The Manhattan Projects, Vol. 5: The Cold War

The Manhattan Projects

by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Pitarra (Artist)

It's the fifth volume of the world's greatest secret science history, THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS. ""The Cold War"" reveals the dark days of the 'real' Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of an American President, and the end of the Manhattan Projects-Star City alliance.

Collects THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS #21-25.

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

156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 9, 2014

About the author

Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cold War, the real Cuban Missile Crisis, an assassination and the end of an alliance, what fates waits them all? I read the The Manhattan Projects' comic books #20-25 which covers the content of this volume. The science fantastical fantasy continues with the possible ascension... of evil Science! 8 out of 12 Four Star read despite the sometimes hard to decipher artwork!
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2016 read

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

And here's where the series went off the rails for me.

Maybe that's unfair. Maybe this is what they always intended for the series.

But to me it felt like everything the story had been building to for 20 issues was put on hold while a bunch of unrelated stuff happened.

And that wouldn't have been so bad, except for what happened in the next volume...

[Sean Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series, and this volume in particular, is like a barium enema—on the surface (or, I guess, well below the surface, once it gets where it’s going), it’s simultaneously intriguing and uncomfortable, but, when you’re done, you’re left scratching your head, wondering what all the fuss was about, shifting uncomfortably in your seat, and thinking maybe you should have just gone for the cinnamon scone instead. Then, you realize that it’s weird that you’re at a place that serves both barium enemas and cinnamon scones, so you go home, and that’s when you wake up and realize the whole thing was a very weird dream, only the taste of cinnamon lingers on your tongue and you’re filled with a feeling of emptiness.

[Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just when I was worried that this series would go "off the rails" and become "supergenius scientists . . . in SPAAAAACE!", along comes Lyndon B. Johnson and JFK to ground things back in . . . well, reality isn't quite right. In fact, it's completely wrong. Like previous volumes of this outstanding series, we deal with extradimensional entities and even watch as Einstein, Einstein, and Feynman travel through the interstices of our dimensions. But what make this volume unique from the others is the strong emphasis on political events happening at home (meaning Earth, in this case) including the assassination of JFK and the . . . persuasion . . . of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara to . . . play along with the . . . erm . . . Soviets. Yeah. The Soviets. Um. As you might be able to tell from my hesitations, nothing is as it seems. But is it ever, in Hickman's and Pitarra's universe? The Cold War, which I lived through as a kid, is portrayed here as the most complicated interdimensional chess game you've ever contemplated. But don't contemplate too long, or your mind might be lost, your brain extracted from your skull and replaced by mind control devices, just like what happened to . . . well, nevermind. Imagine the Cold War gone totally gonzo, ratcheted up to "11", then drop a bunch of acid, and you might start to get the idea. Maybe.

This is, by far, the most enjoyable graphic novel series I've read in . . . well, ever. Which means that most "normal" people will absolutely hate it.

I'm totally content with this. Hate on, normal people, hate on.

[CS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

Again, with the insanity, though to be honest, it's starting to wear a bit thin, and oh lordy, has it changed so much from Project Gaia, Project Vulcan, Project Ares.

Also...are there any named females in this world? That do anything? Besides (I believe) the dog? No? Women just...don't exist?

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty different from the previous volumes, it felt a lot more crammed and rushed, and it was pretty far into the volume until we got some of the red and blue flashbacks that have become a stable of this series. But over all this was still as off the wall and as enjoyable as ever.

[Peter Derk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest, it's too long between volumes for me to keep track of what the fuck is going on in this series. It's like East of West that way. If I go a couple months without reading, I don't remember shit. Who was doing what? Where? Why? How is pretty much out of the question in this book, but those other ones apply, and I don't have any answers.

It's stil enjoyable as a book, and I think the real problem is not reading the volumes close enough together and reading other stuff in between. So is that a problem with the book? The book's publication? The delivery? Am I putting myself into that category of people who review stuff on Amazon and say things like, "UPS dropped this off and it got wet in the rain"?

I hate those people. Monsters. Why would you put that information under the rating for a book? Who does that help? I wish everyone who did that had written a book so I could review THEIR book and say, "Left unhelpful review on another book that didn't make any goddamn sense."

[Jakub Kvíz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alternativni pohled na udalosti Studeny Valky (Kubanska krize, JFK) jsou sice zabavne a zajimave pojaty, ale pribehove uz MP patym bookem sklouzavaj mezi prumer. Putovani Feynmana a Einsteina me nejak neuchvatilo, ale zase lepsi nez Oppenheimer.

