FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics, Vol. 3: Audeamus

FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics #3

by Simon Oliver, Robbi Rodriguez (Illustrations), Alberto Ponticelli (Illustrations)

“Protecting mankind from the impossible.” In theory, that’s the reason people become agents of the Federal Bureau of Physics. But if the breakdown of the laws that govern the universe has shown the world anything, it’s that theory and reality are two very different things.

For Cicero Deluca, the FBP was a way to escape a life of bullying for a virtual kingdom of the nerds. For Adam Hardy, the FBP was a chance to find the secrets of his father, a groundbreaking physicist who lost his career for telling the truth about his discoveries. Protecting mankind wasn’t high on either of their lists.

But the massive quantum tornadoes tearing across the planet may make them rethink their priorities. The universe is running out of dark matter, the mysterious glue that holds reality together. And unless Adam and Cicero can help the FBP create more, there will be no more mankind left to protect…

In FBP: FEDERAL BUREAU OF PHYSICS: AUDEAMUS, writer Simon Oliver and artist Alberto Ponticelli take this saga of strange science to its darkest destination yet! Collects issues #14-19.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Adult, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2015

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

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quirky series where the laws of physics are in disarray. A federal bureau of physics has agents tasked with dealing with all the physics anomalies that occur. Unfortunately, something is really wrong and the world is hurtling toward the end of all things. It's up to Agent Hardy and company to deal with this and figure out how to save the world.

Simon Oliver delivers a very talky script, but I like it. He muses on a lot of things dealing with physics and even metaphysics. It's really fascinating, and I wish I knew enough about this stuff to determine what's true and what's fiction here. Even though the characters are not super-well developed, they're interesting enough to keep my attention and to be "individuals" in the story. The addition of a mother and child, left homeless after a quantum tornado tore through their living area, is a nice way of adding some not-so-quite-ordinary folks to the mix.

Although I miss Robbi Rodriguez's art on this book, Alberto Ponticelli has stepped in a contributes his own weirdness to this book. Ponticelli was the artist on most of the Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE series for the New 52, and I love his work. Expressive, very European and "underground," it works with the weirdness of this book. Colors by Rico Renzi are vibrant and just perfection.

The next volume is the last, as this Vertigo series did rather poorly in sales. Still, we'll hopefully get resolutions to all of the plots, including whether or not Adam finds his father. Looking forward to it.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

In volume 3, the universe is running out of dark matter as the rate of events like quantum tornadoes accelerates and we're given some back story on Cicero. Adam, Rosa and Cicero team up with the last person they'd expect in an effort to prevent the world from unraveling.

And here's where this series just starts falling apart. First we lose the artistic team of Rodriguez and Renzi that made the visuals so great in the first two volumes. Then the story starts devolving into this save the world mechanic that obviously doesn't go according to plan. Meh story with loose threads that don't get resolved and seriously disappointing artwork.

Full series review here

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

In " FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics: Audeamus" the laws of physics begin to break down at a greater rate, Cicero's backstory gets a deeper examination and the FBP takes on a new mission.

Expect several versions of Kid Cicero - with the expected hair, a bad-guy base of which any Bond Villain would be envious, a real atomic wedgie, lots of flash backs, a cameo from an earlier and significantly less svelte version of Sen and Hardy takes a trip.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still enjoy the series, it's just hard not to compare it to something like Revival and how packed with character development and story it is. Though Revival is a tough standard to meet, I do wish this series had more content. It felt like not very much actually happened here, which is a shame because there are so many interesting ideas percolating through this series. I loved the new characters, brilliant little Ina and her cool mom, who never got a name other than Mommy. But a huge part of the book was Cicero's background, OK but not significant to the cool science-y wildness. And another large amount was Adam's training to go into another dimension and fix things so the entire universe doesn't end, also boring. There was no Rosa, very little personal drama or interaction. Look, it was fine, and interesting, but the interesting parts flew by, the whole thing flew by really quickly. At's a super short read and this review is already too long for what it was. I'm sorry the series is ending with the fourth volume but unfortunately it hasn't quite lived up to the potential of its super cool big ideas.

[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

#federalbureauofphysics#2014#comics#comicbooks#comicbookcommunity#comicbooklover#booklover#bookworm#comicbookreview#comicbookcollection#comicbookcollector#comicbookcollecting#dupreewenttothemovies#books#bookrecommendations#readingtime#readingaddict#readingcommunity#readinglist#readingbooks#readingisfun#alwaysreading#ilovereading#lovereading#readreadread#readersgonnaread#simonoliver#book#vertigocomics#graphicnovel

[Matthew WK · Rating 3 out of 5]

To bad Vol. 2 was so confusing and the art led to issues with differentiating characters. This volume was actually pretty good as the story was straightforward, things were explained and the opening with the story of Cicero's early school days was a lot of fun. That being said I'm throwing in the towel on this series. There is only one volume left, but I don't really care much about the characters or what happens. Volumes 1 & 3 have some interesting concepts to play with, but the story is never carried to it's full potential. Can't recommend series overall, but this volume was still decent.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Volume 1 was a prolonged introduction to the series.
Volume 2 was a drug induced dream of what never happened.
Volume 3 FINALLY got into the actual story, but by this point I really just want to finish off the series and move on to something better. We do learn that the FBP agents go to a school where Jr High bullying and stupid and dangerous childish antics are tolerated and ignored by faculty.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume gives us a flashback to Agent Cicero's youth and then things go into full gear as the end of the world approaches. The agents find themselves teamed up with their adversary in an attempt to literally save the world.

