Heavy Water blends the sci-fi time aspects with a completely straight approach to the World War II scenes. Again, Knut is an actual historical person, and other than the presence of a time traveler, these scenes play out in a very convincing and realistic way. Half of the comic is essentially a dramatization of the Norwegian resistance in 1943, while the other half features a time machine and death rays. It’s a very cool mix, and I’m glad they avoided the temptation to have Ben go back in time with crazy future technology. There’s also a real difference between the dialogue styles in the two time periods. In the past, it’s a clipped, Mamet-esque style that plays like the English subtitles in a Norwegian film. It’s dialogue that gets to the point. In the future, it’s more conversational – characters struggle to get their point across. It’s a neat little trick that really makes the two sections read differently.
