Anomaly: The Rubicon

Wonderful art and story. Extremely enjoyable.

After picking-up the original Anomaly a number of years ago and sampling another book (Between Worlds), I am happy to say the wait is finally over with ANOMALY: THE RUBICON![Disclaimer: I am a fan of this company’s use of tech with old school text (e.g. books).] :)PROS:• 250+ landscape format pages (HUGE!)• Digitally painted artwork that pops on its own (GORGEOUS!)• Lower price than first volume ($50 cover vs. $75… cheaper still through Amazon)• Continues an already epic storyline• Not necessary to read first book to enjoy (but understandably, would understand better if you did)• Free AR companion app that adds 3D, sound, interactivity, games and a lot more information than could be put in the printed page alone• Promises to add more content over time (via app updates, the first of which has already been done)• Strong female leads which kept my daughter as engaged as my son. This by no means says this is a book for kids alone. It’s big, solid and very much enjoyable by adults. Was nice to see it had chops for the little ones on both sides of the X/Y chromosome divide, though.• Wide age appropriate range: a couple of curses ($h!t) but no overt sexuality or violence (except against bug looking things that literally get zapped)• Will make you the envy of your cocktail table owning friends, particularly if you have the first volume as well!• Kids can be “tricked” into reading by using the AR component as a “reward” system!CONS:• 250+ landscape format pages (HEAVY! Limits portability. Don’t drop it on your foot if you don’t fancy a trip to urgent care.)• $50 asking price (though it seems very fair for what you’re getting). The app updates, I’m told, are free, which is in line with their treatment of the first book and subsequent graphic novels.• Story could stand to be a bit more complex. Authors seemed to struggle a bit balancing the wider audience appeal rather than committing to a more visceral sci-fi tale, which Rubicon definitely could have been. (Not necessarily a con. Just personal preference.)• Sometimes the artwork can be a bit overwhelming—eye fatigue?... It’s a book you don’t want to read in one setting as there’s a LOT going on in each page.• Kids may not leave you alone once they get a taste of the AR…QUICK TAKE:The story picks-up almost immediately after the first book. They provide a nice preface so it’s not necessary to read the first book, but one page does not replace the impact of 350+ pages of oversized, crazy-detailed goodness. I got the first book in early 2013 and STILL get compliments as this thing sits on my coffee table! The surprise increases as they flip through its pages then see the techy stuff. The upshot is you won’t miss anything big in terms of story if you’d rather not read the first book so it was a good move on the creators’ part to include this summary. Instructions for the free AR companion app are also more clear than the first book. I’d have missed it myself if I didn’t see it being demo’ed at a convention.THE PLOT:Disgraced Enforcer, Jon, and his band of ragtag survivors (Samantha, Tonni, the android Potter, etc.) and a handful of new friends escape the immediate dangers of their marooning on the planet Anomaly. But this unforgiving world isn’t done with them yet. Buried under its surface are more secrets, more questions and even more improbable answers creeping to light. The very thing that destroyed their tech and stranded them on this world might be the holy grail to return the notion of freedom to a galaxy screaming for it under the giant boot of the Conglomerate.The venue to take their stand? The most guarded part of Conglomerate space during its most public display of power, prestige and don’t-you-dare-defy-us’ism. An event called, unsurprisingly, THE RUBICON.And that doesn’t even address the entry of one of the (if not the) most powerful species in our corner of existence popping-up with an axe to grind! (Yes. This all happens in this one book.)THE TECH:Like all Anomaly Productions titles (not to be confused with, though confusing, Anomaly: The BOOK series), there is an AR (Augmented Reality) companion app that you can download to your phones or tablets. They support both Apple and Android, and they’re impressive. Things don’t just “pop-up” like a digital pop-up book. You can interact with them and most have sounds/vocals associated with them as well. But the kicker is the lore/wiki/appendix material they stuff into the app. The Lego Store uses similar tech (as does Pokemon Go), but this is the deepest use of it I’ve seen running shotgun with printed material which is impressive on its own.The people who put these beasts together were careful not to have the info contained in the apps necessary to understand what was going on in the book. The book is meant to stand on its own with the app playing a very cool, but very secondary role. But if you take the time to read through the app content, you’ll have the Anomaly universe open-up on you in ways you didn’t expect. Whether it’s