[Koen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, but they are totally fucking this up... They are trying to spice up the quirkiness/craziness, but in the process they botched up everything..

You see just about everything that you can think of popping up in this episode.. and I mean everything: three headed animals, dog with legs, flabbered JFK assassination,... you name it, they've got it :D

No, this definitely wasn't what I was hoping for..
Who knows.. Their hiatus might do MP some good.. We'll just have to wait and see.

Next up though: MP sun beyond the stars..

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of this volume. It just became super convoluted. The previously concise cast of characters is becoming bloated and some of them are on arcs I find to be wholly uninteresting. This volume felt like it totally came out of left field.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a LOT going on in The Manhattan Projects. I am starting to lose track a bit. However, this volume has much more Laika than the last one, so it is a success. And LAIKA GETS LEGS!!!!

Laika is best one.

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twisted, warped, depraved, ... and I mean all that in a GOOD way! :)

[Kyle Berk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this volume suffers from Oppenheimer's absence. He was killed at the end of the last volume and I don't think there is enough of the Einstein doppelganger's to make up for it.

Some new characters are introduced and it isn't enough to make up for the old ones's being gone. There is still some great stuff here like the two Generals setting up a new regime with LBJ but this volume is the weakest of the Manhattan Projects I've read so far. But with the multiverse being explored i think there is great potential for the next volume.

It's good but lacking for what has come before.

3 stars.

[Tays · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My point is, you have to stop being afraid of dangerous things. Some people spend their entire lives locked in a room because they think it's safe."

I have to admit, at some point this volume lost me. There a bits and pieces of it that felt out of place, then again this volume was a start of something new for the title what with out Oppenheimer roaming around as a main antagonist and all that. But even so, it had it's straight up brilliant storytelling somewhere. The narratives Einstein/Feynman narratives were my absolute favourites. Che Guevarra and Fidel Castro gambling inside a casino was quite fun to see. Lyndon B. Johnson was quite a great addition to the cast, the same goes for Westmoreland who became a part of the ragtag team on this one. It's weird. It's brilliant. It's quite a bit of a mess and at the same time quite a bit of orderly. It's science and it's history. Let's just keep it that way for now yea? ;)

[Des Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hickman's weird adventure forges on, with one of the wildest volumes yet. The storytelling here was a little less focused, and felt like an in-between arc. I'm sure these threads pay off in a big way (given where Von Braun, Yuri, the Einsteins and Feynman find themselves) but the star of the show was JFK's assassination. You just gotta love Hickman's abuse of American history, and Pitarra's absolute irreverence in illustrating such brutality. Manhattan projects is still smart, and a lot of fun, but it will be interesting to see where it goes from here. It feels like the creators might not have much more to say, but a new adventure angle could pay off nicely.

[David Schwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot seems to have lightened up slightly in this installment of the story (if going from really dark to less dark but still really dark). The outer space plot arc has some interesting twists. The Einstein's and Feynman explore other dimensions. Lastly LBJ takes a central role in the plot (I suspect he is the one person standing at the end). As usual great graphics though maybe a touch down in quality versus the other volumes in the series.

[Dale Grauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

They started to lose me with volume 4. I was disappointed with the cruel anti-climax of the Oppenheimer narrative, and I have been disappointed with the Einstein/Feynman narrative as well.

Volume 5 was an improvement, and I generally enjoyed what progress was made here. Lyndon Johnson has been a fun addition.

[Jesse A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was seriously in jeopardy of going completely off the rails but fortunately this volume brought us back under control. Don't worry it didn't lose its overall batshit craziness just refocused it. Well done.

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

JFK, Castro, Ché, Lee Harvey and LBJ...oh my. Add that to the meta effed up scientists and a long lost Soviet Canine Cosmonaut and you have, still, only scratched the surface....all aboard the Crazy Train....love this series!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Getting better again. After the disappointment of the Oppenheimer plot, things are getting nice and weird again.

[BellaGBear · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for the emotional whirlpool the end of this story gave me. If you want a more objective review I'll have to read it again :P.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

If it wasn't for my slight fixation on finishing series' after I begin them, I would have stopped reading this puzzling story a while ago. Oh well, only one more volume to go.

