Fanboys Anonymous

Chrononauts #2 cover by Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth

"Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly have become the world's first time travelers—but not all goes according to plan when the two go rogue in their own era-hopping adventure! With the world watching, the buddies get mixed up in an eon's worth of sticky situations while some of history's scariest villains—and their bosses back in the present day—are determined to track them down."

The IMAGE preview caption above is certainly a nice summary of the second issue of this series from Mark Millar and Sean Murphy. This covers the breadth of the issue well enough that I came didn't feel surprised by the issue once read. There is some emotional resonance from the characters that comes to light, but this wasn't a revealing issue. Chrononauts picks up following the previous issue where the time-traveling central characters became seemingly stuck in the past. We were left wondering what the battle on the final page was about: Where were Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly in time? It was an okay way to end the first issue.

However, Chrononauts #2 was not at the same high point when compared with the first issue. The premise was set up well, the hook baited, and we laid in wait for issue #2 to roll around. However, we are presented with what is basically a couple of young men on a pubescent filled romp through time. There is so much more that could have been explored, yet Mark Millar has descended to a baser level of entertainment. I do hope this can pick up next issue. I will keep reading to see, hoping this is a real mini-series, rather than a maxi-series, as I may not be able to stretch that far if the quality of plot doesn't lift.

Back into the fray!	All the action is in the past

The story ultimately feels flat by the issue's end. The characters, who had such potential, have been revealed to be young men with a flaming ego or libido (probably both). There is certainly a lot of confidence coming through from Millar, but it may reflect more on the creator than it should on the story itself. There are interesting aspects to the story, for example, by examining what happens when someone abuses the possibility of time travel; however, considering this same theme is running through Marvel's All-New X-Men story at the moment, maybe the timing of this series is unfortunate.

One lingering question remains though. If the time-traversing scientists Quinn and Reilly are stuck in the past but have the ability to travel forward in time, why not go into the future also? There could be a good rationale for this, but it isn't addressed. Time travel is a difficult concept to pull of well. Pop-culture, in a modern sense has a lot of reference points and stories exploring this already, so for a writer to approach, it would seem obvious to consider the wider implications of the story dynamics.

Here comes the cavalry...	Back to the past and forward to the future!

The artwork continues in the same vein as the first issue. It has a scratchy, earthy quality to it that gives a sense of compatibility with the story. The collaboration between the creators is very apparent, but the artistic team of Sean Murphy on pencils and Matt Hollingsworth of colors is great to see. There were a couple of patchy pages, where the art seemed a little blurry or smudged, probably a printer issue but still a shame from an IMAGE publication, which has such a good track record lately.

Murphy's inking is great. The tone it provides is a real plus to the feel in the story. We get to see a nice showcase of period pieces as the story takes readers back and forth over the time-stream. Murphy, for the most part, adapts well to what is called for from the script when producing authentic-looking scenes and characters. The colors from Hollingsworth only serve to enhance this feeling.
The art has a quality to it that makes it very easy to read. This is a positive and may match an intention from the creators to have this not be a drudging heavy read, but more a light and relatively lively experience that is supposed to be fun. This can explain the mixed feeling I had about this issue and certainly would keep things going a little longer.

The capitol of Samarkand.	The victors return triumphant.

There are undoubtedly voices among the readership of this comic who may disagree with the thoughts above, but for anyone paying out their hard-earned cash to any comic, the ultimate say lies with you. If you love the issue and series so far, great, keep enjoying it. If you're on the other side of the equation, well, time will tell if there are bigger plans to be unveiled to get this series back on track

Despite my thoughts about it, what did you think of this issue of Chrononauts? Did you expect the tale to turn this way? Tell us what you thought of the book by leaving a comment below or on our Facebook or Twitter and head on back for the next issue of Chrononauts.