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Black Science
Black Science, Vol. 5: True Atonement
Grant McKay attempts to rescue his team from the evil of the Withering Woods, but his presence threatens to unravel a peace treaty between the world's gods and cost his daughter a hard earned happiness. The Dimensionauts’ long jaunt through alternative realities is finally leading them back home, but what will it take to get there? More importantly, what has happened while they were gone? The pulp sci-fi smash hit by RICK REMENDER & MATTEO SCALERA ramps up the stakes and the tension for its most exciting arc yet with a finale that will finally demonstrate the true damage the Pillar has wrought. Was Kadir right all along? Collects BLACK SCIENCE #22-25.
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 7, 2016
16 people are currently reading
420 people want to read
About the author
Rick Remender
1,244 books1,422 followersRick Remender is an American comic book writer and artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. He is the writer/co-creator of many independent comic books like Black Science, Deadly Class, LOW, Fear Agent and Seven to Eternity. Previously, he wrote The Punisher, Uncanny X-Force, Captain America and Uncanny Avengers for Marvel Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
December 19, 2016
I'm still having a ball reading Black Science. I know a few people who gave it a shot but found it wasn't to their tastes and I can totally understand that but, for me, the book is just going from strength to strength.
I love the artwork and the story reminds me so much of the pulp science fiction I hoovered up as a kid that I can't help but love it. In this volume, the ever morally dubious protagonist has resolved to finally atone for all the shit he feels he's responsible for no matter what the personal cost... and does he ever live up to that resolution! He makes a personal sacrifice that I don't know that I'd be able to make. It's also a sacrifice I've never seen any other hero make. Great stuff!
I love the artwork and the story reminds me so much of the pulp science fiction I hoovered up as a kid that I can't help but love it. In this volume, the ever morally dubious protagonist has resolved to finally atone for all the shit he feels he's responsible for no matter what the personal cost... and does he ever live up to that resolution! He makes a personal sacrifice that I don't know that I'd be able to make. It's also a sacrifice I've never seen any other hero make. Great stuff!
March 17, 2017
Well this volume was FAR more fun than the last one. This jumped up in quality for me.
The first half is Grant trying to right his wrongs. He goes to rescue Pia, and upon arriving ruins things, but in the end actually begins to fix things with his relationship with his daughter. It's nice to see progress there, and I loved learning about the world she was one, I did feel a bit of a cop out how quick was wrapped up but I was laughing so much during this arc.
Second arc isn't as strong but still solid. We're back in the real world and get to see the aftermath of Grant's wife and what happened. Somebody is back, someone betrays someone, and then it ends with a truly fucked up panel. It's a bit slow paced compared to arc before but still solid. This is still a fun series that I recommend as a whole.
The first half is Grant trying to right his wrongs. He goes to rescue Pia, and upon arriving ruins things, but in the end actually begins to fix things with his relationship with his daughter. It's nice to see progress there, and I loved learning about the world she was one, I did feel a bit of a cop out how quick was wrapped up but I was laughing so much during this arc.
Second arc isn't as strong but still solid. We're back in the real world and get to see the aftermath of Grant's wife and what happened. Somebody is back, someone betrays someone, and then it ends with a truly fucked up panel. It's a bit slow paced compared to arc before but still solid. This is still a fun series that I recommend as a whole.
March 16, 2017
Bullet Review:
This story seems to have devolved into "Grant McKay wangsting about how stupid and awful he is for destroying various people's lives - so that TOTALLY makes him OK and relatable." BARF.
Why did he have to barge in and ruin Pia's life?
Why did Pia feel obligated to leave the man she loved to follow her doofus father - who doesn't even really apologize for the years of neglect he's served her?
Why did Grant send them back to Earth just to be captured? He may not have 8million IQ anymore, but I don't either, and I would NEVER have done that!
I almost prefer the earlier volumes where they messed up all those weird worlds and met their alternate selves and a bunch of other inexplicable events.
This story seems to have devolved into "Grant McKay wangsting about how stupid and awful he is for destroying various people's lives - so that TOTALLY makes him OK and relatable." BARF.
Why did he have to barge in and ruin Pia's life?
Why did Pia feel obligated to leave the man she loved to follow her doofus father - who doesn't even really apologize for the years of neglect he's served her?
Why did Grant send them back to Earth just to be captured? He may not have 8million IQ anymore, but I don't either, and I would NEVER have done that!
