The Manhattan Projects
THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS
SCIENCE. BAD.
JONATHAN HICKMAN · NICK PITARRA
Image Comics · 2012–2016
🔴 29 ISSUES · 6 VOLUMES · 888 PAGES
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Principal Artist: Nick Pitarra
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Genres: Alternate History · Science Fiction · Dark Comedy · Conspiracy Fiction · Cosmic Science Fiction
Publication Status: INDEFINITE HIATUS / UNFINISHED
⚛️ ABOUT THE SERIES
The Manhattan Projects is an alternate-history science fiction comic book series created by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra.
What if the Manhattan Project, the secret American research program responsible for developing the atomic bomb, was merely a cover for far stranger and more dangerous experiments?
Behind the walls of Los Alamos, some of history's greatest scientific minds pursue forbidden technologies, interdimensional travel, artificial intelligence, extraterrestrial contact, and the manipulation of reality itself.
But these brilliant scientists are far from heroic.
Robert Oppenheimer conceals a terrifying psychological secret. Albert Einstein is not necessarily the man history remembers. Enrico Fermi has an otherworldly origin, while Richard Feynman, Wernher von Braun, and other scientific luminaries participate in experiments whose consequences threaten entire civilizations.
The group's ambitions soon extend beyond the laboratory, triggering a ruthless struggle for scientific supremacy involving the United States, the Soviet Union, alien civilizations, and competing factions within the Projects themselves.
Combining historical figures with grotesque science fiction, political satire, body horror, and absurdist comedy, the series presents a world where scientific genius is inseparable from obsession, moral corruption, and unlimited ambition.
The result is a bizarre and often disturbing reimagining of twentieth-century history in which humanity's greatest discoveries become instruments of extraordinary destruction.
📚 THE COMPLETE PUBLISHED COLLECTION
01 — SCIENCE. BAD.
2012 · 144 pages · Issues #1–5
The secret history of the Manhattan Project begins.
A team of brilliant but deeply unstable scientists conducts experiments involving extraterrestrial technology, artificial intelligence, and dimensional gateways.
The disturbing secrets of Oppenheimer and Einstein begin to emerge, revealing that the greatest minds of the atomic age are hiding extraordinary truths.
02 — THEY RULE
2013 · 152 pages · Issues #6–10
The scientists expand their ambitions beyond the borders of the United States.
Their secret programs bring them into contact with Soviet research facilities and extraterrestrial civilizations.
A struggle for global and ultimately cosmic supremacy begins as the Projects seek to dominate the future of scientific development.
03 — BUILDING
2013 · 152 pages · Issues #11–15
The Manhattan Projects enter a period of increasingly ambitious scientific expansion.
Alien technology, political alliances, and dangerous new experiments push the group toward a vision of humanity's future that threatens to destabilize the balance of power on Earth and beyond.
Meanwhile, the conflict within Oppenheimer's mind grows increasingly violent.
04 — THE FOUR DISCIPLINES
2014 · 144 pages · Issues #16–20
The central scientists pursue their own separate research programs and personal ambitions.
A devastating internal conflict threatens the organization as factions struggle for control of experimental technologies and extraordinary discoveries.
The war within Oppenheimer's consciousness reaches a decisive stage.
05 — THE COLD WAR
2014–2015 · 144 pages · Issues #21–25
Political conspiracy and scientific ambition converge during a radically reimagined Cold War.
The Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and the breakdown of relations between the Manhattan Projects and the Soviet Star City program transform the geopolitical landscape.
The original 25-issue series ends with its protagonists pursuing separate paths.
Note: This is the conclusion of the first publishing phase, not a definitive ending to the entire saga.
🚀 THE SUN BEYOND THE STARS
06 — THE SUN BEYOND THE STARS
2015–2016 · 152 pages · Issues #1–4
The story shifts toward the cosmic adventures of Yuri Gagarin and Laika, the famous Soviet space dog.
Separated from Earth, Gagarin embarks on a strange journey across the universe, encountering unfamiliar civilizations, bizarre technologies, and extraordinary dangers.
The mini-series expands the science-fiction mythology beyond the original Manhattan Projects organization.
Important: Despite its designation as Volume 6, this collection belongs to a separate four-issue series.
It is the final published installment of The Manhattan Projects universe.
📦 COLLECTED EDITIONS
ORIGINAL TRADE PAPERBACKS
2012–2016 · 6 Volumes · 888 Pages
01 — Science. Bad. (#1–5)
02 — They Rule (#6–10)
03 — Building (#11–15)
04 — The Four Disciplines (#16–20)
05 — The Cold War (#21–25)
06 — The Sun Beyond the Stars (mini-series #1–4)
Together, these six volumes contain every published issue of the original series and its continuation.
DELUXE HARDCOVER EDITIONS
DELUXE EDITION — BOOK ONE
2014 · 296 pages
ISBN: 9781632151155
Collects The Manhattan Projects #1–10.
Equivalent to standard Volumes 01–02.
DELUXE EDITION — BOOK TWO
2016 · 296 pages
ISBN: 9781632157430
Collects The Manhattan Projects #11–20.
Equivalent to standard Volumes 03–04.
IMPORTANT COLLECTION NOTE
Only two Deluxe Hardcover volumes were published.
They do not contain:
- The Manhattan Projects #21–25
- The Sun Beyond the Stars #1–4
These nine issues must be obtained separately through standard Volumes 05–06.
No official all-in-one compendium collecting all 29 issues has been published as of October 2026.
⚠️ PUBLICATION HISTORY & STATUS
The Manhattan Projects began in March 2012 as an ongoing series.
The original series concluded its initial publishing phase with issue #25 in November 2014.
The creators subsequently shifted to a new format intended to explore individual characters through separate mini-series.
The first of these, The Sun Beyond the Stars, was published between March 2015 and February 2016.
Further installments were anticipated, but none have been published.
There is no definitive conclusion to the overarching storyline.
The series is therefore best considered unfinished and on indefinite hiatus rather than formally completed.
✅ COLLECTION SUMMARY
Original Publication: 2012–2016
Main Series: 25 issues
Continuation: 4 issues
Total Published Issues: 29
Collected Volumes: 6
Standard Collected Pages: 888
Deluxe Hardcover Books: 2 (partial collection)
Further Published Sequels: None
Available Material: Fully Collected
Overall Narrative: UNFINISHED
Reading Order: Volumes 01 → 06
Recommended Collection: All six standard TPBs.