Based on Philip K. Dick’s short story Breakfast at Twilight, NUCLEAR FAMILY is written by Stephanie Phillips (Butcher of Paris, Heavy Metal, ARTEMIS AND THE ASSASSIN, RED ATLANTIS) and illustrated by Tony Shasteen (Star Trek). It’s Cold War era science fiction at its most timely and terrifying.
NUCLEAR FAMILY #1-5 (Aftershock Comics, February - June 2021) Writer: Stephanie Phillips. Artist: Tony Shasteen. Colors: J.D. Mettler. Letters: Troy Peteri.
Over the past several years, writer Stephanie Phillips has demonstrated a knack for scripting compelling, engaging historical fiction. This adaptation of a Phillip K. Dick science-fiction short story hits the spot.
Milwaukee, 1957. With the Soviet Union’s entry into the space race dominating the radio news, Korean war vet and family man Tim McClean works hard to keep bread on the table at his stressful job as a salesman at Bob’s Used Cars lot. The car radio he was listening to broadcasts news of a new Soviet satellite emitting a strange signal.
His snarky co-worker Dan is not averse to telling some tall tales in order to sell a car. Bob prefers to be honest. He, and his loving wife Linda, work hard at raising their two children the right way. Young son Henry loves to play Army, running through the house in his helmet and brandishing a toy rifle. Teenage daughter Robin has been sneaking cigarettes and is developing a rebellious, testing attitude.
They are all going to be tested in the aftermath of an all-out atomic war between Russia and the United States. Tim herds his family into the basement, crowded with equipment for his ham radio hobby that may come in handy in the days to come.
This is a simple enough story, with photo-realistic art. Both are so effective. The street scenes with the wood-sided homes look like a postcard. The introductory issue paints a neat portrait of suburban family life in the suburbs of 1957 Milwaukee, and then WHAM! - - - I don’t think we’re in “Kansas” anymore, Toto. Plus, the back-up content in Issue #1, “A True American’s Guide To Communism!” is a hoot and also reflective of the times.
Things take a dangerous turn in Issue #2, as the McClean home is the only one left standing on their block in the aftermath of the attack. Plus, their house has been mysteriously transplanted 10 years into the future, to an America of 1968 where citizens shelter in multi-storied underground bunkers in order to stave off the remaining radiation and danger on the surface. And, the gas-masked U.S. Army suspects the McCleans are Russian sleeper agents and apprehend them.
The family is quickly interrogated, then separated (children from parents, husband from wife) for further questioning. With the help of a new friend, the children escape their cell and secretly wander the levels of the Sector Twelve outpost. They learn that the U.S.-Russia war is still going on, and this new society goes to dire means and experimentation in search of winning methods.
They find an unlikely ally in the Governor of Sector Twelve, who after many interrogations, threats and torture concludes that the story of their arrival is true. He gives them a tour of the outpost: “Eighty percent of Americans live in conditions like this or worse . . in bunkers that were’t built to last this long or house such great numbers. . . . Resources are scarce . . The life expectancy rate has dropped by doubt twenty years.”
Life is this 1968 America is indeed crippling, and does not appear that much different from Russian civilization. The McCleans hold onto hope that they can make it back to their own timeline, and possibly find a way to avoid this post-apocalypse future. The Governor works to get them back to their home, and things end on a satisfactory note.
I was at first a little disappointed at how quickly things wrapped up in Issue #5. But after re-reading some of the issues I realized that the seeds of salvation had been planted as far back in Issue #1 and that made it more palatable.
When an adaptation creates enough interest to make me want to seek out the source material and see how closely they overlap or where they might differ— then that is a high compliment to a mini-series. Recommended. FOUR STARS.
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