I almost prefer the earlier volumes where they messed up all those weird worlds and met their alternate selves and a bunch of other inexplicable events.
January 25, 2018
Well, this is more like it! I didn't enjoy the last volume as much and although I have still been picking up single issues of this series I stalled out on it. With issue 34 dropping today (Its supposed to be a gooder) I decided it was time to play catch up.
After Grant's 'discovery' of himself last volume he is now setting out to right his wrongs and try and get his family back.
Only...well...he kind of fucks it all up (like he usually does), destroys a peace treaty of warring tribes that have been at each other's throats for thousands of years, gets too drunk on alien wine, fondles some enormous blue alien breasts, and pisses off a witch.
He does, however, acquire a horse that he names Spaghetti. Which, you know, is pretty cool.
And the art. Holy balls the art! Even with Remender sometimes fumbling around a bit with the story, Matteo Scalera has been consistently amazing with this series. It's so exciting to turn the pages to see what he has drawn next, I dare say that (for me) Black Science is one of the best monthly pulls I have art wise. This series has definitely made a Scalera fanboy of me!
Anyways, The volume finishes off with some really interesting plot revelations that have me super excited to dig into the next arc. It finally looks like things are evolving story wise and getting a little bit more interesting than just 'we have to find our way back home.' Which, you know, I was already on board with but now I'm happy to see that things are getting a bit meatier.
After Grant's 'discovery' of himself last volume he is now setting out to right his wrongs and try and get his family back.
Only...well...he kind of fucks it all up (like he usually does), destroys a peace treaty of warring tribes that have been at each other's throats for thousands of years, gets too drunk on alien wine, fondles some enormous blue alien breasts, and pisses off a witch.
He does, however, acquire a horse that he names Spaghetti. Which, you know, is pretty cool.
And the art. Holy balls the art! Even with Remender sometimes fumbling around a bit with the story, Matteo Scalera has been consistently amazing with this series. It's so exciting to turn the pages to see what he has drawn next, I dare say that (for me) Black Science is one of the best monthly pulls I have art wise. This series has definitely made a Scalera fanboy of me!
Anyways, The volume finishes off with some really interesting plot revelations that have me super excited to dig into the next arc. It finally looks like things are evolving story wise and getting a little bit more interesting than just 'we have to find our way back home.' Which, you know, I was already on board with but now I'm happy to see that things are getting a bit meatier.
August 24, 2017
Grant sets out to save Pia and continues to eff up her life. He eventually makes a great sacrifice for her. Then they head back to our reality where things get worse...
The Good: I like how Pia has grown up in Grant's absence. We get to see how capable she is.
The Bad: Shit gets really dark and depressing in this volume. I don't like how things have turned in the latter half of the story.
The Ugly: It feels like the stuff Remender set up in volume 4 with the realities collapsing has just been forgotten now. I would have liked to see that wrapped up first before heading back to our Earth.
The Good: I like how Pia has grown up in Grant's absence. We get to see how capable she is.
The Bad: Shit gets really dark and depressing in this volume. I don't like how things have turned in the latter half of the story.
The Ugly: It feels like the stuff Remender set up in volume 4 with the realities collapsing has just been forgotten now. I would have liked to see that wrapped up first before heading back to our Earth.
March 8, 2017
This was great!
Can't wait for vol. 6 to come.
FRTC
Can't wait for vol. 6 to come.
FRTC
February 16, 2018
Going from strength to strength. Grant goes on a mission to right his wrongs. Sacrifices, heartbreak and pure action with this great scifi noir series. Always ends on the best cliffhanger
July 15, 2019
Wow that's an interesting turn.
World: The art is fantastic once again. It's one of the best things about the series and it still continues to shine. The world building took a strange turn this time around into the fantastic and it was a but jarring but still worked. The new pieces were interesting and the art once again was amazing to support the creative world building.
Story: The new status quo is interesting and entertaining. I like the dynamic with the characters we see and how time has changed things. I am not getting into spoilers here but I will say that there is a bit too shallow of the relationships in this book and it is a bit of a stretch of the status quo, it's entertaining but the status quo is a stretch.
Characters: Grant is still a terrible person and this book is full of flawed and terrible people. The main core theme of this book is pride and we see it on full display once again. It's pretty well done and the emotions do hit. It's a bit shallow but it does hit.
Entertaining!
Onward to the next book!
World: The art is fantastic once again. It's one of the best things about the series and it still continues to shine. The world building took a strange turn this time around into the fantastic and it was a but jarring but still worked. The new pieces were interesting and the art once again was amazing to support the creative world building.
