FBP: Federal Bureau Of Physics, Vol. 2: Wish You Were Here

FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics #2

by Simon Oliver, Robbi Rodriguez (Illustrations), Rico Renzi (Colorist)

The mind-bending science fiction series FBP returns to the strange phenomena all over the world-and beyond.

Federal Bureau of Physics agents Rosa and Adam are invited to take part in an experiment that will test their limits and blur their concept of reality. And after a beautiful moment is shattered, Rosa and Adam get to see firsthand why Nakeet is known as the strangest town north of the 48.
This volume collects issues #8-13.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Manga

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2014

About the author

Simon Oliver was hatched in South London in 1969. Since that date he has consistently strived for mediocrity in a number of fields of employment, from cooking at the legendary Hacienda Club of Manchester in the late 1980's, scuba diving instructor in the planet's more tropical climes, to a career as a camera assistant in Hollywood. With such a spotty and heterogeneous employment record is seemed only fitting that the comic book would industry welcome him with open arms in 2005 for his writing debut in THE EXTERMINATORS.

Reviews

['kris Pung · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first volume was a lot of fun so I was excited to give this a go but this one went way over my head with all the complex physics theories and alternate realities. I did enjoy the main characters and their snappy dialog so I'm mildly interested to see where it goes next.



Get this review and more at:

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

"FBP: Federal Bureau Of Physics: Wish You Were Here" is a strong second volume for this imaginative series. The book hangs together better than the first volume and the character development is nicely done. The reader gets a good sense for Rosa in all her quirky glory and Adam comes across as a talented agent and not just the slacker-doofus from the first volume. Expect an Alaskan getaway, Cicero being uncomfortable around an old friend, adventures with reality and lots and lots of references to Cicero's hair.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

🅡🅔🅥🅘🅔🅦

FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics: Wish You Were Here
2014
Graphic Novel
Rating: 4/5

FBP: Wish You Were Here is a thrilling continuation of Simon Oliver’s imaginative and mind-bending series. The second volume deepens the mystery and complexity of the world where the laws of physics are not just theoretical but actively controlled. Oliver’s ability to combine high-concept sci-fi with character-driven storytelling is clearly evident here, as he builds on the tension between the Bureau and the growing resistance against it.

The plot thickens as we follow the Bureau agents through bizarre, reality-bending scenario, navigating a world that is built from its two central agents. The art by Robbi Rodriguez complements the narrative perfectly, with dynamic, frenetic visuals that mirror the unstable, unpredictable nature of the story. The use of colour and design adds a layer of depth to the bizarre events unfolding.

What stands out, though, is the emotional depth Oliver brings to his characters. In this volume, we see more of their personal struggles, especially as they’re caught in the crossfire of grand, world-altering events. It’s a perfect balance of mind-blowing physics and human nature.

The pacing is slower, but deliberate, with each chapter exploring the stakes while managing to provide enough space for the bigger philosophical questions about the nature of reality, power, and control. If you enjoyed the first volume, this one won’t disappoint, it’s a deeper, more intricate adventure that keeps you turning the pages, eager to see how the pieces fit together. Highly recommended for fans of sci-fi, speculative fiction, and mind-bending narratives

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[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

In volume 2, Adam Hardy is paired with a new partner, Rosa Reyes, and is sent up to investigate events in Nakeet, Alaska. Possibly the weirdest small town ever, things go predictably wrong and Cicero and an old friend end up dragging Adam and Rosa into increasingly more bizarre circumstances.

Did not even begin to understand the science behind this one but I liked the concept a lot and the relationships between the various mentally unstable characters was interesting and believable. Worth picking up if you like hard sci fi.

Full series review here

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book 2 of the Oliver/Rodriguez/Renzi FBP graphic novel is one too many. From the by the numbers clichéd bar fight to the time flip flops and where are you now and what happened first it is confusion for the purpose of making an installment rather than moving the plot forward. The art remains strong, but there are other graphic novels and other graphic artists. At best this is analogous the old middle school creep out about what if the universe is a tiny speck of dust on the thumb of another middle school kid who lives on another speck of dust universe and so forth. I am not going to spend this kind of money for so little.

Part of the problem of reading literature is that you can experience how a story like this should be told. A plot device based on continually jarring the reader as you leap across time and loop sequences should serve a purpose. In FBP; Vol 2 Wish You Were Here, the purpose is to keep you confused while the publishers can check off that a the FBP books have another to sell you. Almost any spoiler I could give you might itself be false because there is no reality.

