Richard Feynman vs. Robot Wernher von Braun
The Manhattan Projects imagines a World War II won—or maybe lost—by paranormal research.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
1946. Dr. Robert Oppenheimer has been replaced by his murderous evil twin. Wernher von Braun has a superstrong robot arm. Richard Feynman is parachuting into Germany. The Japanese are sending samurai-bots through space portals to attack America. And deep underneath the war department, the development of the atom bomb is only a cover for top-secret, weirder, more dangerous studies, in The Manhattan Projects.
Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra’s gonzo comic book series is part Genius, part Band of Brothers, and part Hellboy—a dark and twisty counterhistory of America’s World War II scientific triumphs. Pitarra’s art is vivid and intricate and often laugh-out-loud funny. Check out The Manhattan Projects at your local comics store, and enjoy Nick Pitarra’s terrific illustrations in the the third issue of the Slate Book Review.
Previous SBR comics:
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See all the pieces in the new Slate Book Review.
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Dan Kois is a senior editor at Slate and a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine.