One of the most delightful, surprising, and inventive comics out there.
Creative Staff:
Story: Fred Van Lente
Art: Francis Portela
Color: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters: Dave Sharpe
What They Say:
With the universe on the brink of destruction, Ivar must turn to his closest relatives – Armstrong and Gilad Anni-Padda – to save Neela Sethi from the machinations of the Prometheans! The problem? These three guys couldn’t be further apart. Time doesn’t heal all wounds as the assault on Oblivi-1 begins!
Fred Van Lente (ARCHER & ARMSTRONG) and Francis Portela (Green Lantern Corps) continue this time-shattering comics event!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
My two regular readers (hi, Mom!) might have noticed I fell behind on my reviews. Well, being sick will do that to you. However, as the scholars say, “Better late than never” and if there’s anything out there to make me feel better, it’s a new(ish) issue of Ivar, Timewalker.
While Neela works in her recreated lab in Oblivi-1, trying to make her breakthrough in time travel, Ivar works on his plan for assaulting the living city-ship, with the help of his brothers Gilad and Armstrong, as well as an incredibly annoying time traveler who speaks almost entirely in netspeak. What could go wrong?
The three brothers (plus the time traveler) invade a space elevator station in Borneo in the year 5480. Ivar needs the traveler—called “Lurker”—to build him a ship of a special design that can withstand the fantastic energies surrounding Oblivi-1. Gilad and Armstrong get along about as well as two five-year-old boys, and Ivar looks like he wants to shoot all of them. Unfortunately, the station features a sophisticated automated defense system that will do the job for him.
While this is going on, Neela makes a breakthrough in her research, but it’s not what she thinks it is. Her future self, “Mistress,” begins to show her true colors, and Neela discovers that she’s not as safe as she thought.
After six issues, it’s getting hard to find new ways of praising this comic. It’s fun, exciting, and full of enough crazy ideas and characters to fill an entire universe. Ivar and Neela are compelling protagonists, and I am completely wrapped up in their adventure.
This issue stands as somewhat an oddity in that the story is told in a straightforward, linear way. The past few issues have really played with the storytelling potential of time travel, but this one moves from point A to C without the stop to Z in between. This helps make the story feel more immediate, and highlights the seriousness of the situation. It tells us that we’re entering into an endgame.
As always, the writing and the art are excellent. Francis Portela handles both big action scenes and small character scenes with equal aplomb. He also does a great job with panel size and placement, creating subtle rhythm that moves the eye while at the same time speeding up and slowing down the plot. It’s seamless work that you have to pay attention to in order to realize it.
In Summary:
We’re moving into endgame with this story arc, and I’m excited to see how this story will end. Ivar, Timewalker is consistently one of the most delightful, surprising, and inventive comics out there, and if you haven’t picked it up yet, then do so, because you’re missing out. The Professor gives this an….
Grade: A
Age Rating: T+
Released By: Valiant
Release Date: 17 June 2015
MSRP: $3.99