Written by Mark Waid
Illustrated by Chad HardinSTAN’S BACK! THE PUBLISHING EVENT OF THE YEAR! Legendary comic creators Stan Lee and Mark Waid continue their hot new series featuring… a man out of time! With the city still under siege from the Split-Second Men, THE TRAVELER, must push his powers harder than ever before. With their plans shrouded in as much mystery as their origins, it’s a race against time and space to prevent whatever cataclysm would be in store if they succeed! He calls himself the TRAVELER. He has the power to warp and bend time to his will. But who is he? Where has he come from? And more importantly: what is coming after him?
Soldier Zero is plugging ahead of everyone, and Starborn just started – but the Traveler finally hits with it’s second issue! With the book now past it’s pilot issue, click beyond the cut to find my thoughts on the latest installment.
It is without a doubt in my mind that I write the following words: this experiment of giving top writers new Stan Lee properties to write? An absolute knock out. I know that’s high praise to start a review out with, but I will say this: the first issue of the Traveler left me rather luke warm on the character. I preferred this one a lot.
The inherent issue with any first issue is that with higher comic prices and much more books on the shelves than ever, expectations are usually so high for the comic to blow our minds on the first go that we sometimes look comics over if they don’t immediately grab at us. It’s nice then to go back for more based on pedigree alone to find yourself much more immersed into the story, as is the case with Traveler #2. While the first issue is by no means bad, this issue brings the mystery of the identity of the Traveler much more upfront which in turn sets a great amount of intrigue to the story. While each of the three new Boom books certainly have a degree of mystery to them, it’s obvious now that we have met Kronus before. I’m sure everyone has their opinions on who he is, but the nice thing about the set up of the story is that at this point Kronus’ identity could pretty much be one of two people, and that mystery sets a nice tone for what’s to come. How did Kronus get to be who he is, and what drove him down this path? Is his real identity the obvious and easy answer, or the less obvious and much more confusing one? And what’s with all the very specific time travel going on? What is apparent here is that the Traveler is not just a new superhero book, but a new superhero book with a set plan – and that’s the kind of book that’s fun to follow.
Waid certainly is an accomplished writer in every sense of the word, but with this issue much more than the first he does what Cornell did very heavily in Soldier Zero, and that’s channel the style of Stan Lee. There is a ton of exposition here as Kronus very verbally explains what he is doing as he does it, which in most scenarios puts the reader off. Here, it actually helps set an appropriate and somewhat comical tone for Kronus as he battles. It’s a very energetic fighting style and is somewhat akin to the way Waid writes Spider-Man. While Kronus’ blabbering certainly isn’t aimed at disarming opponents here (who seem to just grunt and barrel forward, and may just not have ears), it tonally fits the Lee theme as well as hits just the right pitches to not become an overbearing story element. What’s more notable though is that Waid is putting in little moments here that clearly fit to the larger story structure. While I’m not sure how long any of the new Stan Lee books are supposed to run (assumedly indefinitely), the nice thing here is that Waid’s end goal is very apparent, which helps add a more meaningful pace to the story.
Continued belowChad Hardin is certainly proving himself as a formidable talent here in the art duties. With a story like this, where a character slows and speeds up time at will, it could seem rather daunting a task to try and effectively escalate scenes beyond their speed. But with a Stan Lee cameo and a fantastic car attack, Hardin shows that he’ll be able to dish out whatever Waid throws at him. This, plain and simple, is a fine looking comic book. With lush backgrounds and fantastic coloring by Blond, this book is one of the better books visually as far as the capes and tights sect is concerned.
I may have been a tad lukewarm on the first issue of the Traveler, but this one definitely makes a much more solid impression. As the story becomes more apparent once moved from the “pilot” zone and the intricate layering of the time travel becomes one of the more heavier aspects of the story, the Traveler moves up in the ranks of the three new Stan Lee books. With more issues, I’m sure it could make it’s way right to the top.
Final Verdict: 8.9 – Buy