detailed biological observations of a creature or explaining how a civilization came under Conglomerate control and even the odd bit of foreshadowing here and there or game… It’s pretty safe to say there’s something for everyone here if you’re willing to take the time to experience it.The first Anomaly released with a dozen or so AR-enabled pages, but the publishers updated the app a number of times and added a monstrous amount of content. There’s now about 60 pages that have AR content and who knows how many pages of wiki type entries.RUBICON released with around 20 pages of this stuff (including a pinball game, of all things), and they’ve already delivered on the first update. [Personal note: When you spend $50+ on a book, as pretty as Anomaly/Rubicon is, there’s just something nice being able to look forward to new stuff over the long haul after you bought the thing.] Hate to carp on the tech for a BOOK, but this thing is really something else that really deserves a good, long look to fully appreciate.** WARNING ** IF YOU HAVE KIDS, THEY’RE GOING TO GET ADDICTED TO THESE AR PAGES SO BE PREPARED TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH THEM IF YOU LET THEM AT IT!!!THE READING EXPERIENCE:If you’re a fan of graphic novels, this is the graphic novel series of graphic novels. It’s physically glorious and intimidating and has a heft few things other than reference books can brag about. The art is out of this world crazy detailed and seems to jump off the page on its own. (Poking around various online reviews, they used something called “stochastic printing” and “wide gamut inks” that supposedly have something to do with this.) Whatever the technical merits (I’m not a printer expert), the results are just, “Wow!”That said, it reads as one would expect a graphic novel to read. It takes a bit of getting used to the landscape format, but within ten pages, you’re cruising along like a fish to water. There were a couple odd pages that the first Anomaly used the lettering to guide the eye around a particularly difficult page sequence, but Rubicon seems to avoid this situation and keeps things standardized. No “where do I go next?” moments which can break the flow of things.The plot is simple on its surface (good guys given a bad run facing off against the vile megacorp storming around the stars making everyone miserable) but like the planet Anomaly itself, hints at something more going on right under the surface. Definitely ends on a cliffhanger strongly suggesting a third volume may be in the making (we may be witnessing a 10-year graphic novel trilogy!). The characters are given a lot more depth after their rather hurried introductions in the first book and frankly, it’s nice to see some clear-cut good guys and bad guys in a world that’s gone bonkers playing in the “gray.” There’s still plenty of that, too, but there’s a strong sense of “hero/heroine” throughout this piece, but not in a schlocky manner. And a lot of it hinges on beings that aren’t even human…at least, not at first glance. If you’re looking for bleeding-edge story, this is not the book for you. But it’s definitely not bad by any means. The potential Rubicon establishes is massive, however. (Maybe a future video game or movie?)The tech is, as described earlier, crazy cool. Their website has a few examples you can poke around with though it doesn’t do the presentation in the context of the book justice. Think of those as snackable bits to a full, multi-course culinary experience which is the full book.Perhaps the one downside (again, an opinion) was that they didn’t get at the harder edged storytelling Rubicon dallianced about teasing me with what could have been. The talented team behind this project clearly wanted to keep things “family friendly” and the end product either benefits or suffers from it, depending on one’s point of view. I’ve lent both Anomaly and Rubicon to friends, some of who turned into more sales as they found their reading-phobic kids suddenly willing to sit down and go page by page through these massive things knowing something cool to see on their iPads was right around the corner.Hey… If it works, right?All in all, I give Rubicon a solid 4.5. It’s everything you’d want in an epic sci-fi with elements that literally leap off the page (yesterday’s tech) on your devices (today’s tech). The main docking of half a star is from personal preference (story). But even that shortcoming was largely offset by providing something interesting kids would actively seek out to read. Definitely a tool teachers might consider using.These Anomaly projects are also the only things I’ve personally experienced where a publisher is going out on such a limb as to try something new for the medium. Dragging an industry (printing) kicking and screaming into the present and a glimpse into the future can’t be easy. And if for no other reason, that sense of innovation and invention should be acknowledged, if not outright rewarded. It is for the latter I took the time to write this review, and I hope others will find it helpful.