Overall the series has been a little uneven, partially due to the change in art teams. The series also seemed to jump a little bit as the progression from last volume to this one didn't seem smooth. Still not bad, and I'm interested to see how it all wraps up.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

best volume yet, I think

[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 3 out of 5]

This book was weird, cared a little about the characters. The smart kid and the agents boss were nice

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved the chapter with Ini, brilliant!

[Reading Bifrost · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Well, like I say, I’m only a kid, but I’d probably do what they told us in kindergarten… make nice, play fair, always wash your hands… and do whatever I had to do to save the world.”

In the past comics, Cicero Deluca is almost completely overlooked as a character. In this volume, however, we are given an inside scoop of his relationship with Adam’s father and just why Cicero decided to join FBP in the first place. I do have to say after reading this volume I have a new found respect for the character and can see Cicero becoming a favorite of the group as long as he’s not shoved into the background again.

After Cicero’s story, the gang meets up with a man named Blackwood. He knew Adam’s father (surprise!) and we get a bit more added to the story.

Quantum tornadoes hit a major highway leading to a city, trapping Adam and a few survivors in a kind of quantum bubble just to the side of reality.

Six-year-old genius Ina was a great addition to the comic. You might remember her and her mother earlier in the comic series, calling to complain about a wormhole in their kitchen that their cat kept getting lost in. Ina is a super genius and super cute, and watching Adam having a deep conversation with a six-year-old is like watching Luke ask advice from Yoda. She’s one awesome kid.

Then it gets screwy. Apparently the universe is running dry on creation, aka dark matter. Blackwood enters the picture again, acting a bit creepy, and has a dimensional travel project in the works and wanting to add Adam and his crew to the inter-workings.

Overall, this edition did little in moving the story along, but instead worked in getting deeper into the world. Can’t wait see what happens in volume 4!

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sincerely, thank you for dumbing this down a bit for us. The last volume was trippy to the point of mind-blowing, and I will admit I got a bit lost. This volume is much more straightforward, with a nice flashback for Cicero that makes a great introduction to the world, and then travels into the major story arc, all the while showing several examples of the Physics disasters that are the fundamental challenge of the world. Action and explanation balance much better here, and the story moves forward with much higher stakes. The art is as vibrant and unique as always, and new character Ina is fascinating. It's still a mind trip, and it ends on a cliffhanger, but this volume really delivers on the concepts I was expecting. Worth the read.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning has some backstory about Cicero, which is interesting, before going into Hardy getting his dad's notebook and quantum tornadoes popping up like an apocalyptic SyFy original movie. It's pretty fun, especially for a physics nerd. They go into actual science.
I have to admit that when my boyfriend asked me how it was as I closed the book, I replied, "The main character isn't as sexy as in the previous ones." I put my foot in my mouth, but there is much less romance and no fooling around like in the first two trade paperbacks. It's still fun. I'd recommend picking it up.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like the writing sort of fell off a cliff in this volume. Not only were there a some grammatical errors (seriously, couldn't this have been double-checked for the TPB even if the comics had errors?), most of the storylines were highly cliche and/or bland. The characters joking about how cliche the things happening to them were didn't really help. I had initially enjoyed this series, but after this volume I'm not sure I'll bother picking up another. Some fun art and colors, but disappointing overall.

[Marten Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storytelling improved, it got less fuzzy and there are fewer plot holes. Sadly enough, some characters are robbed of their significance (was rosa even in the book?).
The art however is a huge disappointment. while I am not sure whether the art actually helps making this comic more comprehensible, the sheer beauty and wickedness of the previous volumes just doesnt exist in ponticellis artwork. also, almost every character got significantly whiter, which is also immensely disapointing.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Then it's off to the Giant Underground Bunker of Conspiracy-Land, where we find out that the rules of morality are pretty much in the same place as the rules of physics in this alternate world, and I'm pretty sure I'm not okay with that.
read more...

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't care for Alberto Pontichelli's art that much but the story is still great. Simon Oliver has come up with a pretty great premise. The laws of physics are failing throughout the world and the FBP is the government agency that deals with it.

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was my favorite volume of this series I have read so far. I didn't want to put it down. I love the art in this series; especially the use of colors.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[JennRoxx · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is getting good...

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the most exciting volume, too much backstory setup?? Shrug.