With the release of the new series The Manhattan Projects this week, a great Johnathan Hickman project of a few years ago came to mind.....Pax Romana. Taking place in the far, far future & the far, far past....this book weaves history and science fiction together into a deeply plotted, morally questioning saga that spans the course of time.
In 2045, as Islam has overrun Europe and the West openly shuns monotheism, the Vatican-funded CERN Laboratories 'discover' that time travel is possible. The Pope orders the creation of a private army, and led by a few handpicked Cardinals and the finest graduates of selected war colleges, they travel back in time to....the reign of the first Christian Emperor, Constantine.
Upon arrival, conflicting agendas, ideological differences, and personal greed see grand plans unravel. Pax Romana is the tale of 5,000 men sent on an impossible mission to change the past and save the future. At the end of the world, will they succeed, or will they fail?
This politically driven, sci-fi epic in Graphic Novel form was done through independent publisher Image Comics. Hickman blends religion and sci-fi with a great "only-in-comic-books" plot in an original story about the past and the future blending together.....and also proving the point that we should never attempt time travel, because this story is exactly the kind of stuff that would happen. I've read rumors that this may be made into a movie, which I would love to see. Hickman's art is decent for this type of story, and I absolutely love the plot!
Hickman has always been "hit or miss" for me, but Pax Romana (and The Manhattan Projects, if issue #1 is any indication of what's to come) was definitely a "hit" in my book.
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