[Paulo Vinicius Figueiredo dos Santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tendo encerrado a história principal no volume anterior, Hickman e Pitarra retornam em duas edições finais para encerrar a história deste grupo insano de cientistas. A Guerra Fria se aprofunda e as alianças agora são mais maleáveis do que eram antes. O mundo está se transformando e os cientistas precisam se adaptar aos novos tempos. Mas, é claro que isso não virá sem uma boa dose de ciência insana, tripas e violência. Em histórias curtas que se conectam, vemos aonde Laika foi parar depois de ter sido enviada ao espaço. Star City é tomada pelos russos que, depois da deposição de Brezhnev, decidem tomar ações contundentes contra uma cidade inteira que pode ser usada como arma. Do lado americano, a ascensão de Kennedy pode representar um perigo aos interesses escusos de um governo que se coloca nas sombras de Washington. Hora de alguém lidar com ele: entra o agente duplo Oswald. Mentiras, segredos e conspirações continuam em mais uma edição repleta de ciência maligna.

Os volumes 5 e 6 desta série possuem histórias fix-up, ou seja, histórias curtas e rápidas com todos os personagens da série para que saibamos o que aconteceu com eles depois da última edição e o que eles estão fazendo nas próximas décadas. O roteiro é totalmente over-the-top, como a série inteira foi, e Hickman continua apresentando ideias cada vez mais bizarras para os fatos históricos. É curioso que em nenhum momento ele cria alguma inconsistência histórica ou altera algo que realmente aconteceu. A ideia é só construir algo fictício em situações reais. Nesse ponto ele consegue realizar isso com sucesso. Contudo, esse quinto volume não tem o mesmo charme de algumas das melhores histórias da série. As situações parecem forçadas e até um pouco arrastadas e falta um senso de urgência na narrativa. Para quem está acostumado com o trabalho do Hickman, Projeto Manhattan é bem diferente daquela escrita sóbria e repleta de informações que estamos acostumados em obras como Nightly News, X-men ou Vingadores Secretos. Este quadrinho nunca foi pensado para ser exatamente levado a sério, e parece mais uma caixa de areia onde o autor pode testar algumas sandices. Admito estar mais chato em relação a essa edição porque algumas das ideias que ele apresenta são meio bobas até.

Não sei se é impressão minha ou o Pitarra está ainda mais insano nessa edição. Parece até ter sido uma aposta que ele fez com alguém o quanto de bizarrice ele conseguiria colocar em cada página. Tem alienígena incorpóreo, presidente cheirando uma branquinha, prostitutas e radiação de urânio e cientistas malucos cavalgando seres esféricos. Tem de tudo um pouco. Talvez Hickman tenha ficado cada vez mais inventivo e Pitarra querendo entregar os quadros mais criativos para ver quem vencia nesse quesito. A arte não me agradou tanto assim em relação ao segundo ou ao terceiro volume, mas está ali e complementa aquilo que o roteirista desejou para a sua HQ. Se a ideia era produzir páginas insanas, está aí o resultado e com sucesso. O ponto alto da arte de Pitarra fica mesmo nos designs de personagens que são bem diferentes do que se espera. Definitivamente o artista não foi por uma abordagem convencional, preferindo formas mais curvas e imprecisas para dar um ar de caos e desordem a cada página. Nesse mundo de cientistas malucos, é óbvio que a realidade não é precisa e reta. Faltou algo na escolha de cores para essa edição. Fico tentando procurar exatamente o que é, mas a única forma que vou saber explicar é que em edições passadas o leitor parecia saber aonde o artista queria chegar com o uso do azul ou do vermelho ou de qualquer outra cor. Aqui não sabemos exatamente. Jordie Belaire não foi muito feliz nas escolhas para esta edição. As melhores partes são as que acontecem em uma Terra paralela com Einstein e Feynman. As cores são berrantes o suficiente para nos passar a ideia de uma Terra bizarra e que não se encaixa em nosso padrão de concretude.


O roteiro de Hickman é bem solto e ele parece abordar as situações de uma forma progressiva. Tanto que começamos o volume com o paradeiro de Laika e o sumiço dela está presente em todas as edições servindo como uma ligação sutil a todos os acontecimentos. Porém, achei os capítulos soltos até demais. Não parece haver uma grande trama no fundo e as coisas acontecem porque sim. Existe uma passagem de tempo longa entre os capítulos, mas a gente não sente, na história, isto se sucedendo. Para quem entende de história geral, dá para entender a ascensão de Fidel Castro e Che Guevara, a ascensão de uma nova URSS, a corrida espacial e o desastre na Baía dos Porcos. Terminamos a edição com o assassinato do Kennedy, um fato real que Hickman dá sua própria versão. Mas, temos um volume que se passa em aproximadamente quinze anos e isso não fica claro para o leitor. O roteiro também versa sobre perigos reais que estariam servindo para aniquilar com o projeto, mas em nenhum momento sentimos uma ameaça real aos personagens. Não dá para sair sempre com "eles são espertos demais para o resto do mundo". É preciso algo mais.

