IDW Publishing 2017
Written by Pierrick Colinet & Elisa Charretier
Illustrated by Daniele Di Nicuolo
Coloured by Sarah Stern
Lettered by Ed Dukeshire
Unfortunately Teddy’s attempt at rebooting her timeline and getting society to accept human anomalies didn’t have the intended effect. Though eradicating them now is illegal, human anomalies are parked in squalid and overcrowded refugee camps. Teddy was forced to create an illegal organisation whose goal is to hide anomalies in time to spare them horrendous living conditions in her world.
This was another book that I was on the fence about reading. Doing a quick purview of it left my curiosity piqued but the intrigue for further perusal wasn’t really there. However this is what I do so I read the issue. Now I hadn’t read the first series so I was coming into this blind with a fresh eye and honestly I don’t think I missed much by not having read it. Don’t get me wrong yes I’m interested in reading it just because of the enjoyment of this issue. It is completely new reader friendly so you can jump into this easily.
I do like the writing here and yes at times it does seem a little murky, you do get a feeling that the way the story veers is slightly off, it ends up righting itself nicely as is intended. The characterisation is strong and you get a good feel for the characters. Teddy is almost something of a cliché at times and that’s a little off-putting but overall the more you get to know her the more you see it’s just who she is and to not take offense by her brusque nature. Though let’s face it anyone who says they can go it alone without backup is literally setting themselves up for trouble and well she sure does.
I do have a minor complaint and that’s that Teddy and her wife got divorced so Congresswoman Ano Anderson’s career wouldn’t be mired with speculation or complications. It sounds like being a lesbian and having a wife would be problematic when in reality its more that Teddy’s kind of a rogue operative doing things that would detract from her wife’s position. I dunno if that even made sense but for me it just feels wrong somehow but hey they love each other and each is passionate about doing what they want to do and how they are going about that.
The interiors here are a lot of all-ages kind of goodness. Which unfortunately means sparse utilisation of backgrounds. I mean c’mon using backgrounds is an essential part of storytelling and shows how skilful or talented the artist really is. I mean showcasing the different scenes Teddy walks through was amazing and that kind of detail should be used throughout every panel. Plus I wish we’d get either a better look or explanation for these helmets that give these people virtual reality experiences. I do think the way pages are laid out with their angles and perspective show a nice eye for storytelling.
So Teddy goes off on a mission and guess what happens next? The poop hits the proverbial fan that’s what. With the introduction of the characters that will help define where the story goes we’re getting a nice look at this landscape. I’m a tad confused by this whole virtual reality deal going on here because I’m never sure what is reality and what is virtual here. I guess that’s half the intrigue factor trying to figure out which reality is real and if Teddy is traversing virtual worlds or literal ones. It does make for some unique storytelling opportunities i’ll say that much and it does lend itself to a plethora of ways things could progress.
Sometimes when you take a chance on something you aren’t sure of things can turn out to be exactly what you are looking for. This is interesting, complex and full of ideas and surprisingly some social commentary on today’s society. Go ahead try something outside of what you normally would and take a chance on alternate realities, social commentary and action & intrigue in ways that blend to create something different.