Project Monarch

by Michael Avon Oeming, Víctor Santos (Illustrator)

Legendary film director Stanley Bowman has been indoctrinated into a Faustian deal that has ruined his life.

He faked the moon landing, manipulated viral celebrity meltdowns, and filmed dozens of conspiracies to serve the goals of the Illuminati. But his loyalty gets called into question when he is forced to create an occult film so powerful the public will fall under complete control. Only his adopted child-star assassins can save him, his family, and expose the truth.

Project Monarch was a real C.I.A. operation and here Eisner award-winning creator Michael Avon Oeming ( Powers ) and Victor Santos ( Polar ) team up for this action satire original graphic novel pitted in the world of conspiracy theory. If you believe in nothing, they can get you to believe anything.

Genres: Graphic Novels

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 2023

About the author

Michael Avon Oeming is an American comic book creator, both as an artist and writer.

His 1998 comic book Bulletproof Monk was made into a film of the same name.

The previous mentioned collaborations are The Mice Templar from Image Comics, which he draws and co-authors with Bryan J.L. Glass,[1] and Powers from Icon Comics which he draws, and sometimes co-authors, with Brian Bendis. His creator-owned projects include Rapture, on which he collaborated with his wife, Taki Soma,[2] and The Victories, both for Dark Horse Comics.

As of 2010, he is employed as a staff member of Valve Corporation, working on Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2 and Portal 2 webcomics.

Reviews

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Project Monarch" is a conspiracy theory blow out as only Michael Avon Oeming could create.
Expect conspiracies, multiple abductions, sinister forces lurking in the shadows, drug use and disorienting narratives that make "Fringe" look like an after school special, twin ninja-actress- deep cover operatives, multiple homages to Kubrick, even more sinister forces luring in the shadows and talking Jesus toast.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant satire lampooning the whole industry of conspiracy theory. Played seemingly straight, but with tongue firmly planted in cheek the entire time to completely subvert expectations and highlight the absurdities of it all. It's not the tail wagging the dog, it's the dog endlessly chasing it's tail while thinking it is Ouroboros, tripping on its belief it is the most important thing in the world and in complete control without realizing it lacks any self-awareness at all, in an endless cycles of wash, rinse, repeat. The plot is there is no plot and the point is there is no point. Endless absurdity accomplishing nothing, with Oeming and Santos directing a spotlight on that absurdity.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really excited about this one and could not have been more disappointed reading it. Way too much exposition in the writing and too many things going on without any real feeling of resolution with any plot.

[The Warped One · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun! A fantastic action romp. One part JOHN WICK, two parts KATE, blended with a generous helping of conspiracy steroids. The tale moves at a breakneck pace and doesn’t relent on both the meta-criticism of classic conspiracy theories and the world building of a whole new space to indulge in them. There are some really poignant moments too, contemplating the nature for fame and the cost of success. I think you’ll enjoy this.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars overall
This feels like it was written by Van Oeming & Santos both consuming the magic mushrooms as depicted in the comic book itself; it's a gory, hyped-up, ludicrous fever dream of a book, much like ouroboros, the story consumes itself with a toasty, even more ludicrous 'epilogue'.
Maybe I was supposed to read it as a an out & out comedy...but I can't really say I was disappointed as I had no expectations before discovering it in my local library...

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's interesting to see Oeming and Santos team up because their art styles are so similar even though Oeming just sticks to writing this one. I gotta say though that this story about the Illuminati operating behind the scenes was really obtuse and not very entertaining.

[Dan Crews]

Just picks you up and doesn't let you down until the 3r chapter. It was very captivating all the conspiracy theory over lay on "Stanley Kubrick's" children. Really great drawing and composition. Strang and interesting color. But the narrative sort of falls part.

[Wm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great art, great concept, but gets very explain-y about 2/3 of the way through.