Story: The new status quo is interesting and entertaining. I like the dynamic with the characters we see and how time has changed things. I am not getting into spoilers here but I will say that there is a bit too shallow of the relationships in this book and it is a bit of a stretch of the status quo, it's entertaining but the status quo is a stretch.
Characters: Grant is still a terrible person and this book is full of flawed and terrible people. The main core theme of this book is pride and we see it on full display once again. It's pretty well done and the emotions do hit. It's a bit shallow but it does hit.
Entertaining!
Onward to the next book!
March 12, 2021
Tremendo tomo, se lo puede dividir en dos partes.
La primera Black Science meets La bruja en el bosque.
Grant sigue su búsqueda y qué pasa cuando uno de los que encuentra no quiere volver por haber establecido una vida superior en todo sentido.
Para la segunda parte hay un giro inesperado. Ayuda mucho que esté todo centrado en menos personajes y dimensiones, al principio resultaba muy confuso.
La primera Black Science meets La bruja en el bosque.
Grant sigue su búsqueda y qué pasa cuando uno de los que encuentra no quiere volver por haber establecido una vida superior en todo sentido.
Para la segunda parte hay un giro inesperado. Ayuda mucho que esté todo centrado en menos personajes y dimensiones, al principio resultaba muy confuso.
February 13, 2018
Best installment yet! I loved the witch plot and Pia princess of the planet!
Now they're back in their own dimension and who knows what will happen?!
Now they're back in their own dimension and who knows what will happen?!
April 10, 2018
Volume 5 is moving the story in an unexpected direction. It was definitely not as good vol 3 and 4. Hopefully future volumes will be has good a volume 4.
December 20, 2016
I guess I may be getting a little bored with the story, but the artwork and characters are still really fun and worth your attention.
August 10, 2019
The first half of this volume seesn Grant, fully energised with a Pillar ship seek out the rest of his crew, and when he finds one of them, what he does. The second half is though where the book comes to life as the story takes a totally unforseen (by me) turn that sees Grant up against and losing something integral to who he is.
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The art continues to becoming more readable and Remender's characterisations and storytelling are also improving - either that, or I am finally getting this jam.
.
This will be riveting reread methinks. 7.5 out of 12.
.
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The art continues to becoming more readable and Remender's characterisations and storytelling are also improving - either that, or I am finally getting this jam.
.
This will be riveting reread methinks. 7.5 out of 12.
.
January 3, 2018
"You're a rich girl, and you've gone too far
'Cause you know it don't matter anyway
You can rely on the old man's money
You can rely on the old man's money
It's a bitch girl but it's gone too far
'Cause you know it don't matter anyway...."
No, wait! That's Rebecca not Pia! However, when I first thought of the book and seeing Pia all grown up the song popped in my head!
I was so happy to see Pia hasn't changed. Not at all!
However... some people keep creeping back into Grant's life which make me wonder... especially about the "old man's money"... lol What a Blocke! Should be the next word of the year. Come on- key yuppie phrase, somehow!
This book was pretty darn good.
It wasn't my favorite.
It certainly wasn't boring, either! Far cry from that idea! Boring!
It moved the plot and storyline the farthest of any book so far!
Reading the book, it felt like being strapped to a rocket of "what the heck can possibly happen next" G Force.
No! Seriously! Everything but the veritable kitchen sink was put into this book.
... and Somehow... it worked! That's Rick's genius, though! Never to be underestimated!
I'm scratching my head with one hand as I type, wondering where I put Volume 6?
Must read!
'Cause you know it don't matter anyway
You can rely on the old man's money
You can rely on the old man's money
It's a bitch girl but it's gone too far
'Cause you know it don't matter anyway...."
No, wait! That's Rebecca not Pia! However, when I first thought of the book and seeing Pia all grown up the song popped in my head!
I was so happy to see Pia hasn't changed. Not at all!
However... some people keep creeping back into Grant's life which make me wonder... especially about the "old man's money"... lol What a Blocke! Should be the next word of the year. Come on- key yuppie phrase, somehow!
This book was pretty darn good.
It wasn't my favorite.
It certainly wasn't boring, either! Far cry from that idea! Boring!
It moved the plot and storyline the farthest of any book so far!
Reading the book, it felt like being strapped to a rocket of "what the heck can possibly happen next" G Force.
No! Seriously! Everything but the veritable kitchen sink was put into this book.
