Young Katherine Johnson (Family Comic Friday)

This is the second of humorous volumes on the lives of notable figures from history during their youth I've recently read by the French cartoonist Augel. This selection was chosen for Black History Month as it features noted math genius Katherine Johnson. Her work as a 'human calculator ' for NASA helped the space program win the race to the moon with the Apollo 11 landing in 1969. She was even personally requested by John Glenn to confirm his contradictory calculations during his historic Friendship 7 orbital mission in 1962.

Just like with the Agatha Christie volume, there's interactive activities for readers. Instead of solving mysteries, your tasked with solving mathematical word problems. Math not being my strong suit, I prefer solving a crime over doing algebra any day. Though I will begrudgingly admit that if I had paid a tiny bit more attention, I would have correctly solved more of those problems than I did. Though let's be honest, Augel cheated a little in that problem involving the blocks!

You explore both humorous as well as thoughtful situations in this look at Katherine Johnson. You'll experience her life as a young black girl in the segregated mountains of West Virginia as well as the stigma of being a female who's life interest were in the male dominated fields of science and math. Katherine also explored the limits of her imagination with her beloved pet chicken Luncinda, and her celestial friend, the Moon. 

Young Katherine Johnson was an adorable book. Another success by Augel. Teachers will love this book as the last 10 or so pages are a lesson guide for Black History Month, science and math and astronomy and physics. Parents and guardians will love how the young readers in their lives will learn and be entertained through reading. And maybe they'll want to do some of the extra activities and science experiments in the back of this graphic novel! There's potential for fun for the whole class AND family!

Worth Consuming!

The Cartoon Guide to Physics (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

This 1990 illustrated guide to physics is broken into 2 parts: mechanics and electricity AND magnetism. The first segment can be summoned up by Isaac Newton's 3 law of motion.

1. A body at rest persists in its state of rest, and a body in motion remains in constant motion along a straight line unless acted upon by an external force.

2. A body's acceleration is directly proportional to the force exerted on it and is in the same direction as the force.

3. To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

(from owlcation.com)

Add in gravity, a bunch of equations that supposedly proves the theories behind the science and some history, you've got section one in a nutshell.

Section #2 isn't quite so clear. There's a lot about magnets. A lot about how we get electricity thanks to particle charges. Add in the best explanation I have ever seen about Einstein's theory of relativity that didn't use the old adage about putting your hand on a hot stove for a minute vs. spending 30 minutes with a beautiful woman. Then throw everything out with the paradoxes of quantum mechanics and I might be able to explain how to change a light bulb while putting a magnet on the door of your fridge. 

UCLA physics and astronomy professor Larry Gonick teams with Discover Magazine's Art Huffman to teach the laws of the physical universe in The Cartoon Guide to Physics. The duo do their best to explain physics. It just whenever you add letters to numbers (or substitute them), my eyes glaze over. 

For a very long time, I thought I just couldn't understand math. Then in my senior year of high school, I was finally diagnosed with math dyslexic. Once I understood that, my love of science abounded to a point that I daily use physics, chemistry, biology and even math in my career as a professional chef and culinary teacher.

As part of the reading challenge, I was to read a book about science. Since I enjoy physics, especially time travel and how simple machines work, I gave this book a chance. 

There are 2 hosts for this book. The adventurous Ringo and his fellow astronaut, an unnamed hostess with the letter L on her belt. Ringo tends to get into trouble and gets easily confused. The hostess usually conducts her experiments with panache. Their visual aids make the confusion brought upon by the equations easier to understand many of the principles explored in this book. But I think an animated version would be a lot more helpful that using charts with arrows flowing this way and that. 

Of the books I have read for this challenge, this has taken me the longest. Some nights I could breeze through 2-3 chapters. On others, I could only make it through a single chapter before my brain just turned to mush. I learned a lot. But when it comes to the theoretical stuff, I think I am just too much of a realist (or maybe a literalist) to understand it all.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #48 (About Science) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Hawking

I became a huge fan of Richard Feynman thanks to the 2013 graphic novel work by Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick. When I feel like being brainy while getting in a good laugh or two, I play the lectures of Feynman on my computer. It's great background noise when you are surfing the web or updating book reviews. 

This was a guy who was building the first atomic bomb one minute and then sneaking out of Los Almos to play bongos at a local club the next. He was so serious and yet chill. And he was fun as well as funny as hell!

So when Previews announced the release of Ottaviani and Myrick's Hawking, I was first in line for the book. I love Stephen Hawking. I read his manga opus, A Brief History of Time when I was in the fifth grade (for fun; not a requirement.) I've followed Hawking career ever since, enjoying his hilarious appearances on The Simpsons, Futurama and The Big Bang Theory. 

So how was this book? Was it all I hoped it would be cracked up to be? In short- NO!

