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Numbercruncher #1-4
Numbercruncher
Dying young, a brilliant Mathematician enters the afterlife and discovers a way to cheat the terrifying Divine Calculator. He schemes to be endlessly reincarnated within the lifespan of the woman he loves, no matter how often the violent bailiffs of the Karmic Accountancy cut-short each life. It falls to one such agent - the surly Bastard Zane - to put a stop to the time-twisting romance!
90 pages, Hardcover
First published December 11, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 6, 2014
The word is run by numbercrunchers. So is the afterlife. A dying mathematician wants more time on Earth to spend with his one true love. He makes a deal with The Divine Calculator. Cue hijinks and a bloody great big British Bastard of a man chasing him through infinite reincarnations with only repeated death on his mind.
Numbercruncher has the kind of multilayered complexity that could cause a mind not attuned to time travel narratives to explode, round and round it goes, laying clues and hints as to what the final go round would contain but never making it obvious, allowing the reader the pleasure of the "holy fuck" moment as it happens.
There's substance to it too; love, fate, the afterlife, what's it all about really, that kind of stuff. But mostly it's funny and violent, which is what most people read comics for right?
Numbercruncher has the kind of multilayered complexity that could cause a mind not attuned to time travel narratives to explode, round and round it goes, laying clues and hints as to what the final go round would contain but never making it obvious, allowing the reader the pleasure of the "holy fuck" moment as it happens.
There's substance to it too; love, fate, the afterlife, what's it all about really, that kind of stuff. But mostly it's funny and violent, which is what most people read comics for right?
March 19, 2015
The most enjoyable comic I've read in years.
Si Spurrier calculates a rigid tale which becomes comics' own 'It's a Wonderful Life', for within the integers, artist P J Holden free-forms like a jazz master, experimental and fresh, un-self-conscious yet like some fractal master. His layouts are just as innovative. Holden's art is punctuated by colourist Jordie Bellaire, who dabs in the odd colour to give a Euopean cafe culture look.
Go and read. Seriously, the most enjoyable comic I've read in years.
Si Spurrier calculates a rigid tale which becomes comics' own 'It's a Wonderful Life', for within the integers, artist P J Holden free-forms like a jazz master, experimental and fresh, un-self-conscious yet like some fractal master. His layouts are just as innovative. Holden's art is punctuated by colourist Jordie Bellaire, who dabs in the odd colour to give a Euopean cafe culture look.
Go and read. Seriously, the most enjoyable comic I've read in years.
October 10, 2018
This was great fun, a book featuring a dweeby little guy who outsmarts God (?) by gaming the rules of the universe and screwing the system. The only thing I’ve encountered that’s anything like this is the superb Director’s Cut of The Butterfly Effect, with a dollop of Groundhog Day and a heaping helping of the TV series “The Good Place.”
I was just thinking the other day about those movies and books where seemingly innocuous scenes and throwaway lines end up being freighted with meaning and intent once you get to the end of the story and realize it was all part of the plan all along. The Sixth Sense is probably the most famous version of this when you get to the end and reevaluate everything you’ve seen.
Well, Numbercruncher takes those ideas and turns them up to 11. There’s no way to summarize this story without spoiling it, and avoiding spoilers would just result in an inadequate description. Suffice to say that the tale is far more than the official description, piling twists and turns on top of each other.
I’d actually like to see someone try to turn this into a movie. The intricate intertwining story of life and afterlife would be a joy to see.
I was just thinking the other day about those movies and books where seemingly innocuous scenes and throwaway lines end up being freighted with meaning and intent once you get to the end of the story and realize it was all part of the plan all along. The Sixth Sense is probably the most famous version of this when you get to the end and reevaluate everything you’ve seen.
Well, Numbercruncher takes those ideas and turns them up to 11. There’s no way to summarize this story without spoiling it, and avoiding spoilers would just result in an inadequate description. Suffice to say that the tale is far more than the official description, piling twists and turns on top of each other.
I’d actually like to see someone try to turn this into a movie. The intricate intertwining story of life and afterlife would be a joy to see.
April 6, 2019
Numbercruncher is a good example of the old adage: "Never judge a book by its cover." That ugly, barely legible logo, fierce yellow coloring, and grim-looking, murderous giant do not scream "Read me!" Fortunately, Numbercruncher is much, much better than its cover.