Um dos personagens mais interessantes neste volume é Lyndon Johnson. Hickman o introduz como um estereótipo bizarro de sulista com traços de Clint Eastwood. Está lá o vice-presidente com uma 38. , uma camisa xadrez e um chapéu de vaqueiro. Sem falar que ele não acredita em nada dessas coisas de alienígena e tecnologias estranhas. Sua fé está em um tiro bem dado no meio dos olhos. Pouco a pouco ele é integrado a esse mundo estranho e passa a atuar em conjunto com Groves e Westmoreland. Johnson é o veículo pelo qual Hickman usa para tocar suas teorias conspiratórias ao último grau. A propósito, Hickman usou e abusou da caricatura para representar sua visão dos presidentes desse período, sejam os americanos ou os soviéticos. Cada um mais absurdo do que o outro. Com direito a um Brezhnev banhado em radiação de Tunguska. As fantasias insanas de Hickman se mesclam com a realidade da segunda etapa da Guerra Fria em que o conflito entre as duas superpotências se aquece e cada decisão tomada representa um perigo real para a humanidade. Por isso, ver um Kennedy ladeado por vadias e cheirando uma branquinha coloca os nervos à flor da pele. Talvez esse seja o senso de perigo real.

É claro que existe uma crítica real do Hickman a este momento da história. No meio das estranhezas, vemos o quanto os personagens que deveriam ser os dirigentes de um mundo bipolarizado são crianças de quatro anos brincando de trenzinho. Tratou-se de um conflito tenso sem sentido e que apenas usou outras partes do mundo como joguetes para demonstrar quem tem mais ou menos poder. A disputa entre Lyndon Johnson e Brezhnev pelos dois lados do projeto é uma exemplificação clara do que foi tudo isso. Talvez o melhor momento e o mais ilustrativo deste quinto volume é quando Brezhnev pede que sua equipe de cientistas disseque o corpo do general Ustinov, um dos maiores aliados dos soviéticos em toda a série. A ideia era entender como esse cérebro flutuante funcionava. Mas, em menos de dez minutos, o presidente soviético perde o interesse e vai atrás dos outros membros do lado americano do projeto. Essa cena, representada na figura acima, mostra até onde eles iam e qual era a importância dada a essas coisas.

O outro ponto divertido deste volume é a busca de Gagarin por sua cadelinha Laika. Ele passa duas edições apenas suspirando para o ar e a gente acompanha as aventuras dela no espaço. É aqui que a narrativa toma aquele viés mais espacial da coisa com raças alienígenas estranhas, transformações e Gagarin movendo seus pauzinhos para conseguir ir atrás dela. Não há uma grande mensagem aqui, além de curtir as situações. Bom para não pensar tanto assim. Este talvez seja o ponto mais despretensioso e menos conectado à narrativa principal, mas foi a que eu mais achei divertida. Poderia ter havido mais tempo de páginas a essas histórias porque salvo o primeiro capítulo desta edição que é inteiramente voltado para as aventuras de Laika, depois temos apenas pequenas pílulas de acontecimentos com uma grande virada mais para a segunda metade deste volume. Não sei aonde isso vai dar ou como Hickman vai conectar isso à história principal.

Mesmo sem o brilho de edições anteriores, o volume 5 de Projeto Manhattan ainda nos mostra o que a mente insana de Jonathan Hickman consegue fazer com esses cientistas loucos. A arte de Pitarra busca alcançar o mesmo grau de maluquice do roteirista e consegue entregar algumas cenas criativas. Faltou um pouco mais de coesão entre as páginas, mas talvez por ser um romance fix-up, Belaire teve dificuldades em dar um ar específico aos personagens e as situações vividas por eles. Hickman foi muito feliz ao ser sutil em apresentar uma história alternativa, repleta de ciência maluca e teorias conspiratórias. No fundo, é um volume que vai oferecer aos leitores boas horas de leitura.

