What do you think?
Rate this book
Anomaly
Anomaly: The Rubicon
Sci-fi/Adventure on a grand, painted, wide-screen scale!
In a post-Earth future, humanity is strewn across the galaxy, living in city-sized orbital platforms or on distant colony worlds. All aspects of society—economic, military, judicial, media —are controlled by a single entity: the Conglomerate. Wealth is the only measure of status and power, and the vast majority of it is held by a select few shareholders. For centuries, citizens of the Conglomerate have never known any other way of life, yet some still dream of justice and freedom.
In this sequel to the ground-breaking graphic novel ANOMALY, the survivors of a doomed exploratory mission will challenge the very system that sent them off to die. Captained by Jon, a veteran soldier seeking redemption from his past, and inspired by Samantha, a wealthy elite shareholder who yearns for a more just society, they are determined to expose the dark secrets that keep the Conglomerate in power.
They will take their stand at a place called the Rubicon.
The Rubicon is a planet-wide display of power, wealth and military might. A showy and decadent high-tech carnival where the latest killing machines are paraded before the public and where citizens are entertained by gruesome blood sports. It is the ultimate show of strength for a government that believes itself to be invulnerable.
Yet there are cracks in the foundation of their authority.
Jon and his crew hope to expose disturbing truths about covert Conglomerate operations to a galaxy-wide audience, and show that the system might be vulnerable after all. And they have a most unusual card up their sleeve: a mysterious substance called “ooze” that can potentially neutralize the very technology the Conglomerate relies on for its domination.
Joined by a number of unlikely allies, they will strike a blow for freedom or die trying.
Lavishly illustrated and richly detailed, ANOMALY: THE RUBICON is an epic sci-fi adventure as imagined by Skip Brittenham (Between Worlds, Anomaly, Shifter) and Brian Haberlin (Witchblade, Aria, Spawn, Faster Than Light).
The Revolution starts now.
Features: - 264 pages of lush, over-sized, digital illustrations - Stochastic printing & wide-gamut inks (the highest color fidelity available) - Free companion app (iOS/Android) with industry award nominated Augmented Reality
In a post-Earth future, humanity is strewn across the galaxy, living in city-sized orbital platforms or on distant colony worlds. All aspects of society—economic, military, judicial, media —are controlled by a single entity: the Conglomerate. Wealth is the only measure of status and power, and the vast majority of it is held by a select few shareholders. For centuries, citizens of the Conglomerate have never known any other way of life, yet some still dream of justice and freedom.
In this sequel to the ground-breaking graphic novel ANOMALY, the survivors of a doomed exploratory mission will challenge the very system that sent them off to die. Captained by Jon, a veteran soldier seeking redemption from his past, and inspired by Samantha, a wealthy elite shareholder who yearns for a more just society, they are determined to expose the dark secrets that keep the Conglomerate in power.
They will take their stand at a place called the Rubicon.
The Rubicon is a planet-wide display of power, wealth and military might. A showy and decadent high-tech carnival where the latest killing machines are paraded before the public and where citizens are entertained by gruesome blood sports. It is the ultimate show of strength for a government that believes itself to be invulnerable.
Yet there are cracks in the foundation of their authority.
Jon and his crew hope to expose disturbing truths about covert Conglomerate operations to a galaxy-wide audience, and show that the system might be vulnerable after all. And they have a most unusual card up their sleeve: a mysterious substance called “ooze” that can potentially neutralize the very technology the Conglomerate relies on for its domination.
Joined by a number of unlikely allies, they will strike a blow for freedom or die trying.
Lavishly illustrated and richly detailed, ANOMALY: THE RUBICON is an epic sci-fi adventure as imagined by Skip Brittenham (Between Worlds, Anomaly, Shifter) and Brian Haberlin (Witchblade, Aria, Spawn, Faster Than Light).
The Revolution starts now.
Features: - 264 pages of lush, over-sized, digital illustrations - Stochastic printing & wide-gamut inks (the highest color fidelity available) - Free companion app (iOS/Android) with industry award nominated Augmented Reality
264 pages, Hardcover
Published November 15, 2017
1 person is currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Skip Brittenham
7 books19 followersSkip Brittenham is an entertainment lawyer who lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter, and has two older daughters as well. He's an avid fly-fisherman and outdoorsman who has traveled to some of the remotest parts of the globe. He has written two graphic novels, Anomaly and Shifter. Between Worlds was Skip's first YA novel and Anomaly: The Rubicon will be available in November of this year.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 16, 2017
“You want to know what that is? I’ll tell you. It’s bait. That’s what it is. You still want those odds?”
