Anomaly: The Rubicon

The sequel to Anomaly, a graphic novel with significant augmented reality components, is another impressively oversized and lushly produced coffee table book with added content via an Android AR app. In this outing, series protagonist Jon leads the survivors from Earth deeper into the worlds of the Conglomerate, an intergalactic imperium intent on total universal dominion. Jon arrives at the Rubicon, a massive planetwide circus of excess, spectacle, and death, where wealth and power come together in an orgiastic celebration of strength. Science-fiction space gladiators are always a visual treat (think Thor: Ragnarok), and Haberlin and van Dyke’s lavish painted artwork puts the audience right at the alien equivalent of the 50-yard line. The hyperrealistic art brings a sense of awe at the immense scale and diversity of alien worlds, and the extra-large pages allow for a wide presentation. Readers with the proper tech can immerse themselves further with the AR content, which adds visual and background data. Bigger’s not always better, but the sheer size and scope of this project continues to offer a treat for the eyes and some solid space opera for the mind. (Nov.)