Anomaly: The Rubicon: Is a blast reading an outstanding story with superb art and interacting with it via an App! This is so much fun shooting lasers, maneuvering ships, creatures, and a droid.The characters, droids, and creatures all have interesting personalities that bring this story to life.Humanity lives on massive satellite platforms orbiting Earth, or on distant colonized planets, all ruled by a single autocratic single authority: The Conglomerate.

I ran into Anomaly Productions at a local comic convention and played around with some of their stuff. Saved a few bucks buying the expensive titles from Amazon and even using the public library for the first time in ages. Sorry guys! Not sure I would bought Anomaly: The Rubicon otherwise. Yes. It’s a book, but they’ve also used augmented reality in a way that really does make the book something you don’t just read but actually play around with. The app is free, btw.The smaller and way cheaper “Faster Than Light” is what I got at the convention, and it was my seven-year-old’s reaction to it that had me jump in on this title.In all fairness, FTL was a little tough for the kid to follow with a more real sciency spin to it (which ironically, made it more interesting to me, an OG Star Trek fan). But he loved the app on the iPad and insisted on reading it and having me explain some of the harder to follow bits. Space ships and aliens. What’s not to like as a child with a vivid imagination?Anomaly is more in his sphere of lighter sci-fi and fantasy. Plenty of space ships and aliens, but the size really grabbed his attention. He calls it his “ginormous comic book,” which is essentially true. The comic snob would call it a “graphic novel,” but that feels like it’s somehow shortchanging this. I won’t bother you with the #s. Just scroll down for Amazon’s data there. It’s big, heavy and impressive to see.STORY IN A NUTSHELL:Jon is a soldier with a spotted past. He and his team, including some society high rollers (Samantha and Tonni) are stranded on the planet Anomaly. They were put there by some nasty players in the upper levels of the Conglomerate—your typical big bad bully business gone berserk—but they survived, thrived and found some of the Conglomerate’s dirty laundry in the process. Now they’re mad and coming home to roost, and they’ve got a secret weapon (from Anomaly 1) that could tilt the balance of power on an intergalactic scale.That’s it, really. The bulk of the story is spent working out how exactly the group is going to tactically get into the death Olympiad called the Rubicon. New friends and frenemies add some extra spice to the brew as does a return appearance by some bug people called Cliks. Nothing to write home to mom about, but a well laid plot that leaves no holes so many of these grand adventure titles often do.OOH-AHH FACTOR (the app):I ordered this book for the bells and whistles. Turns out it was the second of the series, the first being called just plain “Anomaly.” A synopsis at the beginning of this book had us visit the public library to read the first (aka: on a budget). I’d recommend this strategy for anyone who’s not up to a $100 outlay for two books even buying on the cheap. There’s a ton more bells and whistles in the first book, which is expected with the second over time (as in app updates). Still, you get around 19 or 20 pages that give you a reason to break out the iPad or phone. Android users aren’t left out of the loop, btw. Lots of backstory material, couple of “speed drawing” images and even some voice acted animations of conversations between characters. It’s a pretty compelling extra considering you’re really buying a paper-and-ink book.OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:Rubicon can only be assessed by the sum of its parts. Writing (3. 5 stars), art (4.5 stars), app (4.75 stars). Cumulative score of 4.2 stars. Would I recommend it to a friend? Definitely. This is first and foremost an art book. It presents itself as one and it succeeds on this front in spades. The other pieces are the cherry on top. Flashy and tasty and calories you don’t really need, but want. It’s entertaining on many levels to kids and adults alike, and there just aren’t too many experiences like that out there.

This picks up right after the first Anomaly Graphic novel. Like the first book, it goes beyond just reading on the printed page, with a free App, it becomes an interactive experience. That's the good part. This story is set HUNDREDS of years in the future and while there are plenty of Caucasians and exotic, strange and "weird" aliens species, there are absolutely no humans who are not white. Once again, this is HUNDREDS of years in our future, yet none of the main or even secondary protagonists are non-White. Can I assume Blacks, Asians, Native Peoples, Maori, etc. all died out or something? If you want to just read a sci-fi story that furthers the Incredible Adventures of White People, then this is for you. If you want something more inclusive, check out ScyFy channel's "The Expanse" series(and the series of novels). Just my 4¢.

Geweldig boek. Deel 1 trouwens ook. Heel mooi gemaakt. De augmented reality app maakt het af. Uren lees en kijkplezier.