I really love this issue. It doesn't bring us a lot further into the main story, but the scenes around Einstein and his origin are great, and it is the best issue so far. It is also an explanation for the strange behavior of Einstein that's been exhibited since the very first issue. The sequences work so well and always culminate in a perfect final panel with precise storytelling that puts the right details in at proper moments. The refernce to the TMA-2 Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is also a gateway to the stars, is obvious, and the creative team seems to be inspired by many different elements pulled from sci-fi movies.

This great first issue is well structured, and the sequential writing and flow work hand in hand. The comedy is well-timed, and the "bumpy" pencil work by Nick Pitarra takes some getting used to.

Jonathan Hickman and Pitarra work hand in hand to create immense tension. The writing is well done and filled with black humor. The confusion and forced disinformation reminds one of Kubrick's work in Dr. Strangelove which has a very similar setting. Groves is the main character in this issue, and he steps up into the illuminated foreground of madness by leveling his own judgement over all other instances.