[Rolando Marono · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es triste ver que esta serie cae abruptamente en este volumen. Si bien el setting temporal, la guerra fría, es muy interesante y nos abre oportunidades para adentrarnos en las maniobras conspirativas de los personajes, la historia da mucho que desear sobre la ejecución de este capítulo.
Coincido con otros reviewers que afirman que la historia iba construyendo hacia algo que nunca llega y más en este volumen. Los números que lo conforman van acrecentando las manipulaciones y las traiciones pero no deriva en nada. Puro humo.
Es cierto que después de este volumen cancelaron la serie y el sexto volumen fue escrito años después y no retoma a los personajes principales más que a Yuri y Laika y está bien porque parece que al menos responderán una de las incógnitas grandes que dejó esta serie.
Algunas cosas me gustaron mucho. Hickman hizo un trabajo impresionante en adecuar la serie a los sucesos temporales que conocemos y todo se ajusta a la perfección. Podría ser creíble si nos ponemos densos. El conflicto entre Rusia y Estados Unidos que estaba armando se veía interesante y estoy seguro que con un volumen más, Hickman hubiera podido ponerle un cierre a esta serie de manera adecuada.
Las aventuras de los demás científicos de los Manhattan Projects, no son abordadas más que unas cuantas páginas, eso es una tristeza porque sus líneas argumentales se quedaron inconclusas.
Leeré el sexto volumen para ver si soluciona algunas de las preguntas y logra cerrar la serie, pero para mí Manhattan Projects acabó en el volumen 4.

[Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series loses quality the longer it goes. Interestingly, I'd say Vol. 4 would have made an at last palatable ending. Things aren't all wrapped up, but plenty of storylines came to completion with a couple of surprises as well. This one just feels like we're trying to stretch things out, as if the writer wanted more story to tell, but wasn't quite sure how to end it all by now.

There's two storylines with a minor third. The first is the space journey of Laika and the journey to find her. The second is the Cold War with xenomorph communists in the Soviet Union. The minor third is Feynman's and the Einsteins' exploration of alternate realities.

Unfortunately, there's not as much action and direct conflict in the story. The characters are a little aimless in most cases. Sure they have goals, but they aren't accomplishing much in pursuit of them. The scientists are more aimless than the military and politicians and it shows. In a story about mad science, the scientists are uninteresting.

I'll probably read the last, but I'm less enthusiastic about the series as a whole as it continues.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my favorite one so far! We get to see JFK, Johnson, Castro, and what happens with the Cold War. The Manhattan Projects have been fractured with the American side joining up with Johnson and the Russians getting infected by aliens (that's what happened right?). We also got the other stuff with Laika being in space, which that first issue was the funniest. We got the Einsteins going through other dimensions and visiting different versions of Earth. Really what more could you ask for? I think the thing that has really kept me reading this series despite it often getting too weird, is all the stuff hidden in the background (like JFK's office having pictures of Jackie and Marilyn) and how it fits in with history and also changes it (like Castro and Harvey Lee Oswald). You honestly can't beat this kind of creativity.

[Jake Kilroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This thing has a different tone than the volumes before it. There's almost an epilogue quality to it. Despite it still having the raucous energy, it's strangely reflective, even when it carries the cartoonish flag of mockery. The world's changing and all that, and yet, even in an insane alternate history where all the scientists and politicians were madmen at best and literal other-dimensions beasts at worst, you can feel the yearning for the younger days of exploration rather than living in the world they themselves created. It's all ruins, but there once felt a chance at kingdom, if not utopia — even when everyone was all batshit weird, manipulative, or straight-up evil.

[Dan DalMonte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fidel Castro and Che Guevara make an appearance. The Manhattan Project continues to wage war with political leadership. The Torri between Los Alamos and Star City closes. Kennedy is assassinated. The scientists explore alien life in an attempt to genetically enhance humanity. Yuri is separated from his dog Laika. There is a lot going on here that is hard to keep track of, and I'm not sure it's really worth keeping track of in the end.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing happened in this volume for several issues. There’s all hints at things I know aren’t getting wrapped up by the series end and Westmoreland’s shift in alignment along with all the crap about Kennedy/LBJ/Brezhnev/Guevara/Castro all just rang so hollow and so silly that I really had to struggle to get through this. This no longer feels like fun, thoughtful, weird alt-history sci-fi; now it just feels like bad satire masquerading as science fiction.

[Alireza Morshedian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork continues to be striking, imaginative, and one of the series biggest strengths. The story is still fun, blending real history moments with wild sci-fi and alternate reality twists. But this volume drifts off and detached compared to the earlier volumes. Honestly, if this had been one of the early volumes, I might’ve stopped reading here.