-Conglomerate Citizen
Anomaly: the Rubicon is the second release in the Anomaly series by creators Skip Brittenham and Brian Haberlin that follows Jon, a lost and presumed dead sort-or ex soldier languishing away on the planet Anomaly in the year 2718. With the support of his group of semi-human friends, Jon still fights against the might of the Conglomerate, the imperial dominating force in the Universe.
Working against Jon are several creatures that would give even the greatest adventurer a difficult time. First is the Clik Queen, or bug queen, Teyriant. She is convinced that Jon has committed a great infanticide of her people, and won’t stop until she has her revenge. Next is Quin, a cybernetically enhanced merc hired by the Conglomerate to find Jon and bring him in. Lastly, the chairman of the Conglomerate himself has a personal interest in silencing Jon and the uprising he’s a part of. Each time Jon catches a break, one of these three catches up to him. It’s hard being the face of the resistance.
You would think that the story alone would be enough to carry this title deep into the hearts and minds of its readers, but the creators didn’t stop there. What they’ve created is a fitting follow up to their groundbreaking and revolutionary first publication: Anomaly, which at its release in 2012 was the longest original full-color graphic novel ever created. With the release of Anomaly: the Rubicon, Skip and Brian have pushed the envelope even further.
Familiar to readers of the first novel will be the glossy 15” X 10” widescreen format and the gritty, hyper-realistic art that pushed sales into the hundreds of thousands. Also back for the second release is the immersive AR (augmented reality) component which brings the world of Anomaly to life in the physical reality through the free companion app. However, new will be the free content released in the months following the publication date. That’s right. Anomaly productions has committed to continuing to release content after the book is released. Think about it like DLC that you don’t have to pay for, with additional story and behind the scenes insights that will expand the experience of the book long after you finish reading it.
The AR component of the book is extremely well done and interactive. Using the app, you can click on the remca on page 17 to cause it to glow and pulse with light, exactly like Jon’s friend-slash-guide Tonni explains just two pages before. Take a closer look at Teyriant on page 27 and click to hear her click and snarl. Get a behind the scenes look at the art process on page 252. But if you really want to see something cool, turn to page 5 and watch the Clik mothership, Tri’Tras, warp in from across the universe. Seriously, this is cool.
The one buggy aspect of the AR is that it can sometimes be difficult to capture the whole of the effect. This is because of two major reasons: first, once the page slips from the camera’s sight more than a little, the whole thing disappears immediately, and the second thing is that the glossy pages can sometimes catch a bright reflection that washes out the page you’re trying to see which blocks the AR completely. If the AR wasn't so well done, this wouldn't be a big deal. Hopefully a quick fix will be released for the app so that the reader can manipulate the position of the AR with a swipe or pinch. For the glare, all that the reader needs to do is angle the book away from bright light sources.
What you really get from Anomaly: the Rubicon is three separate experiences. The first and most obvious is the Mass Effect meets Gears of War storyline of Jon and his friends. The second experience is the wonderfully rendered and interactive AR. Last, but certainly not least, is the post-production content updates that will keep this title relevant and intriguing for weeks and months to come.
Blasting in for as low as $31, grab your copy of Anomaly: the Rubicon today at Amazon, Barnes&Noble, or wherever comic books and graphic novels are sold. You won’t regret it.
Find my other reviews at zombiesandtoys.com
-Conglomerate Citizen
Anomaly: the Rubicon is the second release in the Anomaly series by creators Skip Brittenham and Brian Haberlin that follows Jon, a lost and presumed dead sort-or ex soldier languishing away on the planet Anomaly in the year 2718. With the support of his group of semi-human friends, Jon still fights against the might of the Conglomerate, the imperial dominating force in the Universe.
Working against Jon are several creatures that would give even the greatest adventurer a difficult time. First is the Clik Queen, or bug queen, Teyriant. She is convinced that Jon has committed a great infanticide of her people, and won’t stop until she has her revenge. Next is Quin, a cybernetically enhanced merc hired by the Conglomerate to find Jon and bring him in. Lastly, the chairman of the Conglomerate himself has a personal interest in silencing Jon and the uprising he’s a part of. Each time Jon catches a break, one of these three catches up to him. It’s hard being the face of the resistance.
You would think that the story alone would be enough to carry this title deep into the hearts and minds of its readers, but the creators didn’t stop there. What they’ve created is a fitting follow up to their groundbreaking and revolutionary first publication: Anomaly, which at its release in 2012 was the longest original full-color graphic novel ever created. With the release of Anomaly: the Rubicon, Skip and Brian have pushed the envelope even further.