... and Somehow... it worked! That's Rick's genius, though! Never to be underestimated!
I'm scratching my head with one hand as I type, wondering where I put Volume 6?
Must read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2017
Black Science as a series has two main potential draws. There's the tortured life of arrogant fuck-up Grant McKay as he tries to become a better person and father, and there's the pulp-inspired worlds he travels through, energetically and often gorgeously realised by Matteo Scalera. 25 issues in, it's the latter that keep me picking this series up, and I'm happy to see this volume cut down on the internal monologues. Not that McKay gets to catch a break (he is, after all, a Rick Remender protagonist). The previous arc saw him come to terms with his failures and resolve to set things right, a process he catastrophically screws up after a single panel of this one. Scalera's illustrations are as vivid as ever (though there are still a few storytelling kinks and poorly chosen angles in the action scenes) though if the series is headed back to Earth for any extended time I worry that the balance of angst and invention will tilt too far towards the former.
March 21, 2021
Tight writing and spectacular art.
Grant is offered a redemption arc and does good on it for Pia. Despite this, he still ends up getting fucked. Severely.
You reap what you sow and Remender is well aware of how much shit McKay has sowed on this earth and others.
The work on the character is masterful and insightful.
👌
Grant is offered a redemption arc and does good on it for Pia. Despite this, he still ends up getting fucked. Severely.
You reap what you sow and Remender is well aware of how much shit McKay has sowed on this earth and others.
The work on the character is masterful and insightful.
👌
April 18, 2018
This series continues to blow me away. Early in this volume, I realized that, despite being somewhat of a genius, Grant McKay is really kind of a doofus and I couldn't help but read his character in the voice of WIll Ferrell from Old School. At least his heart is in the right place.
November 30, 2017
A great story, with great artwork. Indie comics continue to give readers the space to deal with new innovative stories that aren't burdened with backstory and lore.
July 18, 2020
This series continues to surprise me in the best possible way.
February 21, 2017
Black Science continues to rock. With art and colors out of this world ( seriously one of the best looking books on the shelfs) and a story that is sometimes not so linear, but still a great time travel story about a family who has been through alot and tries to stick together .
January 2, 2017
ok, this is the last one I am reading of this series... it has clearly reached rock bottom...
Here my review of the entire series in case you are interested:
when reading this for the first time, I could not get into it. In fact, I thought it was maybe one of the worst comics I have read (note: I have read - not in regards to all comics out there :).
Having read it again, and then the subsequent volumes I have to revise my opinion a bit:
I must admit: the art of the first one or two volumes is great. There are some of the most amazing panels in there I've seen in a long while.
The plot, and this is what I struggled on the first reading, and still do struggle with, is initially interesting, but then then gets repetitive and seems to go nowhere. There are cuts in the plot that are hard to bridge and it feels as if you were reading the same story from different perspectives rather than a continuous story.
As some other people have said, the characters are mostly unlikable, but that I don't think is necessarily a bad thing. I mean Black Science is very bleak, but that's part of it's concept...
Why I still gave it two stars is because Rick is doing what by now i call a 'Remender', meaning it starts all well and interesting, but then, as the series goes on, degrades to nothingness. By part 3 I wouldn't care about the plot at all - nor, do I feel did Remender - and by part 5 even the visual artists have given up. Like so often with Remender, I feel a bit ripped off...
(On a side note: I wonder whether this is due to artists not having vision or even trust in their own creations so they start, and when successful go 'oh shit' and then spurt out mediocre sequels, or whether it is down to pure greed "our readers will buy it anyway" or publishers being too pushy... Whatever it is, I have seen it a number of times, with different artists, and it really needs to stop...)
Here my review of the entire series in case you are interested:
when reading this for the first time, I could not get into it. In fact, I thought it was maybe one of the worst comics I have read (note: I have read - not in regards to all comics out there :).
Having read it again, and then the subsequent volumes I have to revise my opinion a bit:
I must admit: the art of the first one or two volumes is great. There are some of the most amazing panels in there I've seen in a long while.
The plot, and this is what I struggled on the first reading, and still do struggle with, is initially interesting, but then then gets repetitive and seems to go nowhere. There are cuts in the plot that are hard to bridge and it feels as if you were reading the same story from different perspectives rather than a continuous story.
As some other people have said, the characters are mostly unlikable, but that I don't think is necessarily a bad thing. I mean Black Science is very bleak, but that's part of it's concept...
