BOOKLIST (STARRED) -- Right at the start of this new
sci-fi comic, scientist Grant McKay lops the head off an electro-toad and uses
its jarring electric blue tongue as a whip against his amphibious enemies. And
that's just the beginning of the strange beauty in Remender's latest. As the
lead researcher of the Anarchist Order of Scientists, McKay has fractured the
rules governing interdimensional travel and taken his expedition (including his
family) into other worlds. What begins as an accomplishment of science and
wonder quickly becomes a nightmare when McKay realizes the machine that brought
them here is now jumping between dimensions at random intervals. Remender is
masterful when it comes to internal monologue, particularly here, when giving
voice to the inner struggles of this timid, regretful scientist. His writing is
both high-concept and descriptive, and it never loses sight of its humanity.
Scalera perfectly echoes the off-the-wall story, drawing in sharp angles, losing
the viewer in trees of geometric shapes, and using a brilliant palette of candy
colors that pop against black backgrounds that swallow deeply etched faces,
lurking figures, and imaginative creatures in their shadows. A must-read<b>
</b>for Remender's fans or anyone thrilled by bizarre and compelling
sci-fi.<br /><br /><br />