The Man who Never was

Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Batman - Knightfall #1 by Kyle Higgins My rating: 3 of 5 stars The Dark Multiverse, expanded upon after the mind-bending Dark Nights: Metal saga from Scott Snyder was an interesting concept, adding to the already expansive Batman Mythos. Harkening back to the Infinite Crisis and more specifically to JLA: Earth 2 by Grant Morrison, as well as its much underrated by narratively brilliant Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths animated movie, the dark multiverse as its name implies, explores chaos theory. For every major event which happened in the main DC continuity that we know, ones where the heroes were able to overcome great odds, and triumph over evil, there could be other alternate infinite realities, where the villains won, where evil triumphs, where the heroes fell. Where the paragons of everything good, just and compassionate strayed from their moral compass and ended up consuming the very world and reali...

The Left Hand of the Führer by Richard D. Nolane My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5 |Grade: C+; Ride of the Valkyries, Conspiracy Disclaimer: I know that the Nazi Superweapons never worked, never had a chance of working, and even if they did, the dire fuel situation of the Germans meant that they wouldn't have made much of a difference in the war. But this is after all a pulpy fictional story. So, let's just enjoy it, and keep logic away for the duration The Wunderwaffen of the Nazi regime have, with their superior technological prowess, managed to thwart the spearpoint of the allied offensive. Which has given Germany a much-needed respite from the relentless assault upon them. So naturally, the interlude is a time when the Nazi high command starts conniving and scheming behind the scenes for power. Himmler, Goebbles, Goering, Heydrich and the rest are all running their own schemes to position themselves as Hitler’s successor. Alt...

The Reich's Damned by Richard D. Nolane My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5 | Grade: C; Just because it looks weird, doesn't mean it can't fly Things are turning for the better for the Nazi regimes. The acts of saboteurs and spies can produce only mixed results at best. While psychics selected by the Nazi occult branch under Himmler are giving the Germans even more of an edge. It’s still a mystery why certain people are seeing Hitler’s face when exposed to dangerous situations. And how this is helping them improve their survivability and mission success. So far, the story is taking an approach where they mix the plot with introducing new pieces of German Wunder-waffen. Which in real life were German 'super weapons', which were conceptualized but never came to fruition. Some were even in prototype phase. We don't know whether they'd have actually worked. Or if they did, putting them into service would've changed G...

At the Gates of Hell by Richard D. Nolane My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5 | Grade: C+; This man almost died; you wouldn't believe what happened to him after As hoped, Chapter 2 of Richard D. Nolane seems to have rectified the jarring shortcomings of the opening issue. I’m glad to find that the dialogue, which was a major sore point of the first chapter, is markedly better this time. It’s cohesive, reads like a proper dialogue and maintains the pace of the story quite well. On the other hand, it seems that our protagonist, the devil’s pilot, is developing some manner of precog predictive ability following his near-death experience. Which allows him to get out of unexpected jams and stay ahead of his opponents. Though already piloting a jet, that’d mean he’s 2-3 steps ahead at this point. In typical Nazi fashion, the biggest threat to their regime are not the allies, but their own politics, a neurotic dictator and personal interests u...

The Devil's Pilot by Richard D. Nolane My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5 | Grade: B; WWII dogfights with Nazi Jets Here we are back again, indulging in the junk food of Alternate history fiction; what if the Nazis won the war. Only this time around they didn't. As what happened in the real world, WWII happened, and the allies defeated Imperial Japan by dropping the nukes on Hiroshima & Nagasaki. Everything is quiet on the eastern front. Only, the western front is still very much a contested battlefield. Downright catastrophic weather conditions saw the Landings at Normandy, as well as D-day, turn into a devastating failure. Much like the Persian fleet on the Greek shores, the allied naval offensive was blunted, and the Axis powers got a brief respite, allowing them to stay in the war late into 1946. The coinciding launch of the Lippisch .13a , the German ramjet prototype, swung the scale more in favor of the Germans, especially wh...

Iron Squad #1: Red Commando 1/2 by Jean-Luc Sala My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rating 4 out of 5 | Grade: B; Command & Conquer, mecha edition Disclaimer: I fully acknowledge that the period of the World wars is one of the darkest parts of human history. One which causes death, destruction & suffering on a continental scale. One which put into the collective consciousness, horrors pertaining to humanity, depths to which we never thought men could stoop to. Suffering and testament to human will, in Ethnic genocide & concentration camp (Something which is still being carried out by the ahem, ‘world’s next superpower’). It’s something which has shaped Geopolitical events for almost 80 years since. Not something to be made light of. Having said that, fictional stories where the Axis win the war, and establish a new world order, are a dime a dozen. It might be because, like me, there is a dedicated niche following of readers who guzzle it all up, li...