Why I still gave it two stars is because Rick is doing what by now i call a 'Remender', meaning it starts all well and interesting, but then, as the series goes on, degrades to nothingness. By part 3 I wouldn't care about the plot at all - nor, do I feel did Remender - and by part 5 even the visual artists have given up. Like so often with Remender, I feel a bit ripped off...
(On a side note: I wonder whether this is due to artists not having vision or even trust in their own creations so they start, and when successful go 'oh shit' and then spurt out mediocre sequels, or whether it is down to pure greed "our readers will buy it anyway" or publishers being too pushy... Whatever it is, I have seen it a number of times, with different artists, and it really needs to stop...)
November 11, 2019
Jumping from a world with God like beings to returning home where the events of Grant and his teams first experiment have been changed and altered. Volume 5 takes black science into a very different story direction, which although still fun and enjoyable to read, felt somewhat abrupt and jarring from the previous four volumes story line.
Pia having become queen of a world inhabited by beings with God-like abilities, the lines between sci-fi and fantasy blurred greatly in these issues. Its a great testament to Grants change in mental state, seeing him not only want to bring his family back together, but to fix the mistakes of his past. I enjoyed seeing another threat to the Eververse being introduced, following the evil witch obtaining Grants genius and subsequent inter-dimensional knowledge. However compared to both the sapient gaseous life forms and the millipede death cult, the witch was quickly introduced and subsequently left, with no real conflict and only major affect being Grants now lack of genius. Which now makes him unable to build any other pillars, and felt more like a quick plot device rather than an earned storyline.
Ultimately though, with Grant and Pias return to their original universe, it’s revealed that Kadir survived Grants apparent murder attempt and not only that is married to Sara. The volume ends with the world now reaping the rewards of the pillar, but hints of the greater threat the device opens and the impending threat of the destruction of the Eververse. Coupled with the three major threats previously introduced, the next volume may be different in overall theme and storyline, but its likely to culminate in these real life threats coming to fruition and the dimenionauts repeating what they have sowed.
Pia having become queen of a world inhabited by beings with God-like abilities, the lines between sci-fi and fantasy blurred greatly in these issues. Its a great testament to Grants change in mental state, seeing him not only want to bring his family back together, but to fix the mistakes of his past. I enjoyed seeing another threat to the Eververse being introduced, following the evil witch obtaining Grants genius and subsequent inter-dimensional knowledge. However compared to both the sapient gaseous life forms and the millipede death cult, the witch was quickly introduced and subsequently left, with no real conflict and only major affect being Grants now lack of genius. Which now makes him unable to build any other pillars, and felt more like a quick plot device rather than an earned storyline.
Ultimately though, with Grant and Pias return to their original universe, it’s revealed that Kadir survived Grants apparent murder attempt and not only that is married to Sara. The volume ends with the world now reaping the rewards of the pillar, but hints of the greater threat the device opens and the impending threat of the destruction of the Eververse. Coupled with the three major threats previously introduced, the next volume may be different in overall theme and storyline, but its likely to culminate in these real life threats coming to fruition and the dimenionauts repeating what they have sowed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2017
Me tenía un poco confundido las velocidades con que la historia de Black Science se iba desarrollando, siendo que no considero que la lentitud sea un defecto cuando busca realzar la construcción de personajes, creo a Remender a ratos se le iba un poco la mano en la presentación/armazón de algunos. No obstante , posterior a la resolución tomada por Grant McKay tras el volumen anterior: limpiar todos los cagazos que ha ocasionado hasta ahora, el relato tomó un camino mucho más vertiginoso.
No obstante el precio a pagar no es menor. Desprenderse de lo que te hace distinto, de tu principal cualidad es un castigo cruel pero merecido. Y que sigue humanizando a un personaje que fue presentado altanero inicialmente y que con ciertos complejos de dios ha ido descendiendo lentamente hacia una redención (al menos su relación con Pia parece mejorar) que luce bastante dolorosa.
La rivalidad con Kadir también sigue en un tira y afloja que probablemente no culmine bien. La velocidad de la narración le ha dado un giro a la historia que la ha hecho despegar y hace lucir bastante promisorio el futuro de la misma.
Como si Los cuatro fantásticos estuviesen quebrados y Reed Richards hubiese perdido su inteligencia: el peor momento para los personajes, es tal vez, el mejor para la serie.
