Chrononauts #1 Review: Time Travel Will Be Televised
Review by Nolan P. Smith
(Victor Valley)—Imagine if you could see history unfold right from your home. Instead of reading about the Civil War, you could see if happen firsthand. You could see Feudal Japan as it really was, even see dinosaurs without the CGI effects. Well, thanks to the minds of Mark Millar and Sean Gordon Murphy, we get to see what this would be like in Chrononauts.
Written by Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Kingsman- The Secret Service), the mind that has brought us some of the most hard hitting comics in recent years, and art by Sean Gordon Murphy (Punk Rock Jesus), the debut issue for Chrononauts sets the bar high. Extremely high. The book focuses on Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly, two good friends who are also certified geniuses. So much so, that shortly after creating a way to transport a functioning video camera back in time and broadcast our history. This, of course, leads to the possibility of time travel, and who better to go than Quinn and Reilly? After developing time travel suits, the two harness the power of time and space and set out to blaze a new path in the history books, one that is sure to be complicated as heck along the way.
One of Millar’s gifts is to create characters that sound and feel like you could walk up to them on the street. They don’t feel manufactured or one dimensional; they seem like real, everyday people. Quinn and Reilly, though as smart as they are, have made their fair share of mistakes, and it shows. The humanity seen here is what really pulls you in, but the high concept of time travel doesn’t hurt either. Murphy crafts a beautiful world here, capturing the small things in life that matter- the nuances of humanity that makes the art feel that more in tune with reality- albeit being about time travel.
This is a great debut what is sure to be a memorable romp through time. I will admit, when the solicits came out about this book, I wasn’t really that hyped. I mean, Millar is an amazing writer, but it sounded too much like a clichéd buddy flick. I decided to give it a shot anyways, and I am glad I did. Chrononauts, after only being on the shelves for one day, already had its movie rights picked up by Universal. After reading the first issue, I can see why, as the concept has amazing possibilities and a really talented team working to bring it to life. I give Chrononauts #1 a perfect @@@@@ out of FIVE. Image Comics once again has a hit on their hands with this time traveling buddy flick of a comic.