“Timeless,” Part 03
Writer: Bryan Hitch
Artist: Fernando Pasarin
Minor spoilers ahead
Here we are back again with part three of “Timeless,” which is possibly the most hit-and-miss arc I’ve ever read. First of all, I want to say I like the premise; it’s just the execution that I’m not sold on. Back in my first review for this arc, I compared it to the arc from the 2003 series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but the thing that made that story work so well was the attention paid to each individual turtle. Each turtle had their own episode that told their whole story and then next time we would see a different one. This issue changes location a total of 11 times across a 20-page story. Instead of getting one coherent and easy to follow story, we get 11 snippets of several different stories going on in different places and times and honestly it all got a bit much.
The only issue with this compared to the Ninja Turtle arc like this one is that the TMNT only have four members, whereas the League in this arc have eight. We see some characters get more “screen time” than others, with Wonder Woman getting four pages for her story but the two Green Lanterns only getting one a half for both of them. It just felt uneven and way too jumpy. However, in defense of this, if we had a whole issue devoted to each story, with one issue either side to set-up and end the story, this arc would run for nine issues, and while that’s not an insane number (the first arc of Deathstroke ran for 8 issues), it may well be that there isn’t enough content per character for a whole issue each. So while I understand the decision, I can’t say I enjoy it all that much.
Moving aside from the negatives for a moment, the writing in this issue for each part felt different, and I have to hand it Hitch for presenting a seemingly different style for each character. It added a lot of depth to the book and made the jumping around somewhat bearable. The art did this in its own way too, with each location using different colors and looking visually distinct from one another. It’s the little details like these that make me come back to this book each fortnight. That and I can’t fault the way Hitch writes this team – it’s simply brilliant. My only complaint seems to be the way this arc is laid out, and honestly that could just be my taste. The fact I keep comparing it TMNT – one of my favorite shows ever – probably isn’t helping this, but I digress.
The ending of this issue certainly hyped me up for the next one. We see Alexis (who is revealed to be Alexis Luthor) lead Bruce to the “Super-Lex” armor…which she has for some reason. I imagine (hope) it will be explained next issue, but the tease of “Bat-Luthor” has me too excited to care. Getting to see Bruce save Superman in Lex’s own Superman suit – it just feels…right? I mean it could be that both Lex and Bruce are billionaires and occasional enemies of Superman, but that could just be me. After last issue, I was expecting this one to lead to something, but if next issue brings as much to the table as I expect it to, this one will be rendered completely moot.
Conclusion
Part three of “Timeless” didn’t really lead anywhere. If next issue delivers, this one will be made almost a completely pointless addition. We have a lot cool plot points left floating up in the air, but I have faith that Hitch and his team will find a way to bring them back down to earth.
Images courtesy of DC Entertainment