This book was an almost complete 180 turn from Feynman. While Dr. Feynman was the life of the party, Professor Hawking was a massive stick in the mud. Prof. Feynman was willing to accept concepts that didn't gel with his personal philosophy. Dr. Hawking tries to change those rejected ideas to fit into his view of the universe. But above all, this book was boring!

I was hoping for a more personal look at Stephen Hawking's personal life. His struggle with ALS has been in inspiration for me and countless others. While his personal life is glossed upon, this book was more of a treatise on cosmology and physics.

Only Stephen Hawking can make his insanely complex concepts seem simple. Ottaviani and Myrick are no Stephen Hawking. I literally was bored to tears with this book. It's also why it's taking me up till now to have finally completed this. I had to take breaks in order to overtake the mind numbing!

Sadly, Stephen Hawking also seems to have been a bit of a jerk. Understandably, suffering from something as crippling as ALS is enough to make anyone sour. But way before he started to show symptoms, Hawking seemed a bit of an ass. I really felt sorry for his first wife.

Should Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick do a third graphic novel based on a famous scientist, I would read it. It's not exactly that the creative team did a poor job on this. The true life of Stephen Hawking wasn't as enjoyable as the myth the late physicist had built up around himself. But I would recommend that they maybe not spending quite as much time on really difficult physics. It just wasn't as enjoyable read as it could have been as I didn't think that the creators really understood the mind of a master thinker; no matter how tarnished his armor now is in my mind.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

RASL- Book One: The Drift

A inter-dimensional art heist. A lizard-faced assassin. Sex. Lies. And Nikola Tesla!

RASL is a book that I've been aware of for a while. Let for some dumb reason, I just wasn't willing to pull the trigger for one reason or another. But then something just clicked and I couldn't overlook it any further.

Man, what a doof was I! The opening chapter to Jeff Smith's physic/crime caper was fantastic! The story was quite good. But it ended too soon! Good thing I was able to head to the library today and pick up the next two volumes. 

In terms of the artwork of RASL, it's typical Jeff Smith for me. I love the inking and how clean everything is. But for some reason, he just can't do some faces right. The reptilian baddie is creepy good. But our hero looks like a bobble-head! 

There was an old lady in Smith's most popular series, the all-ages friendly Bone. Rose Harvestar! RASL or Robert, depending on who is referring to him, looks like a male version of Rose Harvestar. When he first appears all beaten up and bloody; let me just say that it's not a pretty sight. 

An excellent opening salvo of a story. Great art overall with some really terrible faces. But I can overlook it because Jeff Smith has created a universe- no multiverse!- that I want to return to again and again!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Feynman

   It seems like everywhere I go right now, Richard Feynman is there. From a factual account of the Oppenheimer's involvement in the Manhattan Project (Fallout) to Jonathan Hickman's alternate history of the program in the pages of the Image series of the same name to an article about the strange quirks of famous people on Cracked.com; I just keeping running into Feynman. Why, even his van achieved some notoriety when it appeared on an episode of the Big Bag Theory a couple of weeks ago. It seems that the noted mathematician and physicist has achieved that rare rock star status of Einstein or Hawking in which they are more than science royalty but pop culture icons!

   From my recent readings, including this graphic novel by Jim Ottaviani (who also wrote Fallout) and Leland Myrick, Feynman has become my personal favorite genius (he's also Sheldon's on Big Bang Theory.) Feynman is very down to earth and while he looks at the mysteries of the universe with an analytical mind, he's not opposed to the idea of a creator nor does he claim to know or even understand all of the puzzles of science. 

   From Feynman's odd hobby of picking locks while at Los Alamos to his attempts to join a Carnival krewe in Brazil, it didn't matter if the subject was trivial or not, as long as his continuing self-education exercised his mind it was a subject worth studying for the Nobel Prize winner. This book maps just about every step of Feynman's life, but it's not in linear order. Just as his autobiographies rambled out of sync with his personal timeline, this graphic novel jumps from time period to time period. Thankfully, unlike Hickman's 'Manhattan Projects', Ottaviani and Myrick are keen to inform the reader of the year in which events unfold.

    While I enjoyed the heck out of this book, it was not an easy read. But that's okay. Complexity doesn't have to equal enjoyment. In at least 2 sections of this book, Ottaviani and Myrick place Feynman behind a lectern as his attempts to explain to the reader his award-winning theory on QED. It has something to do with how light particles reflect off of a surface but not at the same time or in the same fashion every time. (Please, don't ask me to explain more because I would be doing a terrible disservice to both the genius behind the theory and to you my loyal blog readers.)

    Even though understanding his groundbreaking theories were not easy for me to accomplish, I am in no way turned off by Richard Feynman or his work. In fact, the author posted an extensive assortment of suggested readings on Feynman that have inspired me to pick up a few in the coming new year. I am particularly interested in his mostly autobiographical works 'Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!' and 'What Do You Care What Other People Think?'

