Review: Albert Einstein: Time Mason #5

STORY

Making Albert Einstein an adventuring time traveler is a wonderfully idea, and this comic doesn“t disappoint in the execution of that idea. It starts off with a nifty little blueprint detailing some of Albert’s gear (including a nice little note mentioning the assistance of Tesla). This book gives us only the most marginal of “what happened last issue”“ blurbs for new readers, but honestly for a book like this where the title really says it all, it was more than enough. I never felt lost or that I was missing anything by jumping into the story in issue five like this and what I might have been missing was filled in quite handily with situational exposition woven expertly into the story as it unfolded. Kudos to the writer for handling all of that so well.

The story itself is as amazingly fun as you’d expect from a book with as offbeat a title as this. It’s like when I first heard of the film Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, I kinda knew what I was in for and yet continued to be surprised along the way. Like any good pulp hero Einstein must contend with either Nazi’s, Communists, organized crime or the supernatural. In this case its Nazi’s, which seems rather fitting given his Jewish heritage. This point never comes up in the comic sadly. I don’t know if its because it’s too political, just too heavy a subject for such a lighthearted book or if it was addressed one of the previous issues or not. Einstein must stop the German from looting objects throughout history that will lead to the definitive conquest of the world by the Reich. In this issue Albert must contend not only with an SS agent but Cleopatra as well. Our hero handles the affair with wit, courage, stle and charm.

ART

The cover art for this book is really appealing. Stephane Roux does a bang up job by homaging the likes of the great Indian Jones movie posters of years ago. It is skillfully painted and conveys all that grand pulpy goodness that this comic series pulls from. I especially love that she clearly referenced Tom Selleck for her rendition of a young and swashbuckling Albert Einstein. Its colorful, dynamic and eye catching, everything you want in a cover!

Apparently the Tom Selleck homage extends into the interior of the book as well as a bare chested Albert is every bit as hairy as the legendary Magnum P.I.. The art is abstracted in a style that reminds me of the works of Keith Giffen or the anime Aeon Flux. Given that Donley handles all of the art and lettering I can’t blame him for keeping his coloring technique simple and reflective of the style of the 70s or 80s. Because he also letters the book the art and balloons are never in conflict and compliment each other. Even the sound effects are integrated perfectly without obscuring art and often being used to direct the eye to exactly where it needs to go in the panel.

FINAL THOUGHTS

What a delightful book this is! This is just pure fun through and through, highly recommended. 5 out of 5!

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Marcus Perry (A) Tony Donley (CA) Stephane Roux