Of late, I think of Oedipus.
Creative Staff:
Story: Fred Van Lente
Art: Pere Pérez
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters: Dave Sharpe
What They Say:
Trapped as the planet Earth whips through history at lightning speed, Ivar and Neela must confront their feelings for one another – and Neela finds herself about to make a fateful decision that may save history forever – but cost her own life! New York Times best-selling writer Fred Van Lente (ARCHER & ARMSTRONG) and Harvey Award-nominated artist Pere Pérez (UNITY) bring you one step closer to “ENDING HISTORY”!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Everyone needs to go read this issue now. It’s too damn good for me to spoil anything.
So go. Git.
Still here? Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
If there’s one fact that Greek tragedy teaches us again and again and again, it’s that the actions we take to change or prevent our fate are exactly the actions that lead to that fate. Oedipus’ father learned of a prophecy where his son would slay him and marry his wife, Jocasta, so he sent the infant out to die. He didn’t, and when he happened upon the king, he had no idea that this man was his father. The two fought, Oedipus slew him, and the prophecy was fulfilled.
It’s a powerful lesson, but one that we never seen to learn. Certainly that’s the case with Neela and Ivar. At the end of the previous issue, the two found themselves on an alternative Earth about to be hit by an extinction-level asteroid. Neela saves them, after a fashion, but she and Ivar are now stuck in the place between worlds, watching their lives play over and over through eternal alternate realities. Every possible permutation of their lives appears, and it’s as overwhelming as it is breathtaking. The only problem is that now they’re stuck.
The two take the quiet moment to make love, and Neela confesses her love of Ivar—only it’s not the Ivar she’s with, but the one he will become in his future (time travel stories are so difficult to write about). All the while, universes implode around them, victims of the Null Generator created by her future self, and Neela formulates a plan to save Ivar and stop her future self. Not to get too spoilery, but the results aren’t what she anticipated.
I know I say this every issue, but I’m continually amazed at the way Fred Van Lente structures this series. If one were to diagram the plot arcs, one would get a series of overlapping circles. Sneaky circles, mind you, because just as you think you’ve got it figured out; just when you think that the story is moving along on the traditional A-B-C linear path, you find that you’re just in a wider circle. It’s rather reductive, but it’s kind of like a carnival trick, and I’m the rube who gets suckered in every time. Thankfully, it’s a good trick, so I don’t necessarily mind.
While Van Lente handles the words, Pere Pérez and Andrew Dalhouse handle the art, the two sides of the story work wonderfully well together. The settings are gorgeous and alien, and the small, human moments and the big action moments are equally well done with subtle pencils and lovely colors.
In some ways, this is kind of a sneaky issue. It starts off one way, but it slowly, inexorably builds to a powerful conclusion. One that I’m sad to see occur, but makes complete narrative sense. I don’t really know where the story will go next, and I love that feeling.
In Summary:
Ivar, Timewalker continues to delight and impress me. The quality of the writing and the art are both top-notch and takes me to unexpected places. The plot is a series of circles within circles, and it’s not always clear where you are until the very end. For my money, if a story can surprise you, then it’s a good one. Dr. Josh gives this an…
Grade: A+
Age Rating: T+
Released By: Valiant Comics
Release Date: November 25th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