    Feynman is an interesting read that like the physicist himself, challenges the reader to think, expand, and grow with every life experience. Don't be intimidated by scientific jargon in this 2011 work because even the late physicist's didn't have all the answers either. Look at this as a doorway to world of new ideas and when someone says to you that graphic novels are kids stuff, show them one of Feynman's formulas and ask them if they think a 5-year old could solve it or not? 

   Worth Consuming

    Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Manhattan Projects, Volume 4: Building

    

  Oppenheimer makes a deal with President Kennedy in an attempt to take over the Projects, resulting in the incarceration of the entire team. Meanwhile, in the brain of Oppenheimer Prime, the Blues go for the nuclear option in a final bid of ridding the physicist of the evil Reds. But a forgotten player in this epic series will have the last say over who takes final control of Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Projects as well.

    Volume 3 lacked the 'oomph' of the previous two volumes. This volume is a return to the level of quality storytelling that got me hooked in the Manhattan Projects in the first place. With tons of twists, turns, and shocking reveals, a history major like me has no idea where this series is gonna go next and that's a GREAT thing!

     There's only one volume of the exciting series left for me to read. Jonathan Hickman has crafted a story that is nearly flawless. It's so good, I don't want it to end, but I also want to know how things wrap up. That is a sign of a master storyteller.

    Worth Consuming!

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Manhattan Projects, Volume 2: They Rule

    The scientists of Los Alamos have declared their independence from the United States. Now teaming with the scientists of Star City, the Soviet equivalent of the Manhattan Projects, the world's most brilliant minds seek to become the masters of not only the world but the universe as well. But it will not be easy as President Truman has unleashed the Illuminati, a mad assortment of super-powered humans upon the base with only one mission- take the base- leave no prisoners- kill everyone!!!

    I'm still a fan of the groundbreaking series by Jonathan Hickman, but I didn't enjoy this volume as much as the previous one. For one thing, last volume seemed to follow the timeline of 1940-1945-ish pretty well. Yes, this is a fictional account of the Manhattan Project but the plotting was so well done that I was able to appreciate my knowledge of World War II history in regards to the events that transpired in the comics.

    But in this volume we jump from President Truman to newly appointed Commander-In-Chief John Kennedy. Where did Eisenhower go? If in this timeline Kennedy became the 34th president instead of the famed General, then it was Hickman's responsibility to inform the readers that Kennedy's presidency begins in 1952. That's just one of several diversions from our timeline that the author neglects to alert us to. Instead of captions stating 'now' and 'then,' I really could have used some dates.

    Another problem I have with this volume is the level of violence. If this edition was Spinal Tap's amp, the violence would be set at 11. Volume 1 wasn't for the faint of heart, but compared to this collection, the last book was an anthology of nursery rhymes. I also felt like the shock factor added to the mix detracted from the story itself.

    Thankfully, the last chapter opens the Manhattan Projects up to a new dimension of possibilities. For some time, the deranged mind of Robert Oppenheimer has been like a vault that isn't water tight and every once in a while the safe's contents leak out, allowing the reader to catch a glimpse of his fractured psyche. But the last chapter titled 'Finite Oppenheimers' we see just how many multiple personalities the demented physicist has absorbed throughout the multiverse. Let's just say it's a lot and they're not all happy to have become a part of Oppenheimer's think tank collective.

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics, Volume 1: The Paradigm Shift

    The laws of physics have been severely broken. With time paradoxes, quantum tornadoes, and gravity failing as often as the sun rises and sets, things on planet earth have changed. For example, when you call 911, you are asked if your emergency is in regards to medical, fire, or physics.

   Enter the FBP- Federal Bureau of Physics and agent Adam Hardy. For the government agency, these calls seem like just another day at the office. But when Adam becomes temporarily stranded in a bubble universe, he learns that their may be something sinister behind the weakening of the fabric of the universe. In a world where the 'impossible is always possible' Adam and his team must get to the bottom of the quantum entanglements or the fate of not just the world, but the entire universe is doomed. 

    If it seems like I've been on a science graphic novel kick lately, it's not my fault. My library just happened to get in a bunch of science themed books in recently and I decided to snatch up several volume 1s in order to decide if there were any new series to get into since 'Fables' is almost through. So far, I'm batting 2-2. 

  FBP was exciting and unexpected. The book has so many twists and turns and shocks that I was pleasantly surprised that I had no idea where the members of the FBP were going to go next. So many comic series these days are about as predictable as the weather in San Deigo but that is not the case here. Also, with so much happening in the realm of physics, not every mystery is revealed and that is a good thing as I'm set up and ready for volume 2.

