Image Comics 2019
Written by Mark Millar
Illustrated by Eric Canete
Coloured by Giovanna Niro
Lettered by Peter Doherty
Letter Assists by Melina Mikulic
THE BOYS ARE BACK. CHRONONAUTS returns with FUTURESHOCK, as time-travelling physicists Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly attempt to conquer the future with their new machine—The Timehawk. A little older but none the wiser, the best friends return for their biggest mission yet!
Just a warning, all four issues have been released today but this is just concentrating on the first issue. While I am not sure how I feel about this, releasing four issues in one day, versus just putting an OGN out instead we'll see how it all plays out. So here we go with issue one.
I love the idea of the Chrononauts and these two have that buddy bromance down pat, thanks to Mark, and it really is fun to see them again. This issue as we see them trying to break the barrier which will take them to the future we have an added bonus to the book in that the opening shows us there are others who have found a way through time and we see them do something that well, should be fundamentally wrong. So will this event or non-event as the case may be have any consequences in this story remains to be seen but if you read this carefully enough there is one person who may have the answer!
I love the way that this is being told as Mark is a master storyteller and the way he take the story & plot development and how that releases information to the reader is sensational. The way he structures the story so that the sequence of events that we witness make complete sense, and in a time-travelling story that's pretty amazing. The character development here is marvellous indeed. The boys may be a tad older but I'll be darned if they aren't still the same two guys we remember. Even with the differences and how they've grown I like that fundamentally they remain the same. It's a great thing to see them growing and evolving while still being who we know. The pacing is excellent and how it reveals the twists & turns and even a huge revelation or two keeps us constantly guessing. The overall ebb & flow to the book is superb and it's so nice to see the introduction of new characters and familiar faces.
This time around we've got a new artist on board and I have to say I really like what I am seeing here. The opening is so utterly dynamic, eye catching and wondrous that just seeing this makes you want to see more. The linework here is Ç'est Magnifique! I mean seriously now how we see the rain and the pools of water it creates, the backgrounds with all that technical whatnot, kind of like seeing Buck Rogers or Battlestar Galactica stuff. It is so well rendered and with so much attention to detail it shows his skill and talent at being able to utilised the varying weights of the linework beautifully. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows his extraordinary eye for storytelling. The colour work here too is phenomenal to see. The way the lights have that effect with them, the way the colour is utilised to show motion of the ship and the way hues and tones are utilised to create shading and shadows this is some damn good work.
Sigh I think that it has been way too long since we've had a Chrononauts story and now we have a complete one. Though I have not read the others yet. I love this, it's like welcoming old friends at your door and it feels like it is something we need to see on a regular basis. I am already excited to read the rest of the story arc, time travel never looked so good, interesting and not a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.