At some point series hero, the scruffy and always out of sorts Agent Adam Hardy and his side kick<?> partner Agent Rosa Reyes are for some reason in Nakeet , Alaska where for some reason they subject themselves to a life or death experiment in which they create or enter into or somehow are part of a pocket universe, whatever that is. And they either live through or their projected selves live through or maybe they loop back to live through, or something like that.. Anyway all of this is somehow related to an evil rich guy and finding Adams father and, well plot stuff, sorta…

There is a cute bit about tossing balls into an anti-physics hole that will toss some number of them back. I wonder what happens if you shoot machine guns into it? Also some stuff about fighting your way down stairs so that you can fight your way back up. Also Rosa suddenly becomes very talkative and inventive and no I do not get all this either.

Just plunk down your money for two more volumes and you may get a clue. Your money because I am not spending any more of mine, and maybe because the series was cancelled after four volumes. Maybe this time I am not the slow learner. Also I am recommending you move on, besides the art work there is nothing to see here.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wavered on the stars, maybe it's more 3.5 because the ideas are hard to squeeze into the graphic novel format, they're just too expansive and it does get confusing. But the art helps, better this than straight print. I'd love to see what they could do if they could put out a longer volume all at once and really expand on their ideas. I saw that the concept has been optioned for a TV show, which seems interesting, but I still want to see what they can do with this first.

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery deepens, and inevitable relationship stuff occurs, while the quality level of the art and story maintain. This is a cool idea, and there's a fair bit of the Robert Anton Wilson dimensional mindfuckery happening here, which is a nice throwback to the reading of my late teens and early 20s. Looking forward to a third volume without being overly excited about it.

[Sidekicks Wanted · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume had a definite Inception thing going on. A reality within a reality talking about another reality. There was a lot going on. I liked it, but it was definitely confusing. (that could just be me though)

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2016...

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird, trippy and a bit confusing, but the art is fantastic and it makes for a very interesting read.

[Steven W · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very odd story. I like the plot but I'm not invested in any of the characters. Just ok for me.

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My spoiler-free fangirling about this excellent series is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Claire Binkley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was most soothed by the artists' colour choices. My eye was drawn along the characters' body lines in a pleasing manner, as well.

However, I wasn't sure what the story actually was, and when I read a book (such as Anna Karenina or Nineteen Eighty-Four, I tend to knock on the book's door for its plot. Maybe if I paid better attention to FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics, Vol. 1: The Paradigm Shift (which I read last week) I'd have a better idea, but I'm not sure that would have helped very much. After all, I still don't know the character names. Maybe if I slowed down and looked hard at the character designs to see which was which, that might have helped, but that seems dubious... ???

Some reasons I'll read a book:
1. Peer pressure
2. Found it and it looked interesting
3. Family recommendation
4. The promise of GPA boost
5. Library due date coming up soon

Please note that none of the above reasons is really "to kill time" - I have heard from some of my friends that is one of their biggest reasons for reading books. I have tried some of their books, which are sometimes, indeed, usually most of the time fun and interesting, but I need to conserve my eyesight - it is true, I have found many of these... a little hard to enjoy.
Now, if you like one of these books, that is perfectly fine! I am not judging you for your choice in literature! I mean, hey, I read all 7 Harry Potters too! The fandom is frightening though, I keep my distance.

Now, I liked the colours and overall design of this book! It warrants a third star And my eye rested on the chessboard-like pattern, since I have played that my whole life. (In fact, I have five chess books piled up on a chessboard on top of a Stratego board in the corner of this room, since my favourite number is five.)

So, even though I rated the first volume two stars, I found the second volume better and found it average. Maybe it took the writers a bit of time to get into the groove.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This type of science fiction story is the kind that tends to eventually lose me. It hasn't happened yet, but we're getting there. In this volume we find the agents in some type of alternate reality that has been created by their minds, but it's then invaded by the men pursuing them. If you can get past that there's still a good story here, but I just feel like the story's walking a tightrope and could fall off into oblivion at anytime. (From reading other reviews I'm at least glad to know I'm not the only one finding the science confusing.)

I've made it this far so I'll continue to the end, but I hope it doesn't get any weirder.

[Dean · Rating 1 out of 5]

art abd colours are still pretty good but srt quality and consistency does drop here.

a transwoman is introduced here and every issue either that character or Cicero with the hair, bring it up abd talk about it in a poor way 'in a different reality which gender would I choose to be?' very poor way of speaking about transitioning.

this volume makes no sense with the twi agents going into another reality, a fake simulation, and that having repercussions and reverberations in the real world.

this volume and made me angry and Im not reading the rest of thebseries.

[Matthew WK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough book to rate. I guess I'm giving it 3 stars as I'm going to give the next volume a try. The story is a bit confusing - maybe that should be expected when dealing with the topic of quantum reality. But the story feels confusing and the art doesn't help - at times i have no idea what the artist is depicting or where the characters are. I'm intrigued that I'm so confused that i want to see if the story will eventually make sense.

