“To get through a war, a man needs something bigger than himself to fight for.”

When we last saw our Dimensionauts in Issue #3 we were left with some big surprises. I always thought that Kadir would be the first to cower in the face of adversity and Rebecca would be the last person on the team to kill someone; I was wrong. Whatever you think of Kadir he came through for Ward and Shawn when they needed him most and saved their lives. Back at the Pillar, Rebecca was using her own judgement and saving the lives of everyone else by killing the German hostage who almost gave away their location to his comrades who happened to be patrolling the area. We were also treated to a flashback scene just minutes before the Pillar jumped our Dimensionauts to their first layer of the “onion”. That is a sentence I never thought I would type.

We are now at Black Science #4 and it’s hard to believe that what has transpired since the first issue has only spanned a few hours in the eyes of our team. Ward, Shawn and Kadir are on their way back to the Pillar with the Shaman that’s supposed to heal Grant’s wounds in tow. Through mine fields, warriors on horseback with laser hatchets and their vehicle exploding from a missile, they managed to get the Shaman back to the Pillar in time. However, Ward sacrificed himself for the good of the group; he held back some of the warriors to give Shawn enough time to get back with the medic. And just when we thought Kadir could rise to the occasion he lets us all down and runs to save himself.

The Pillar counts down to zero and our team, minus (Spoiler Alert: Highlight to read) Ward (R.I.P.), plus the Shaman, get flashed to their new randomly chosen destination. Is it another land on the back of gigantic turtles with electric-tongued frogs? Another wasteland in a war-torn Europe with giant robots? Nope, it’s none of those; it’s a hotel…and they have scotch. Grant was healed by the Shaman and now they are looking for parts in this new dimension to possibly fix the Pillar to go home and everything will beg fine. Unless the new threat at the end finds them first.

The amazing thing about Black Science is the art by Matteo Scalera and Dean White that transports the reader into each of these pages and into each of these dimensions. White’s painted art matches perfectly with the story being told during the rescue/escape scene. The way Scalera draws the characters makes you really feel their emotions especially during (Spoiler) Ward’s final moments and Kadir’s sense of guilt. It blows my mind how I find myself staring at each page for so long in awe and realize how immersed I am in this world they (with writer Rick Remender) created. Black Science has proven itself as a top book worthy of anyone’s Pull-List. This particular issue may have lacked in certain areas of dialogue but it sets up a grander story to be told in issues to come. And I can’t wait for those issues.

Story: Rick Remender Art: Matteo Scalera and Dean White
Story: 8 Art: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review