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Writers: Chip Zdarsky, David Brothers
Artists: Marcus To, Marvin Sianipar
Colors: Matt Wilson
Letterer: Ariana Maher
There are few genres harder to get right than Time Travel. Time paradoxes, potential plot holes, and an overuse of exposition are all possible and very common in these stories. So how do you avoid it? Well, Time Waits #1 by Chip Zdarsky, David Brothers, Marcus To, Matt Wilson, and Ariana Maher is the most recent example of trying to do the genre right. The question is if their way actually works.
I was hesitant at first to even mention this was a time travel story because I began reading this knowing nothing about it and the time travel element took a while to show itself. So I was worried it would be giving far too much away. However, since it is called Time Waits #1 and the premise is listed in the solicitation it does not feel like a spoiler. Ironically not knowing it was a time travel story until well into the story is part of how it avoids the pitfalls that other similar tales fall into.
It opens with what appears to be a quant couple debating over being foster parents for a child. Blue is a former soldier trying to live a domesticated life while Grace is the Sheriff of the local town. There are some hints things are not as they appear as Blue continues to have severe headaches to the point he passes out on occasion. During those moments we also see flashbacks to the mission that led him to his current living situation.
This was smart because it allowed us to know these characters before getting into the weeds of the conflict at play. There’s quite a dichotomy of seeing Blue playing the role of Gardener and Baker in between scenes of him in deadly combat. We can see he is genuinely a good person who cares for others and human life so there is reason to invest in him as a reader. At the same time, Grace gets an opportunity to spend the day with Duke as they are working to be his foster parents. Duke gets points right away as a character because we met him as he was listening to a podcast about Chainsaw Man while riding his bike. Honestly, I would have loved a story just about this family trying to live their life without all the additional genre elements.
When you have a story taking place at different times simultaneously I was ready for the confusion to set in but it never happened. Major credit should go to artists Marcus To and Marvin Sianipar who handled illustrations. I am unsure which artist did what and never does it appears this issue has multiple artists so they clearly work rather well together. This issue had a ton of characters most of which are just wearing normal clothes or sometimes matching uniforms. Yet it is always clear who you are looking at because characters are distinctly and consistently rendered from start to finish. Sure that may be just a basic piece of fundamental good storytelling, however, those basics can often be missed so it is important to point out when they are done well.
You also have industry veteran Matt Wilson on colors who continues to show why he is one of the best in the business. Like the best cinematographers, he sets the mood for each scene. When the family is just trying to be a family colors are softer and more intimate. When the action gets intense so do the colors. One of the best examples is during a fight scene as fire rages the page gets engulfed with reds and yellow. Never did the art blow me away but it was fundamentally sound and works well with the story.
In my eyes, the number one goal of any first issue is to create intrigue. That has happened here in large part due to how well-constructed the characters of Blue, Grace, and Duke are within only a few pages. The science fiction and time travel elements have not mustered as much as interest mostly due to how much mystery still surrounds them. There is potential there but an equal amount of unknowns. On the bright side thus far they took a story that could have been confusing or overtly complex and made it as easy as pie or in this case cake to follow. Making it character first will no doubt pay off in the long run.
Overall: 7.5 out of 10
