There are comic creators out there that are driven to create works that strive to be just a bit more than a comic book. I’ve meet such creators within the various Artist Alleys at comic conventions and at the more “high brow” Comic Art Festivals that are popping up. The work asks you to invest a little, spend some quality time reading the book and not just casually flip through the pages looking at pretty pictures. Almost always it is worth the effort. Supernaut from Michael David Nelson is one of these books.
Supernaut tells the tale of astronaut Stephen Haddon. While on the Moon, Stephen makes a significant discover that opens up his mind and reality. Called the Oortum Bands, this artifact transforms Stephen into a highly evolved consciousness called a Supernaut. Imbued with cosmic awareness Stephen sets out to bring together five additional artifacts to allow him to stop a greater being that calls himself God. God is looking to reboot, to restart reality and destroy everything to start again. Stephen recruits a team of extra-dimensional thieves as they pursue these artifacts, but in doing so, Stephen’s higher-level mind starts to come to the realization that maybe God is right, maybe things do need to start again. Perhaps Armageddon would be the best way forward.
Michael David Nelsen is a wordsmith with a flair for pseudoscience. The book is full of dialog like “our universe exists as a bubble, suspended in a superconstruct of Macroversal foam at the very largest level” and “this place is a pentagonal hyperstructure composed of polychorons … living 4th-dimensional components.” At least I’m guessing it is pseudoscience as I never ran into a “pentagonal hyperstructure” in school. So deep and rich is the techno-speak that it starts to form the fantastical world in which Stephen Haddon exists. But it’s a read. You need to sit down somewhere quiet and really pour over the words. David’s art is equally as eloquent. Stylized with a limited pallet of colours, each page and its layout are a lesson in graphic design.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the heck out of this collected edition which features the first five issues of the series. Hitting your local comic shop in December but if you miss the trade paperback there you can always head to http://50footrobot.com which features links to the single issues on Comixology.
Issue: Supernaut Vol 1 | Publisher: 215 Ink
Writer: Michael David Nelsen | Artist: Michael David Nelsen
Price: $19.99 – 148 pages
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