It's also a bit of a headscratcher, but mostly in a good way. Zane, the hulking man on the cover, made a bad deal when he died and now works for the Divine Calculator in the afterlife. A young mathematician dies, giving Zane a way out of his onerous tasks. But the mathematician appears to have outsmarted the Divine Calculator, so the only thing Zane can do is chase the math wizard across time streams. It's a fun head trip that features some big, Inception-style twists. I can't say I understood the ending, but I'm sure a closer reading would have revealed the many intertwined threads that paid off in the conclusion. Numbercruncher was surprisingly enjoyable enough that I almost considered going back in for an immediate re-read to try to piece the logic together.
It's also a bit of a headscratcher, but mostly in a good way. Zane, the hulking man on the cover, made a bad deal when he died and now works for the Divine Calculator in the afterlife. A young mathematician dies, giving Zane a way out of his onerous tasks. But the mathematician appears to have outsmarted the Divine Calculator, so the only thing Zane can do is chase the math wizard across time streams. It's a fun head trip that features some big, Inception-style twists. I can't say I understood the ending, but I'm sure a closer reading would have revealed the many intertwined threads that paid off in the conclusion. Numbercruncher was surprisingly enjoyable enough that I almost considered going back in for an immediate re-read to try to piece the logic together.
October 7, 2017
Good stuff.
August 27, 2018
Deeply weird story of a guy dodging his afterlife commitments AT ANY COST. The price of justice is high when there is so much collateral damage to seeing true love prevail. Highly recommended.
December 21, 2015
The story was OK. It was hard to get past the cockney accent of the main character. The art was nothing special.
September 25, 2019
The high concept here is that God is essentially an ill-tempered accountant, who is in charge of maintaining the cycle of reincarnation. People who sell their souls have to work for him as enforcers until someone else attempts to sell their own soul. Our narrator is a brutish enforcer charged with the most recalcitrant client of all time. It's a man who has enough in-born mathematics knowledge that the boss is especially interested in recruiting him, but all he wants is to spend more time with the love of his life, in whatever life he can manage. So, we get prolonged sequences of the enforcer tracking the man down in reincarnation after reincarnation, only to learn he's sold his soul to another enforcer who's just jumped ahead of him in the queue. And while the enforcer is busy tracking down the mark, the mark is setting up his own sequence of events...
It's essentially a "man outsmarts the devil" story, told with some visual flair and dark humour (the idea that the man's love has to become accustomed to falling in love with someone who dies shortly after, for example). It doesn't entirely shake the sense it would work better as a short story, though admittedly the payoff wouldn't wouldn't flow quite as smoothly. It's not my favorite Si Spurrier story, but it's worth a look.
It's essentially a "man outsmarts the devil" story, told with some visual flair and dark humour (the idea that the man's love has to become accustomed to falling in love with someone who dies shortly after, for example). It doesn't entirely shake the sense it would work better as a short story, though admittedly the payoff wouldn't wouldn't flow quite as smoothly. It's not my favorite Si Spurrier story, but it's worth a look.
August 18, 2018
This was a very enjoyable book. The story was great and the art was great. The separation of color to denote the life and afterlife worked well, and I enjoyed the office chaos and imagery of the afterlife.
The story kind of reminds me of a Doctor Who plot. But the characters are more human with relatable motivations. The story has two protagonists in a way. Zane and Richard (the mathematician) are both relatable, likable protagonists. The mathematician did come off as a little selfish and full of himself. This character trait gave the twist ending away to me. I thought that what ended up happening might be the case after the death of the "intruder" reincarnation. What actually happened directly after that "intruder" death is what I expected ever since the death of the mathematician's second life.
This was a pretty great story that really fit well with a mix of math (sci-fi) and mysticism (the afterlife and fantasy).
The story kind of reminds me of a Doctor Who plot. But the characters are more human with relatable motivations. The story has two protagonists in a way. Zane and Richard (the mathematician) are both relatable, likable protagonists. The mathematician did come off as a little selfish and full of himself. This character trait gave the twist ending away to me. I thought that what ended up happening might be the case after the death of the "intruder" reincarnation. What actually happened directly after that "intruder" death is what I expected ever since the death of the mathematician's second life.
This was a pretty great story that really fit well with a mix of math (sci-fi) and mysticism (the afterlife and fantasy).
