If I have said it once, I must have said it a million times; time travel makes my head hurt! Now, there are some really good time travel stories like Back to the Future and paradox creating ones where if you start pulling at the strings then things start falling apart. Thank god then for the idea of a multiverse, which has become as much of a crux as a crutch.
In this issue, Ben jumps back into his past to discover that he died. Now, rather than try to explain it in some clever manner or at least not even start down that road in the first place, the thought that where he jumped to is a divergent universe, splintered at the 50/50 crossroad of Bens life or death is overused. As such, this issue features a reconciliation of father and son, which would be interesting if, as a reader , you were interested in either Ben or his father.
The book is written by Scott Duvall who tries hard to imbue the characters with a little life, but unfortunately, rails against the confines of the story and its preconceptions. Dialogue wise, the book reads pretty much as you would expect, with a rambling “woe is me” type of vibe, although the father to son gift did make me smile.
Art is by Ralf Singh, who goes for large block panels which features the characters and pretty much little else. This wouldn’t be a bad thing if the art was more fluid, instead of looking as if it had been done on an Etch-a-Sketch. Colorist Nicholas Chapius tries hard, covering the detail lacking backgrounds with a two-tone contrasting style, which is odd giving the element of over cooking that occurs when it comes to the schemes used for the characters.
Looking at the book, I have to say that I applaud the intent and effort that went into this book, but unfortunately, when it comes to the end product, there is something sorely lacking.
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by Scott Duvall
Art by Ralf Singh
Colors by Nicolas Chapuis
Author Profile
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I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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