No obstante el precio a pagar no es menor. Desprenderse de lo que te hace distinto, de tu principal cualidad es un castigo cruel pero merecido. Y que sigue humanizando a un personaje que fue presentado altanero inicialmente y que con ciertos complejos de dios ha ido descendiendo lentamente hacia una redención (al menos su relación con Pia parece mejorar) que luce bastante dolorosa.
La rivalidad con Kadir también sigue en un tira y afloja que probablemente no culmine bien. La velocidad de la narración le ha dado un giro a la historia que la ha hecho despegar y hace lucir bastante promisorio el futuro de la misma.
Como si Los cuatro fantásticos estuviesen quebrados y Reed Richards hubiese perdido su inteligencia: el peor momento para los personajes, es tal vez, el mejor para la serie.
February 12, 2017
I rather liked this one. It's a change from the usual storyline and pacing. It was all getting a bit same-y, but now I'm excited
August 3, 2020
Ďalšie skvelé číslo, kde Grant hľadá svoje decká, podarí sa mu dostať k Pii, do fakt nádherného sveta a opäť sa mu podarí všetko pokaziť na všetkých frontách. A keď už to vyzerá všetko nádejne, tak sa to celé zvrtne a pozrime sa, všetko ide do hája. S týmto volume som skončila keď som to čítala prvýkrát kvôli tomu, že nebol čas, takže v tomto bode totálne neviem, čo ma ďalej čaká a dúfam, že bude príjemne prekvapená.
December 18, 2016
Feels like the story is really hitting its stride now. Fast-paced action and excellent character development. I appreciate the reduced focus to just a few characters now; in some prior volumes there was so much going on, it was hard to follow.
Beautiful art, as always.
4 issue trades usually lose a star for me, but not this one.
Beautiful art, as always.
4 issue trades usually lose a star for me, but not this one.
January 29, 2017
As always, beautiful coloring and fantastical creatures and species. Plot was aight. Not my favorite volume but it wasn't bad.
September 28, 2020
This review isn't just for the this particular volume of Black Science, but for the entire nine-volume series, since I read it all in one go, and honestly, the entire thing is so consistent in its writing, artwork, tone, pace and quality, that it becomes fairly difficult to tell were one chapter ends and another begins.
I came to Black Science as an ardent fan of Rick Remender's Low, a series so sublimely good that it's earned me a huge amount of goodwill with Remender. So it was that i dove into Black Science, not knowing what it was about, but fairly certain that I would have a good, if not great time. And I'd say that, ultimately, is what I got. A good, but not great time.
The story is kind of a hyperactive mash=up of Lost in Space and Quantum Leap, with Grant McKay and his League of Anarchic Scientists jaunting endlessly through the Eververse, an infinite onion-like structure of alternate realities densely layered upon each other. The tech that enables this is the Pillar, a supertech-widget McKay invents so that alternate realities can be plundered for their resources, but the whole thing goes sideways and he and his team and his family are stuck in a super-perilous mission to survive as each alternate reality they visit is more hostile than the last. The further they go, the more they realize that they might not just be putting themselves at risk...they might be endangering all of reality itself.
First, the good. Remender and artist Matteo Scalera work very well together, and the amount of imagination put forth in this is terrific. Each new world is a blast of fresh images, ideas and story hooks. In the first half of the story, especially, the world-building and destroying on display is a thing of wonder. And Scalera's art seems perfect for this particular story. It's a little wild and stylized, but for this tale, it works rather well.
Now, the bad. What works so well in this story also works against it - the wild energy and loopiness often comes at the expense of continuity. You ever get that feeling in Heavy Metal stories that the story itself just kind of lurched forward a bit because they've only got 4 pages left to tell 6 pages of story? Yeah, that happens all the time in Black Science. Sometimes, it's "Wait, where did McKay get that suit of armor from?" And sometimes it's, "Wait, how did a huge plot point happen entirely off-stage?" This gets really distracting in the second half of things, especially when we have parallel stories that offer little to no visual cue that we're jumping from one story to the next. It doesn't help that for much of this, we've got three female characters who look almost identical to each other, and while Scalera is a fine artist, he's got about four facial expressions on him, so sometimes telling certain characters apart becomes difficult. And when different versions of those same characters from other dimensions begin bumping into each other, you kind of throw your hands up and keep reading on the hopes that eventually when Remender has to stop and catch his breath, he'll explain exactly what is going on.
