WRITER: JOHN LAYMAN | ARTIST: KARL MOSTERT | PUBLISHER: AFTERSHOCK | FORMAT: SINGLE ISSUE | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
STARBURST is a sucker for a good time travel story, and The Man Who Effed Up Time certainly looks like it’s going to fit the bill. The book opens with a lovely visual image of a properly messed up time-line – namely a Samurai riding a dinosaur, chasing our protagonist, Sean Bennet. Our hero is just an ordinary super-smart scientist who happens to have had some pretty awful breaks in life. His haphazard journey into scientific academia has meant that his life isn’t entirely as it should be and of course, he’s working in a laboratory where they’re researching time travel. Wackiness ensues.
Writer John Layman is in charge of the words here (he’s also the letterer), and he nails both the action and humour. Sean and his colleagues are just the sort of two-dimensional idiots you want for the four-dimensional story. It’s clearly intended to be a comedy of ever-increasing errors, and though the first issue gets us stuck in straight away, it’s clear that things aren’t going to slow down. This is a wacky tale of sci-fi hi-jinks, owing more to the likes of Back to the Future than Doctor Who.
The art is excellent, with Karl Mosert giving us a striking yet not too busy style. Dee Cunniffe’s colouring adds a robust and striking palate, bringing life to Mosert’s art (which is occasionally a little flat). It’s a strong book with some nice motifs, and a lot of thought has gone into the look and feel of Bennet’s world. We also get some pieces at the end – police reports, letters, etc – which help define the setting a bit better. Overall this is a confidently paced comedy – a promising start to what appears to be a fun tale.
