propels you along into their creative vision. Extraordinary stuff
plexbrarian's review against another edition
2.0
A group of unintentional explorers leap through a series of alternate realities in extremely dangerous situations and a damaged device transporting them around that may not be able to bring them home.
This is a gritty, more life-threateningly perilous and 99% less humorous graphic novel resembling the TV show "Sliders." Or a much darker, adult version of Neil Gaiman's Interworld. Or a read-alike for Peter Clines' The Fold. I held onto vol.1-3 of this series probably much longer than I should have and feel some guilt that I wasn't very fond of it. The art style isn't my typical favorite, and I really did not like any of the characters. The concept of alternate dimensions/realities/worlds has always intrigued me, but the characters are all too tortured and have too much to hide, the settings all too bleak.
Maybe people who fall more into the dark graphic novel interest categories (Sandman, Chew, Watchmen) will get more out of this than I did.
This is a gritty, more life-threateningly perilous and 99% less humorous graphic novel resembling the TV show "Sliders." Or a much darker, adult version of Neil Gaiman's Interworld. Or a read-alike for Peter Clines' The Fold. I held onto vol.1-3 of this series probably much longer than I should have and feel some guilt that I wasn't very fond of it. The art style isn't my typical favorite, and I really did not like any of the characters. The concept of alternate dimensions/realities/worlds has always intrigued me, but the characters are all too tortured and have too much to hide, the settings all too bleak.
Maybe people who fall more into the dark graphic novel interest categories (Sandman, Chew, Watchmen) will get more out of this than I did.
avlieber's review against another edition
1.0
Utterly confusing and the extreme opposite of engrossing.
grilledcheesesamurai's review against another edition
4.0
Black Science dropped today with issue number 6 - ending its first story arc. The Trade Paper Back is up for pre-order, and available on June 10th. It's a terrific story with eye popping artwork; I'd probably throw it in the 'weird sci-fi' category.
A group of scientists fall victim to an experiment gone terribly wrong. Hopping from place to place in the 'Eververse', they fight for survival, never knowing where they are going to end up next. The mechanics and the team chemistry of the group are very rich and detailed. There is some serious deep rooted stuff going on and about between them all. The drama amongst them is all back dropped by the twisted, bizarre, and insane places they find themselves in.
I would have to say, that right along side FEAR Agent, Black Science is my favorite stuff from, Rick Remender. The story is blasted into legendary proportions with the brilliant art work by, Matteo Scalera. his style perfectly fits the tone of what is going on and really anchors everything in place. Each page, each pannel, draws you in and helps carry you along. The pacing is frantic, and I often found myself racing through the issues from word to word and picture to picture.
I really can't say enough good things about this book. Just an all around, perfect, sci-fi yarn.
A group of scientists fall victim to an experiment gone terribly wrong. Hopping from place to place in the 'Eververse', they fight for survival, never knowing where they are going to end up next. The mechanics and the team chemistry of the group are very rich and detailed. There is some serious deep rooted stuff going on and about between them all. The drama amongst them is all back dropped by the twisted, bizarre, and insane places they find themselves in.
I would have to say, that right along side FEAR Agent, Black Science is my favorite stuff from, Rick Remender. The story is blasted into legendary proportions with the brilliant art work by, Matteo Scalera. his style perfectly fits the tone of what is going on and really anchors everything in place. Each page, each pannel, draws you in and helps carry you along. The pacing is frantic, and I often found myself racing through the issues from word to word and picture to picture.
I really can't say enough good things about this book. Just an all around, perfect, sci-fi yarn.
primo_s_s's review against another edition
3.0
The concept was super cool, traveling and trapped in infinite alternate realities? Yep, sounds awesome, but the character.. not so much, just felt one dimensional to me, and at the beginning they were drawn pretty similarly so it was quite hard to distinguish them. The story took quite a while to really get into. At the beginning it was confusing and disjointed, but definitely got better later. It was fast paced and very fun to read though
i_dream_of_books's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, so here’s the deal. This, for me, was like a 3.5. It really has nothing to do with the specific storyline in this trade, just where it is leading. I️ am a fan of sci-fi and time travel, so I knew I️ would appreciate this. My only thought is that while a lot happened, it feels like maybe it could have been explained better. The art is very dark and the format of the pages changes a lot. One page is up and down, the next is side-by-side. And while in most it was clear what direction it’s to be read in, sometimes it wasn’t. I really like the premise of this novel. Dimensional travel isn’t a perfect science (here or in this), and is considered black science. Even in this world, they have so much more to learn. I want to keep reading this because I want to see where the story is going. So far, I like it.
djeand's review against another edition
Série très originale, avec un univers (des univers même...) qui s'annonce passionnant. Seul bémol pour ce premier tome: peut être un poil trop d'action au détriment des personnages. A suivre...