Ultimately, this is a good-ish series. It's far better in the first half than the second, and the ending, to be honest, feels like a huge cosmic-level cop-out. A lot of McKay's exposition makes you wonder if Rememder is using Black Science to work through some mid-life crisis of his own. But at least Black Science feels like a story for the sake of a story, and not an elaborate storyboard pitch for a Netflix adaptation, which is more than can be said for many graphic novels coming out these days. If only Remender and Scalera had throttled back just a little bit and didn't try so hard to be the anarchists they are depicting.
I came to Black Science as an ardent fan of Rick Remender's Low, a series so sublimely good that it's earned me a huge amount of goodwill with Remender. So it was that i dove into Black Science, not knowing what it was about, but fairly certain that I would have a good, if not great time. And I'd say that, ultimately, is what I got. A good, but not great time.
The story is kind of a hyperactive mash=up of Lost in Space and Quantum Leap, with Grant McKay and his League of Anarchic Scientists jaunting endlessly through the Eververse, an infinite onion-like structure of alternate realities densely layered upon each other. The tech that enables this is the Pillar, a supertech-widget McKay invents so that alternate realities can be plundered for their resources, but the whole thing goes sideways and he and his team and his family are stuck in a super-perilous mission to survive as each alternate reality they visit is more hostile than the last. The further they go, the more they realize that they might not just be putting themselves at risk...they might be endangering all of reality itself.
First, the good. Remender and artist Matteo Scalera work very well together, and the amount of imagination put forth in this is terrific. Each new world is a blast of fresh images, ideas and story hooks. In the first half of the story, especially, the world-building and destroying on display is a thing of wonder. And Scalera's art seems perfect for this particular story. It's a little wild and stylized, but for this tale, it works rather well.
Now, the bad. What works so well in this story also works against it - the wild energy and loopiness often comes at the expense of continuity. You ever get that feeling in Heavy Metal stories that the story itself just kind of lurched forward a bit because they've only got 4 pages left to tell 6 pages of story? Yeah, that happens all the time in Black Science. Sometimes, it's "Wait, where did McKay get that suit of armor from?" And sometimes it's, "Wait, how did a huge plot point happen entirely off-stage?" This gets really distracting in the second half of things, especially when we have parallel stories that offer little to no visual cue that we're jumping from one story to the next. It doesn't help that for much of this, we've got three female characters who look almost identical to each other, and while Scalera is a fine artist, he's got about four facial expressions on him, so sometimes telling certain characters apart becomes difficult. And when different versions of those same characters from other dimensions begin bumping into each other, you kind of throw your hands up and keep reading on the hopes that eventually when Remender has to stop and catch his breath, he'll explain exactly what is going on.
Ultimately, this is a good-ish series. It's far better in the first half than the second, and the ending, to be honest, feels like a huge cosmic-level cop-out. A lot of McKay's exposition makes you wonder if Rememder is using Black Science to work through some mid-life crisis of his own. But at least Black Science feels like a story for the sake of a story, and not an elaborate storyboard pitch for a Netflix adaptation, which is more than can be said for many graphic novels coming out these days. If only Remender and Scalera had throttled back just a little bit and didn't try so hard to be the anarchists they are depicting.
December 12, 2020
Two separate thoughts: The art (linework, colors, and scenes) continues to be astounding. The plot is becoming garbage fire.
To elaborate on the latter: I really loved this concept and series at the beginning and it just seems like with each passing volume, we're continuously told how Grant McKay needs to take responsibility for his actions and own up to his part in the shit show, and yet all he does is parades around to different dimensions and points the fingers at other people. To be fair, those other people may have also done wrong, but if Grant McKay is really trying to fine atonement, it's more than hypocritical to act as a reformed hero passing judgment and sentences on others.
Also: *spoiler*
He is an absentee, cheating father for about a decade and had a part in accidentally banishing and trapping his children in different dimensions only to show up, make one sacrifice, and his daughter all of a sudden forgives him, loves him again, and is ready to abandon the life she built with real love and value? Damn. Clearly Grant is the favorite character of the creators and everyone else is just two dimensional and there to serve as his convenient redemption arc.
It's not realistic, and I'm just really tired of seeing women in different forms of media be depicted as spineless, quick to forgive, or without self-worth. It doesn't just ruin a story, it's stuff like this that can get internalized (especially because it's so pervasive) and warps the self-image and self-worth girls and women have for themselves.