Familiar to readers of the first novel will be the glossy 15” X 10” widescreen format and the gritty, hyper-realistic art that pushed sales into the hundreds of thousands. Also back for the second release is the immersive AR (augmented reality) component which brings the world of Anomaly to life in the physical reality through the free companion app. However, new will be the free content released in the months following the publication date. That’s right. Anomaly productions has committed to continuing to release content after the book is released. Think about it like DLC that you don’t have to pay for, with additional story and behind the scenes insights that will expand the experience of the book long after you finish reading it.
The AR component of the book is extremely well done and interactive. Using the app, you can click on the remca on page 17 to cause it to glow and pulse with light, exactly like Jon’s friend-slash-guide Tonni explains just two pages before. Take a closer look at Teyriant on page 27 and click to hear her click and snarl. Get a behind the scenes look at the art process on page 252. But if you really want to see something cool, turn to page 5 and watch the Clik mothership, Tri’Tras, warp in from across the universe. Seriously, this is cool.
The one buggy aspect of the AR is that it can sometimes be difficult to capture the whole of the effect. This is because of two major reasons: first, once the page slips from the camera’s sight more than a little, the whole thing disappears immediately, and the second thing is that the glossy pages can sometimes catch a bright reflection that washes out the page you’re trying to see which blocks the AR completely. If the AR wasn't so well done, this wouldn't be a big deal. Hopefully a quick fix will be released for the app so that the reader can manipulate the position of the AR with a swipe or pinch. For the glare, all that the reader needs to do is angle the book away from bright light sources.
What you really get from Anomaly: the Rubicon is three separate experiences. The first and most obvious is the Mass Effect meets Gears of War storyline of Jon and his friends. The second experience is the wonderfully rendered and interactive AR. Last, but certainly not least, is the post-production content updates that will keep this title relevant and intriguing for weeks and months to come.
Blasting in for as low as $31, grab your copy of Anomaly: the Rubicon today at Amazon, Barnes&Noble, or wherever comic books and graphic novels are sold. You won’t regret it.
Find my other reviews at zombiesandtoys.com
November 7, 2017
Anomaly: The Rubicon is an old-school space adventure that could easily have been an 80s movie. I mean that as the highest of compliments.
It has wise-cracking heroes, cool aliens, and cooler spaceship battles.
On top of that, the book is the size of a coffee-table book, with over 200 pages of story and lush artwork that you won't find in the standard graphic novel.
I do not know why DC or Marvel have not tried this format, but these fine folks did it first, and they knock it out of the park. Additional features include a companion app that opens up tons of images and extras.
However, all the gimmicks won't save a bad story. Luckily, this one is pretty good. It's standard-issue space sci-fi, and there ain't a thing wrong with that.
I could have used more background on the characters; but there are multiple schools of thought on that one -- I'd also rather let the story tell me who these people are instead of a list or a caption.
Here, the reader gets dumped in the middle of sci-fi craziness and the story never lets up. That's good stuff. I'm going to need more of these, and at this rate, a wheelbarrow to carry the next book around in.
(Review from an advance copy.)
It has wise-cracking heroes, cool aliens, and cooler spaceship battles.
On top of that, the book is the size of a coffee-table book, with over 200 pages of story and lush artwork that you won't find in the standard graphic novel.
I do not know why DC or Marvel have not tried this format, but these fine folks did it first, and they knock it out of the park. Additional features include a companion app that opens up tons of images and extras.
However, all the gimmicks won't save a bad story. Luckily, this one is pretty good. It's standard-issue space sci-fi, and there ain't a thing wrong with that.
I could have used more background on the characters; but there are multiple schools of thought on that one -- I'd also rather let the story tell me who these people are instead of a list or a caption.
Here, the reader gets dumped in the middle of sci-fi craziness and the story never lets up. That's good stuff. I'm going to need more of these, and at this rate, a wheelbarrow to carry the next book around in.
(Review from an advance copy.)
February 13, 2018
Less uncanny valley art than the first volume (still pretty bad though). A far less inspiring story (our heroes go to a party planet where the evil Olympics are taking place and broadcast a message of hope to the galaxy or whatever - it's super dull).
Anomaly advertises itself as being the largest graphic novel you can buy. I feel like that speaks volumes about the quality here.
Anomaly advertises itself as being the largest graphic novel you can buy. I feel like that speaks volumes about the quality here.
April 17, 2018
Another popcorn sequel. Entertaining way to spend an evening reading and using the AR app. And playing the games on the app.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews