“Reality ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.” That might not even be a real quote, but it still stands as a stark reminder that the subjective properties by which we gauge our existence differ from person to person, culture to culture, and community to community. This is certainly true for the characters of Black Science, which is possibly the best thing Rick Remender has ever written. With stunning art by Matteo Scalera, lettering from Rus Wooton and colors from Moreno Dinisio, this epic tale deals with parallel universes, relationships, magic, advanced technology, jealousy, failure, and friendship. The basic gist is that a guy makes a device that allows him to travel to alternate realities, ostensibly to find new medicines and resources, but in doing so he unwittingly is tearing a hole in the fabric of every reality, and he also accidentally drags his family along, AND his boss is trying to sabotage both the device and his family, which makes for big problems and not-so-fun hijinks.
What does a perfect world look like?
Grant McKay has been through a lot. He’s fought alternate reality versions of himself, he’s battled mantis-like core reality aliens, he’s gone to multiversal couples therapy, and he’s had to grapple with the notion that he failed not only his wife and children, but his mother, father, and brother. All that is a heavy load to bear, and it’s no surprise that he’s a touchy fellow nowadays. In the last issue of Black Science, Grant’s boss and arch-nemesis Kadir accomplished what Grant could not; the evil witch Doxta, who controlled the last and only reality to survive the entropic effects of Grant’s universe hopping, was finally defeated, leaving the saboteur and executive manager of the Pillar project in complete control of the only reality left to exist in. This doesn’t sit well with Mr. McKay, but there’s nothing he can do, since his foe literally controls existence. This issue begins with Grant pulling a gun on Kadir when Chandra, his assistant/lover, dives in front of the blast, killing her.
You do the crime, you pay the price
Kadir is understandably shook, and he pulls out the last Pillar control, intending to erase Grant’s life, presumably in the meanest way possible (Kadir is a big-time jerk). Grant leaps out a window, hijacks a dude’s flying car, and heads into the city where his family resides. Black Science then resets, due to Kadir’s reality-bending control, and we witness the same exact standoff between Grant and his boss again, only this time Grant doesn’t shoot Chandra. He folds, and goes about his workday, rebuffing sexual advances from his assistant Rebecca, which is what tore his family apart in the first place, numerous realities ago. The issue shows a flash, and then Pia, Grant’s daughter, is attacked by the service ‘bot at home, and she and her mother Sara are rescued by the Grant that leaped out the window, implying that there are now two realities at play. Another flash, and the humbled Grant returns home to an intimate encounter with his wife, furthering the notion that this reality is the one this Grant deserves.
Black Science is confusing, but fun
Another flash, and we see Nate, Grant’s son, putting the moves on a girl he likes at school, only to be interrupted by his family, the one led by the Chandra-killing Mr. McKay. Nate joins them and they are last seen fleeing a whole bunch of security, while Kadir weeps by Chandra’s bloodstain on his floor. He orders his security forces to bring Grant back alive, but to exterminate his family, while laying down next to the congealing blood of his one true love. Kadir clearly has something nasty in mind, but who knows what will happen now that the reader knows there are two realities, when there was only supposed to be one. A fantastic ending, and with only one issue left, it’s sure to be a doozy.