January 25, 2019
This is yin and yang. A big, burly, armed and lump-headed fixer for the Afterlife, who wants out, as opposed to a small, weakling, mathematician with a huge brain that is supposed to replace our fixer in the Afterlife, but has worked out a way to thwart him. It's weapons and bureaucracy against love and willpower; it's the testament of the immovable force against the unedifying object. It's just one major 'this is what life is like' reveal or twist away from being brilliant, but with this plot it's permanently readable, and the way the artwork twists and skips from B/W to full colour is fine, too. Add on a lovely ripe way of creative swearing, and this is well worth a look.
July 22, 2023
Spurrier spins a story about a mathematical genius attempting to exceed mortal bounds by outsmarting “the divine calculator” and while it’s admittedly clever and witty, it’s lacking a lot of the thoughtfulness and emotional substance from Spurrier’s later/better comics. Holden’s art is interesting at times and he’s clearly talented, but the abundance of black and white afterlife scenes more often look like hastily drafted pen sketches than an artistic choice. The pages that get colored by Bellaire are a big improvement.
January 30, 2019
Een beetje de "It's a Wonderful Life" voor de 21ste eeuw met een fijne scifi-twist. Het plot zit heel sterk in elkaar en komt op het einde netjes samen, maar toch denk ik niet dat dit een strip is dat ik snel zou herlezen. Dat is het probleem met al dat goed spul, "goed genoeg" is niet meer goed genoeg.
January 7, 2020
This is one of the best comics I’ve ever read.
The narration manages to be so engaging, thrilling and somehow also extremely funny. I love the art style and overall layout too, it adds to a really complex, gripping story, and the stylistic choices made when it comes to colouring are nothing short of magnificent.
The narration manages to be so engaging, thrilling and somehow also extremely funny. I love the art style and overall layout too, it adds to a really complex, gripping story, and the stylistic choices made when it comes to colouring are nothing short of magnificent.
May 15, 2017
4.5. Lovely story
October 1, 2018
A man makes a deal so he can be reincarnated and be reunited with his true love.
This book contained some good ideas / graphics / characters - much better than the average graphic novel.
This book contained some good ideas / graphics / characters - much better than the average graphic novel.
March 24, 2025
Tough guy finds redemption in the afterlife 🤷🏽 medium 3✨
May 29, 2014
This is one of the weirdest takes on the afterlife I've ever seen - A world of numbers and accountants and bureaucracy. Spiteful accountants who are willing to make deals. Only this time, a mathematician takes advantage. The way things play out is intriguing and well-conceived. Everything falls into place, even through myriad layers of complexity. The art definitely feels like it comes out of 2000AD's style school. It's a unique world and story and not something that would really work in any other medium. A nice, different self-contained comic experience.
March 29, 2020
I really enjoyed this graphic novel, picked up in the Forbidden Planet sale; although I've forgotten on which trip!
Numbercruncher is a time twisting romantic thriller crime-noir metaphysical sci-fi black comedy; and that doesn't even pigeon hole it correctly.
When a mathematician discovers the algorithm to the nature of reality in his dying thoughts he gets to make a deal with the divine calculator to be reincarnated within his true love's lifetime. The mathematician, Thyme, tries to cheat the deal and the universe tries to stop him.
Numbercruncher is a time twisting romantic thriller crime-noir metaphysical sci-fi black comedy; and that doesn't even pigeon hole it correctly.
When a mathematician discovers the algorithm to the nature of reality in his dying thoughts he gets to make a deal with the divine calculator to be reincarnated within his true love's lifetime. The mathematician, Thyme, tries to cheat the deal and the universe tries to stop him.
Read
November 1, 2013I do love a story where love overcomes the laws of the universe; A Matter of Life and Death is my favourite film. But who ever thinks of the people upholding those laws, which are surely there for some sound reason? Enter Si Spurrier. This is that same tale retold from the point of view of the enforcers, and with love bolstered by some tricksy (and clearly made-up) maths. Mean, cynical, very funny - and still all about love in the end.
December 9, 2015
This is one of those books where when you're done, you just need to sit and think about it for a little while. The plot was that amazing. Right when you thought you knew the direction you were going, it would do a complete 180!
March 23, 2015
Thought-provoking and hard to describe. Recommended for mature readers - the violence is sometimes cartoony, sometimes realistic, but ever-present.
August 11, 2015
OK, it's a comic book (Eeek! Blasphemy!) But the concept was excellent, the plot well developed, the characters well, erm, characterized in the main, and the artwork very good.
January 28, 2016
Neatly plotted and good fun. Both author and artist have a background at 2000AD and it shows.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews