Written by Jonathan Hickman
Illustrated by Nick Pitarra‘LEARNING TO FALL’ Lost in time — deep in enemy history — the Captain of the First Wing must find a way home so that he can begin the space-time program that will one day save his future.
Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra’s futuristic wartime miniseries that treats time as an option zooms into its second issue. The first issue presented some excellent ideas – and some incredible art – but now it’s time to see how well the duo executes their fascinating concepts. Does it pass with flying colors, or crash and burn? And do I avoid using anymore sophomoric wordplay? To the first, follow the cut and see. To the second, I can’t make any promises.
Now, Jonathan Hickman would have satisfied me enough if he had just written a wild series about futuristic dogfighting that spanned space-time. I wouldn’t need anything more complex than that – because, you know, the mechanics of the Red Wing aren’t complex at all – because the fantastic idea would be enough, whether or not there was an equally fantastic story to go with it.
Thankfully, Hickman has enough sense to not listen to the likes of me.
Last issue we got the “what” of the story. In this issue we get the “why.” Not content to just fill pages with fighters slipping in and out of time and being disintegrated by raw chrono-energy in gorgeous Nick Pitarra spreads – though, I repeat, I would still probably buy that – Hickman seems interested in addressing the ramifications of time travel. If you’ve read Pax Romana, you know that this isn’t foreign ground to him. But the questions that he asks are foreign to us as readers. We’re all used to the question of “What right do we have to meddle in the past?” but Hickman asks an even more complicated question: “What right do we have to lose focus on our present?” Of the many, many complications that time travel could present us with, the loss of perspective and the effect it has on our present – and, later, our future – isn’t as obvious of a problem as, say, some nut going back in time and giving Hitler the terrible weapons we have these days, but it threatens our way of life just as much. The twist at the end of this issue isn’t necessarily the biggest “Oh shi–” moment I’ve ever seen – I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see it coming – but it still ties into the ongoing theme very well. Any other comic, my response would probably be a bit of a yawn, but this time around it’s a simple “…proceed.”
The secret weapon of this series is artist Nick Pitarra. Pitarra’s work is easily recognized, with his alluring blend of curved, organic figures and harshly geometric machines. His work on its own, but it’s such an incredible fit for The Red Wing that it somehow looks even better when you’re reading it, rather than just looking at it. And that’s just it: Pitarra’s art looks amazing, no doubt, but he’s also an incredible storyteller. Many of Pitarra’s generation of artists are more interested in things “looking good” – which is all fine and dandy if you’re just doing pinups, but the simultaneous-yet-sequential nature of comics is what sets it apart from any other art form. Pitarra isn’t just interested in making his art look good – though he still does – he’s interested in making sure that we follow him from page one until the end without being lost once. With a story like this, it’s easy for a single flub to completely lose the reader, but Pitarra holds our hand the whole way through, and looks damn good while doing it. Trust me, you’re going to be hearing this guy’s name a lot more in coming years, and for good reason.
Even if you’re “tired” of time travel stories, be sure to pick up The Red Wing. It’s an exciting and fresh take on the time-traveling sub-genre (if you can call it that), one that will make you never look at the hitherto considered played out concept the same way again. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jonathan Hickman’s work at Marvel, but this comic serves as a reminder as to why we all know his name in the first place, and in the future it’s going to be a reminder as to why we all know Nick Pitarra’s.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Buy it!
