A strange, inexplicable, natural phenomenon endows a handful of people with superpowers. It’s a common premise for superhero stories, used in everything from the TV series Heroes to the book Turbulence, which I reviewed a number of years ago. It is not, however, the premise of Super Science. Not exactly.
There is a strange, inexplicable, natural phenomenon, but instead of turning people into superheroes, it turns them into mad scientists. Out of the blue, certain people now find themselves with the knowledge to conduct wild experiments and create bizarre and incredible things.
For some, that knowledge does involve altering their physiology, turning themselves into human-cat hybrids, human-bird hybrids, human-lizard hybrids, or a host of other things. For others, their knowledge involves the creation of machines and other technical marvels, such as shrink rays or robots. As you might imagine, the people affected by this phenomenon are less likely to become superheroes and more likely to become supervillains.
It’s been three years since the sky turned purple, resulting in this phenomenon, which the people have dubbed “Super Science,” and the LAPD has its hands full dealing with the fallout. Then, billionaire tech genius Burt Montague offers a solution: a Mad Science Task Force, responsible for keeping these villains in check.
On this task force are no-nonsense Sergeant Esmeralda “contain the problem, rules be damned” Villanueva and Officer Jack “let’s talk this out and find a peaceful solution” Mantle. Aside from their harried, “has seen it all and is, frankly, sick of it” commanding officer, Mantle and Villanueva are the only ones on the task force. However, supplied with the latest high-tech weaponry from Montague Industries, they are armed to the teeth—while the city is paying through the nose.
Nothing about this approach makes any sense to the characters in the thick of it, and Montague is definitely hiding something—probably quite a lot. Plus, there are plenty of crazed scientists and shady organizations that are also hiding things, plotting things, etc. But there’s not really a lot our heroes can do about that. All they can really do is use the resources they’ve been given to keep the city safe, one supervillain at a time.
I really like this comic. It’s fun, it’s well-written, and both the story and the artwork have a quirky sense of humor. Plus, there’s a host of unique and interesting characters, many of whom have unique and interesting powers and/or gizmos that make the story more engaging and help it to stand out from the norm. Also, several chapters include, at the end, spoof advertisements for cool, new mad science-y technologies, from strength-enhancing pills to extravagant weapons, and more.
This first volume builds a diverse and fantastical world. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey, and I’m looking forward to exploring it even more in the next volume.
Creative Team: N. Alessandro K. (writer), M.K. Perker (artist), Adam Guzowski (colorist), Jared K. Fletcher (letterer), John J. Hill (parody ad design and production), Dagen Walker (editor), Emma Price (book design and logo)
Publisher: The Lab Press
Click here to purchase.