Operation Rebalance by Jean-Luc Sala My rating: 2 of 5 stars Rating 2 out of 5 | Grade: D+ ; It all goes downhill pretty fast The concluding volume of Iron Squad, by Jean-Luc Sala, seems the most rushed and least interesting of the whole 6 Issue series. One which doesn't live up to the promise set in Vol.1 , either in terms of story, or artwork. The plot of this volume, where a bunch of OSS agents try and infiltrate the Nazi science facility that produces Neptunium, the super fuel that allows them to power their advanced armor, is lack luster, in terms of action & stakes. Which is a shame, as some of the characters had a halfway decent backstory to explore. Plus, some of the interesting characters from Vol. 1, the Russian campaigns had also made a comeback. The way in which these characters behave is completely random, and basically they do whatever it takes to make the plot 'edgy'. Unnecessary friendly fire, misunderstandings, sh...

Iron Squad Vol. 2: Pacific Invasion by Jean-Luc Sala My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5 | Grade : C; War of the World; 日本 edition The second volume of Jean-Luc Sala's Iron Squad, leaves much to be desired. This volume which focuses on the fictional invasion of the US by a 'mecha'nized Imperial Japan, sees a ragtag group of recruits, who highjack a command mecha of the Japanese to try and mount an almost suicidal mission to help the Allies. For one, the artwork of the story, which was the highlight of Volume 1, appear to be significantly watered down, and lacks the depth, richness & intensity as the original. There are a few panels which show promise, and I do appreciate the visuals of the Mechanized walkers treading the beaches in a mechapunk remake of the Invasion of Normandy. But it does fall short. Second, the characters, which do appear as interesting in the onset, don't really do anything to me, even as they ar...

Uber, Volume 3 by Kieron Gillen My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5| Grade C-; Interlude Mature content warning. Graphic Violence & Nudity The book Uber, Volume 2 , ended at a highpoint for the Nazis, who, thanks to the solo assault of Battleship Sieglinde, managed to destroy the heartland of London, as well as assassinate Winston Churchill. This action, while holding little value strategically, nevertheless send eaves across the lines, earning a highly anticipated Symbolic victory for the Germans. And we all know how much the Nazis put emphasis on looks. The Allies, reeling from this humiliating defeat, not to mention the loss of one of the pillars of democracy, throw their entire naval might to try and annihilate the weakened retreating Sieglinde. Only to be thwarted by the sudden arrival of the newly introduced Blitzmensch who can serve as one man long distance artillery units, shooting devastating halo energy from afar, and destroying a good part of the British hom...

New York 1947 by Vincent Brugeas My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5 |Grade: C+; Atmospheric New York 1947 is a prequel side story to the main story of Block 109 . In an alternate timeline, following the assassination of Hitler in 1942, Heinrich Himmler assumes power and turns Germany into a more efficient war machine. Renamed as Germania, Himmler & the newly established Teutonic Order led by Hochmeister Zytek develop automatons, advanced aircraft & the crown jewel, successfully completed a thermonuclear weapon by 1945. Having no qualms about human life, Germanian high command dropped a nuclear arsenal onto Great Britain & North America, utterly annihilating majority of the allies. The Island of Manhattan, initially left untouched due to its isolation, is used as testing ground for the new viral bioweapon developed by the Nazis, which can turn men into raging, mindless berserkers thirsting for human flesh. It is the year 1947, and a small group of elite Naz...

Block 109 by Vincent Brugeas My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rating 4 out of 5 | Grade: A; Underrated In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war; and politics Synopsis 1941, Adolf Hitler chancellor of the Nazi Party is assassinated during a rally. Following which all key members of the party were hanged for treason, leaving Heinrich Himmler to assume the role of chancellor. His first act as leader is the creation of the New Teutonic Order, to combat the growing influence of the SS and its leader Reinhard Heydrich. To this effect, he appoints Paul Zytek, a relatively unknown officer as the Grand Master (Hochmeister) of the Order. By 1944 the German thermonuclear program ‘Project Ragnarok’ bears fruit, the first German thermonuclear bomb becomes operational. 1945, USA & UK are the first targets of the bomb, reducing them to nuclear ruins. In 1947, Himmler died, leaving a power vacuum in the German High command. Both Zytek & Heydrich supported by their respective ...