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than volume 1, not by much though. I enjoyed the art more - crisp lines and distinct character rendering. The story stretched beyond the confines of a graphic novel - this would be better suited as a novel.

[Alex Neilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good follow-up to volume 1

[Kailee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um I don't know how this one was connected to the first one? Like how was this related?

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

umm... ok.... sure.

quick read tho

[Elizabeth A · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read my review for this entire series here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ross Alon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This book was weird, didn't care much for Rosa

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bunch of existential BS that apparently never actually happened.

[doubleokay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. The art style is so stellar but I'm definitely not smart enough to understand what's going on here

[Trike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pretty bored by this collection, which goes round and round but never gets anywhere. It’s just one big collection of connection to the next volume.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some pretty deep scientific ideas in the vol!

[Will Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better story and more character development than the first, in my opinion, but still not enough to keep reading this world.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.75 of 5

I was drawn to this book by the title.  Federal Bureau of Physics.  Physics!  I had a sneaking suspicion that this would be a story a little out of the ordinary, and one that I might be able to sink my teeth in to.  And I was right.

There are times, especially when reading, that I like reading something that might be confusing.  Typically, it's when there is a maze of realities that the reader must sort through.  For instance, the works of Philip K. Dick.  I really like those books.  And now we have something very similar in graphic novels with Federal Bureau of Physics.  Agents Hardy and Reyes are sent to watch over an old quantum physics lab in a remote little town where strange things are known to happen (think "Eureka").  At the lab, the reader is confronted with a variety of realities that the agents must navigate.  They, at least, are prepared for these alternate realities and we must ride along and try to hang on.

The art is delicious, with a slightly psychedelic look, adding to the vertigo the reader might feel while reading.

This is one of those rare books that the reader will want to read again.  In part because there is a sense that there is so much going on and a second reading might make things a little clearer.  This is a good thing.

I did get a sense that I most likely missed out on some things by not having read the first volume.  It's enough of a struggle to keep up with a work that deals with varying realities that starting out with a handicap is not fun.  This is not the sort of book that a reader will want to pick up late in the game.

I had a lot of fun, and the art was perfect for the book.

Looking for a good book?  This graphic novel might make your head spin, but if you like a story that requires close attention and promises a fun time, along with art that adds to the effect, then this is the book for you.

[Reading Bifrost · Rating 4 out of 5]

www.ReadingBifrost.com

“With only our five senses to guide us through what we perceive as ‘Reality’… chances are we’ll never know for sure if it’s real or not. But when we die, who’s to say we don’t just pass into another reality, and that none of this was ever real. It doesn’t matter where you are. If your reality is actually ‘real’ or not. No matter what reality you inhabit, it’s just as frightening and no less real…”

Welcome to volume two of Federal Bureau of Physics, where our favorite agents Rosa and Adam find themselves dealing with multiverses and alternate realities!

This volume is ordered in a non-linear fashion, which worked really well for the topic and story line. It skips from not only past to future, but also from one reality into another. This can also make it a bit confusing to follow the story if you don’t pay attention while you’re reading, and you can miss out on valuable hints.

There’s also so much quantum physics going on in so few pages it can make your head spin (see quote above). Rosa and Adam are in a quantum physics experiment that deals in questioning reality. But, really, as the saying goes- some people should not be left to their own devices.

I do feel like Rosa’s character took a leap in development somewhere between the first and second volume and we missed out on it. Where in the first volume she had trouble communicating even in small talk, in this volume she had no problems at all speaking her mind.

Overall, the story is compelling and handled the topic with flare. I’m still wanting to see a bit more detail with facial expressions with the art, but it’s as psychedelic/pop-artish as the first volume.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a series deals with strange things like bubble universes, alternate realities, and flexible laws of space-time and physics, things can easily get out of hand. Some series abandon all sense of coherency (the Terminator movies, for example), while others try to be mystical and confusing on purpose and end up being lame (like the Morning Glories graphic novels). This volume avoids those pitfalls and delivers an interesting story.

Volume 1 had a mix of physics crises that set the stage for the Federal Bureau of Physics' demise. In this volume, things are focused around a trip to Alaska and a simple decision made by FBP agents Adam and Rosa. They end up learning that "reality" may not be the firm, concrete pillar of existence that most people think it is (though Rosa already knows this, and you probably suspected this from volume 1). Plus Rosa shares what happened to her at birth and Adam gets closer to finding the man who might be involved in his father's death. Doesn't that sound like fun?

The end is a cliffhanger, but there's enough mayhem in this volume for it to be thoroughly enjoyable. I do have one minor nitpick though - several pages show the characters out in the snow, and there are so many white snow bubbles that it is nearly impossible to see what is going on.