   Another good thing about this book is that the writing is so good that even the 'boring' parts are great. In The Phantom Menace, the Star Wars prequel was ruined by lengthy scenes involving intergalactic trade treaties. But in FBP, even the agency's struggle to achieve federal funding is as interesting as the time vortexes that haunt one of the characters in this book.

    If you like the X-Files, CSI, Doctor Who, and science in general then this is the series for you.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars (as the art was a little rough at times but it still made for an engaging read.)

E-Man #1

   This issue of E-Man just also happened to be a book I was recommended last week to read when I was bored. Thanks again to my love of comic book grab bags, I happened to have an issue on hand and what an issue to have. This book, published by Modern Comics in 1977, reprints the very first issue by Charlton Comics in 1973 and is the brainchild of Nicola Cuti and Joe Staton.

    E-Man is an energy being that survived a supernova. In his quest for intelligent life, he comes across a space ship filled with a hostile entity. When the energy being discovers this hostile has intentions to destroy our planet, he assumes the form of a human. With help from a stripper with a heart of gold and ice in her veins, our hero becomes E-Man, with the power to convert matter into energy and vice versa.

    E-Man was quite good for a short-lived book from the 70s. Charlton was the publishing company that could but sadly it just never managed to overtake the big two publishers and eventually was swallowed up by DC by the 1980s. This book is proof of the talent and quality that Charlton was able to get their hands on- if only they could have had the bankroll of a Marvel Comics. A very good feature with great art but a very abrupt ending as if parts of the finale were edited for time or space. 

    The backup feature is called 'The Knight', a superspy for the international espionage agency C.H.E.S.S. The Knight is a rogue who gets in fights and follows the beat of his own drum. If he wasn't such a damn fine agent, the agency's high-ups, codenamed King and Queen, would have had him arrested or kicked out years ago.

   In this tale, the Knight, along with agents codenamed Rook and Bishop, infiltrate a company that makes rocket boosters in hopes of seeking out a mole. But to their chagrin, the entire organization is filled with double-agents! Now, the trio must destroy the plant, saving humanity and hopefully themselves in the process. 

    If the story of the Knight sounds familiar to a DC title called Checkmate- I don't think you are that far off the mark. Checkmate has operatives codenamed White Knight, Black King, Black Rook, White Queen, etc... It's also a super secret intelligence community, only they employ super heroes. Also, Checkmate was co-created by Paul Kuppenberg, a longtime contributor to Charlton who went to DC shortly after the company bought out the Charlton catalog. I really don't think this is a coincidence. But that's okay. This issue was like reading a rough draft of Checkmate, a series which I really like and am on the hunt for both complete series.

    If you can get your hands on a Charlton E-Man, expect to shell out some big bucks. But Modern Reprints dot bargain bins and are peppered throughout grab bags nationwide. (I have a total of 3 E-Man books thanks to grab bags.) A welcome addition to my collection, I cannot wait to read more and find more E-Man. You can also find E-Man series published by Comico and First Comics in the dollar bins and I hear they are very good titles as well.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Manhattan Projects, Volume 1: Science. Bad.

Everything you know about the Manhattan Project is a lie. First of all- the quest to create a nuclear bomb was just a cover for a slew of experiments involving time drive, alternate dimensions, and other types of fringe science. Besides, we had the bomb years before we even used it...

   Well, that's according to the new series I started reading: The Manhattan Projects. The brainchild of Jonathan Hickman, I first learned of this series when I was getting his autograph at a convention a few years back. The guy in front of me had just about every issue getting signed so, I took some time to examine them (from afar, of course.) 

   The covers look almost identical to the cover to this premiere volume. They have a large black circle in the middle with the MP logo, art and writer credits, issues number, and price. Unlike Einstein being on this book's cover, the individual issues might have a subtle pop art-style difference like a color wheel or the Soviet Hammer and Sickle. 

    When my local library finally decided to pick up this series, it took me even longer to get into to it as volume 1 was checked out for several months. When I finally got my hands on it last week, I both slapped my forehead for taking so long to get into this dynamic series and did a small victory dance for finally getting this book into my possession.

    All of your favorite physicists from the Second World War are in this book. Oppenheimer, Fermi, Feynman, Daghlian, and the previously mentioned Albert Einstein. But by volume's end, the way you look at any of these pioneering scientists may just change how you look at American History and physics itself. 

     Hickman's brave new world is exciting and the art by Nick Pitarra. His style is very similar to that of Frank Quietly. The inking is pencil thin and with muted color tones and some gritty detailing, it's the perfect visual pairing with Hickman's unique look at 1940s science.

    If you like alternate timelines, historical fiction, time travel, or just science in general- you must read this book. I'm going to bet that Manhattan Projects is the series most of you, my dear readers, aren't reading! Run, do not walk, to your local comics shop or demand that your librarian carry this series.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.