Continuing what has, without a shadow of doubt, been my favourite comic book series of the last 12 months, Dark Horse drop the latest in the Blue Book Series which is taken from the famous “Project Blue Book” investigations undertaken by Dr Alan Hynek in the 50’s and 60’s and this time it covers perhaps the most well known and certainly the one that started the whole UFO conspiracy phenomenon, The Roswell Incident. Simply titled “1947” any UFO buff worth their salt, will know what that date means and how the world was changed forever after the incidents in New Mexico over the course of several months. Whilst the Rowsell incident is covered James Tynion IV starts the story from the viewpoint of Kenneth Arnold, who in June of 1947 flew his Call-Air A-2 past the Rainier Mountains when all of a sudden he saw several shiny objects travelling at impossible speeds across the skyline. This incident was to change the trajectory of his life forever, setting Arnold and fellow witness Captain E.J Smith onto a journey to discover the truth. Starting with the Maury Island incident, where Fred Crisman and Harold Dahl say they witnessed debris coming from a stricken UFO around the same time as Arnold’s own encounter, they became the foremost UFO investigators for years to come, which came with a certain amount of media attention, turning him into something of a celebrity. Meanwhile W.W Brazel was making his way across the plains of Roswell in New Mexico, when he came upon several bits of strange material, which he loaded onto his truck. The rest as they is history.

Tyninon’s really takes you back to those smoke filled offices of yore, which is further enhanced by Michael Avon Oeming’s stark blue and black colour scheme which gives the book a certain noir all of it’s own. Mystery, conspiracy, cover ups, men in black, it’s like your favourite X-Files episode in book form. A fantastic series of books, which you have to keep reminding yourself, are based in fact, from a time when conspiracies had some merit. Chris Andrews