"True Atonement" is if Grant McKay had to watch and accept his children and wife live a much better life without him and without the chance to make up for the chronic, poor, and harmful decisions he's made for years. It's not on women and children to constantly forgive bullshit from narcissists. And no, recognizing that you're a narcissist doesn't absolve you.
To elaborate on the latter: I really loved this concept and series at the beginning and it just seems like with each passing volume, we're continuously told how Grant McKay needs to take responsibility for his actions and own up to his part in the shit show, and yet all he does is parades around to different dimensions and points the fingers at other people. To be fair, those other people may have also done wrong, but if Grant McKay is really trying to fine atonement, it's more than hypocritical to act as a reformed hero passing judgment and sentences on others.
Also: *spoiler*
He is an absentee, cheating father for about a decade and had a part in accidentally banishing and trapping his children in different dimensions only to show up, make one sacrifice, and his daughter all of a sudden forgives him, loves him again, and is ready to abandon the life she built with real love and value? Damn. Clearly Grant is the favorite character of the creators and everyone else is just two dimensional and there to serve as his convenient redemption arc.
It's not realistic, and I'm just really tired of seeing women in different forms of media be depicted as spineless, quick to forgive, or without self-worth. It doesn't just ruin a story, it's stuff like this that can get internalized (especially because it's so pervasive) and warps the self-image and self-worth girls and women have for themselves.
"True Atonement" is if Grant McKay had to watch and accept his children and wife live a much better life without him and without the chance to make up for the chronic, poor, and harmful decisions he's made for years. It's not on women and children to constantly forgive bullshit from narcissists. And no, recognizing that you're a narcissist doesn't absolve you.
March 30, 2019
Tras los sucesos del volumen 4, era obvio que para el tomo 5 Grant continuara son su búsqueda de retribución y reunir al equipo. El siguiente miembro que encuentra es a Pia y la vida que se construyó lo deja asombrado.
La dimensión que imaginan Remender y Scalera para este tomo es fantástica, un mundo de fantasía gobernado por 3 razas de dioses. Pia se esforzó por 3 años para conseguir la paz entre las razas y justo cuando está por logarlo aparece su papá, cambiando el curso de los sucesos completamente.
Siguiendo lo visto en el tomo anterior, Remender nos presenta mucho desarrollo de personaje. Seguimos con el crecimiento de Grant y ahora vemos el crecimiento de Pia. Es difícil para ambos personajes encontrar el balance para llevar su relación adecuadamente pero a los lectores nos da momentos que estábamos esperando entre los dos.
La mitad del volumen es la aventura de Pia y Grant, lo más increíble de esta parte es la decisión que Grant tiene que tomar. No imagino lo que sucederá en los siguientes tomos después de esta decisión pero sin duda es interesante. La segunda mitad del volumen nos muestra el retorno de Grant a casa y las cosas que le esperan ahí no son para nada lo que esperaba.
La segunda mitad aunque más lenta y sencilla que los últimos volúmenes de la historia, hace que sientas mucha tensión. Esos últimos dos números me pusieron muy nervioso y tenso, no quería saber que iba a suceder a continuación porque la situación en la que estaba metido Grant era muy adversa.
Veamos a dónde nos lleva el sexto volumen de esta serie.
La dimensión que imaginan Remender y Scalera para este tomo es fantástica, un mundo de fantasía gobernado por 3 razas de dioses. Pia se esforzó por 3 años para conseguir la paz entre las razas y justo cuando está por logarlo aparece su papá, cambiando el curso de los sucesos completamente.
Siguiendo lo visto en el tomo anterior, Remender nos presenta mucho desarrollo de personaje. Seguimos con el crecimiento de Grant y ahora vemos el crecimiento de Pia. Es difícil para ambos personajes encontrar el balance para llevar su relación adecuadamente pero a los lectores nos da momentos que estábamos esperando entre los dos.
La mitad del volumen es la aventura de Pia y Grant, lo más increíble de esta parte es la decisión que Grant tiene que tomar. No imagino lo que sucederá en los siguientes tomos después de esta decisión pero sin duda es interesante. La segunda mitad del volumen nos muestra el retorno de Grant a casa y las cosas que le esperan ahí no son para nada lo que esperaba.
La segunda mitad aunque más lenta y sencilla que los últimos volúmenes de la historia, hace que sientas mucha tensión. Esos últimos dos números me pusieron muy nervioso y tenso, no quería saber que iba a suceder a continuación porque la situación en la que estaba metido Grant era muy adversa.
Veamos a dónde nos lleva el sexto volumen de esta serie.
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