And Then I Read: TIME WARP 1

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

I have two reasons to look favorably on this comic at the outset. First, it features a digital recreation of the TIME WARP logo I designed in 1979 for the first iteration of this title. Second, I lettered one of the nine stories inside, the “Dead Boy Detectives” one. The rest of the issue was new to me, and here are some thoughts on that.

“R.I.P.” by Damon Lindelof and Jeff Lemire. Rip Hunter, Time Master, is the very appropriate central figure, or rather, several of him in a complex but rewarding time travel tale, the kind that takes your mind on an exercise. Wish I liked the art of Lemire better, but this is worth reading.

“It’s Full of Demons” by Tom King and Tom Fowler. Another kind of time travel story, in which we follow a character through the times of their life, from a very odd and violent beginning to an equally violent end. There’s a surprise ending that makes it work even better. Well done.

“I Have What You Need” by Gail Simone and Gael Bertrand. This one is a true time warp story, in which characters are stuck in repeating events, but there are still lots of surprises in it. The art on this one is appealing in a cartoony way, and makes a good foil for the serious moments. Also well done.

“The Grudge” by Simon Spurrier and Michael Dowling. Schoolboy pranks and practical jokes carried to incredible levels by two very smart but very socially-arrested scientists. Not a bad idea, and the art is quite good.

“She’s Not There” by Peter Milligan and M.K. Perker. If you could buy the ghost of your lost love, and have her haunt your home, would you? If that ghost began to have ideas of its own, what would they be? Can we be judged by the dead? Good stuff, this, and nice art.

“00:00:03″ by Ray Fawkes and Andy MacDonald. Kind of a future all-digital war story that didn’t do much for me, though the art is attractive.

“Warning: Danger” by Matt Kindt. Another future war story, one with a biological weapons angle. Kindt’s art style doesn’t appeal to me that much, but I like his writing.

“The Principle” by Dan Abnett and Inj Culbard. Kind of the flip side of the second story above, two time travel agents are determined to prevent the changing of history by other time travelers. Not bad, but two stories with the same focal character seems too much for one anthology of this kind.

In all, recommended.