Rick Remender expands his playground in Black Science #2. This is a sci-fi story built from the pieces and parts of other stories. The brilliant scientists playing god when they should know better. The tough as nails soldier, who is trying to live down a dark past, dedicates himself to protecting the scientist and his family. The evil son of a bitch who funded the project and just oozes scumbag. There’s two plucky kids, as well as the bitchy blonde right hand of the oozing scumbag, and the gorgeous scientists in love with the main character. There’s nothing in Black Science you haven’t seen before, but damn if it isn’t entertaining.
The Pillar has been sabotaged. What’s the Pillar? Good question, and one that is not clearly answered in issue #2. Whatever The Pillar exactly is, it allows travel between dimensions. An intrepid group of adventurers, including everyone I listed above, is trying to use the Pillar to get back home. Sadly, the sabotage has made the Pillar a bit unstable, and the intrepid group are stuck in a truly bizarre dimension. One where Space Indians seem to be at war with Germans. Sound weird? Yep. It is.
Issue #2 is used to introduce all the characters, give some backstory to Grant, the lead scientist, and how they discovered The Pillar. A few things become clear. The fact that Grant, though married, is screwing his assistant. Grant hired a disgraced military veteran as his head of security, and an egregiously greedy businessman is funding him. What Remender doesn’t make clear is why the greedy businessman, the assistant, and Grant’s children were all part of the experimental first run of The Pillar. I’m assuming Remender will clear that up as Black Science continues. As of right now, the cast of characters are in deep, standing up against murderous alien-tech Indians with laser hatchets.
Black Science is a good time with a lot of oddity to it. Remender seems to understand that he’s dealing with some well-worn sci-fi clichés, and he’s allowing his imagination to fill in those blanks. Part of what works is the visual scope of the story. Artist Matteo Scalera, who worked with Remender on Secret Avengers, goes for broke here. Everything is bigger than life, from the landscape to the aliens and even to the reactions of the characters. The evil businessman is so gloriously sinister, and the disgraced mercenary so begrudgingly serious. Scalera ramps up the clichés, and at the same time, he manages to keep an original slant on the story. Only time will tell how Black Science ends up, but for right now, it’s a great read.
(4 Art, 3.5 Story)
