Written by Nick Spencer
Illustrated by Christian WardWELCOME TO THE INFINITE VACATION, WHERE CHANGING YOUR LIFE IS ALWAYS JUST A CLICK AWAY!
Mark lives in a world where alternate realities are up for sale, and buying and trading your way through unlimited variations of yourself is as commonplace as checking your email or updating your status. But when other “hims” start dying suddenly and he meets a mysterious girl who wants nothing to do with “life-changing,” he’ll learn the truth about the universe he stumbles through, and what happens when your vacation turns on you.
Multiversity’s most anticipated book of January is here. Does it live up to the hype? Find out after the jump.
One of my favorite things about comics is the idea that the only limits to what happens in the book is the imagination of the creators involved. Unlike films or television, there aren’t budgetary concerns. Unlike books, you don’t have to rely on the reader interpreting it. In comics, if the writer and artist involved work in concert well enough, there’s no reason a comic can’t achieve levels of creation that other mediums simply can’t touch.
Nick Spencer and Christian Ward’s The Infinite Vacation does just that, achieving something that is rare in modern mainstream comics: a completely original concept paired with nearly flawless execution.
Even just from the 10,000 foot view of the book, readers have little choice but to be excited. An idea that people can buy, sell and trade their place in life with other versions of themselves at any given moment? That’s a remarkably fresh idea. When it rolls out with our hero Mark (who is, entertainingly enough, a nice walking visual reminder of Shaun from “Shaun of the Dead”) walking us through the importance of his name tag (which, heretofore, seemed like an innocuous design choice from Ward), I’m impossibly hooked already. This the “Hey Ya” of comic book hooks, as you aren’t even aware of it sinking its claws into you until you’re its willing prisoner and you find the need to read it a few times over.
The rest of the issue is a fascinating blend of visual storytelling techniques to express the remaining pages, ranging from a commercial for The Infinite Vacation corporation (complete with art that is strictly photography) to dreamlike sections of repeated images combined into elegant and cleverly designed collages (i.e. the cube tech support page or the page of dead Marks) to the more straightforward but even more engaging straight up art sections – namely, the page of pure white space and the stunning girl that has caught Mark’s eye. The design flourishes that surround her amplify the greatness of this page exponentially.
I have to say, I read this book twice to make sure I captured all of it. On the second read, I expected the written part to escalate in greatness more so than the art, but that wasn’t the case. On the second read, I fell in love with the visuals. Christian Ward is not someone whose art I was previously aware of, but good lord, what a talent. This guy alters his style depending on the page and what Spencer asks for, and never ceases to amaze me no matter the alteration in technique.
Back to the writing, I love the execution of the high concept of this book. The thing that is so engaging about it ultimately isn’t how fresh it is (and the idea of multiversal life exchange is very original), but how Spencer ties it to such a universal emotion. The central feeling that drives Mark (and the rest of the Marks in reality) is the general lack of satisfaction with one’s place in life and the inevitable nature of your existence. No matter what life Mark jumps into, he finds himself dissatisfied and falling into the same routine eventually. It ties the reader to the concept at a very personal level, and it invests readers in the story from the get go.
From the first page on, this book is one of the most wildly imaginative reads I’ve had in recent memory, with visuals that only amplify that and execution that grounds it in reality. This book is a massive hit with me, surpassing my already high expectations. In short, this is a must buy of the highest level. Don’t miss it.
Final Verdict: 9.8 – Buy
