Written by Jonathan Hickman
Illustrated by Nick Pitarra“THERE’S NEVER TOO MUCH TIME”
Don’t miss the fantastic conclusion to this time-bending epic by JONATHAN HICKMAN and NICK PITARRA. Discover who won the past! Find out who wins the future! Rewrite EVERYTHING.
When I sat down to write my review of this book, I felt that a book with a scope this large and an ending this ambiguous needed to be discussed with someone else. So, I asked fellow Multiversity writer Mocle to sound off with me about the conclusion to Hickman/Pintarra’s mini series. Hit the jump and see what we thought of it!
Brian: So, Josh, before we started, you mentioned that after reading issue #4, you were going to give away the first three issues of The Red Wing – why would you do such a thing?
Mocle: In a weird, abusive parent kind of way, it’s because I love them too much. After reading the advance of issue 4, I realized this is very much a series I will not want buried in a longbox and never seen again but rather one I will want to reread over the course of the years and hence, will skip Issue 4 in the store and grab the much more accessible trade collection.
Brian: I had a very similar reaction; I decided I was going to buy #4 and then give them away as a set to a friend who has recently gotten out of comics, as a reminder of what a good story can do. So, I guess it is fair to say that we enjoyed this book?
Mocle: You like your friends more than I like mine apparently. And yes, I think that is fair to say. It is also fair to say that as a fan of Jonathan Hickman’s work, particularly his Image work, this is one of his best.
Brian: I know this will get me immediately on the Multiversity shit list, but this is the first complete work I’ve read by Hickman and, man oh man, did I love it. In fact, I’ve gone and ordered Nightly News and Pax Romana this morning, because I need another fix. So, let’s briefly catch the readers up to speed: this is a story about a war fought through time, and about a father and a son trying to save each other.
Mocle: I think on the surface that is an accurate assessment, but like some of Hickman’s other work (Transhuman and Red Mass for Mars in particular), he let a bit of deeper intentionality slip in towards the end, leading me to believe this is ALSO a book about the human race’s impact on the planet and how our actions may directly lead to a horrible life for our descendants. A very scary and very real concern, if you ask me. And also shame on you! You’ve been missing out. Don’t forget the two I just mentioned since all four are great (though Nightly News is the best)
Brian: Agreed. Now, I am a time travel junkie, and so a story that features phrases like “Time is not linear – there is no paradox” are right in my wheel house. However, a lot of people tend to find time travel confusing. I thought Hickman did a great job of showing this potentially confusing trope as something exciting and relatively easy to follow. Do you think time travel novices will be able to follow this?
Mocle: It depends on their general willingness to invest in fiction I think. There is a LOT of density to this book and lot of the more “science-y” parts take a few rereads (or one veeeery slow read) to really absorb. Though if the time is taken, I think Hickman is very complete in his explanations. However people looking for something more akin to Back to the Future or even The Time Machine (AKA a very direct, frontal handling of time travel) may be out of luck.
Continued belowBrian: Agreed. Ok, let’s get into the meat of the story a bit and, warning, spoilers follow. My first question for you, Mocle, is about Robert, and the version of Dominic he encounters in the past. This Dominic tells us that he is from “another stack,” seemingly an alternate reality/different universe. I didn’t know whether or not I believed him. Do you believe this is actually the Dom from the “present,” or is this actually who he says he is?
Mocle: I see no reason to believe he isn’t who he says he is, but I could also very easily believe it is the same Dom we’ve been following in the “present” as well. I’m not sure it really affects the nature of the story that much to be honest.
Brian: I think it does, based on the last panel of the book. If the Dom who we know and love is the Dom who goes on to suck the juice from the past, it makes the last panel reveal all the more hopeful and, potentially, tragic.
Mocle: I suppose so, but that’s one of the great things about this book (and indeed a lot of Hickman’s stuff), the multiple meanings and implications can appeal to many different mindsets at once. While you saw a deeply person story about the nature of family, I saw a highly politicized warning to society at large also featuring rocketships.
Brian: The rocketships are, of course, key. The layers that are here lend themselves to varying interpretations, but i don’t think that there can be any misinterpreting how awesome Nick Pitarra’s art is. It has a Frank Quietly feel to it, but not in an aping type of way. I thought he did a great job of incorporating detail into the world of the book, but keeping the focus on the main characters and their emotions.
Mocle: I agree, and the level of detail he brought to the technological world around him had a very organic feel, keeping the futuristic tone of the book, but making it seem like something that was very much technically possible.
Brian: Exactly. So, let’s cut to the chase: how do you interpret the ending of the book?
Mocle: I’m still not quite sure. I read it as an unfortunate denouement of mixed signals. The father coming home to the son that has moved on. Though from previous conversations, I’m lead to believe you have discovered a deeper significance?
Brian: Well, here is my, potentially, scatter-brained theory: The last shot in the book is the photo that is on the General’s desk. I believe the photo to be of Dom, Maye, and their child, who I presume is the General. Now, since the General is the person who invented the TAC, he invented it, i believe, to go back and save his father, Dom, from becoming the monster we see in the past. And so, he is trying to rehabilitate his father before he can become the natural-resource-sucking ravager we have seen. And part of that is convincing Dom that his father, the General’s grandfather, was a good man.
Mocle: Interesting, that hadn’t occurred to me but that’s a very strong theory, and one that would certainly solve the issue of the entirety of the Earth’s natural resources being abducted. Good eye, sir
Brian: Thank you. So, what would your rating for this be?
Mocle: I’d say a strong 9.0 with the only downside being the book very clearly would read better as one singular unit
Brian: I agree with that statement; for me, I loved the ambiguities built into the story, but i could see that being a hindrance for some readers. But 9.0 sounds about right to me. Don’t be dumb and pick this up!
Final Verdict: 9.0 — Buy
