Infinite #1 – Review

By: Robert Kirkman (writer), Rob Liefeld (pencils), Liefeld & Adelso Corona (inks), Hi-Fi Design (colors), Rus Wooton (letters) & Sina Grace (editor)

The Story: A man has to go back in time to fight a war.

What’s Good: The concept for this comic is pretty solid and interesting.  Discussing it here is slightly spoiler-y but if you follow internet previews or have heard any interviews with Kirkman, you’ll have already heard it.

The basic idea is that during some future war, a soldier travels back in time to enlist the assistance of his younger self.  We also get fed some good sci-fi action in this issue, but that is the basic premise.  That sounds pretty neat because it seems that Kirkman is staying away from the customary “rules” that science-fiction has traditionally placed on time travel: Don’t affect the timeline, don’t interact with your younger self, blah blah.  Just this concept and the track record of Kirkman as a writer mean that this should be an entertaining series that is worth checking out.

The art is pretty strong too.  It isn’t an issue where your jaw hits the floor over the glory on the page or anything that has me reaching for my wallet to buy original pages, but the art is snappy, stylish and tells the story quite well.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Detective Comics #880 – I absolutely loved Scott Snyder’s take on the Joker, a horrific monster who dwells in the very subterranean, dark heart of Gotham.  Not only was the Joker creepy as hell, but Snyder did a great job in fitting him seemlessly into the themes regarding Gotham that Snyder has made integral to his series.  Oh, and the James Jr. slasher flick cliffhanger was pretty fun too.

Most Anticipated: The Punisher #1 – Greg Rucka returns, not just to Marvel, but to comic books in general (seriously, where the hell is Stumptown?). The Punisher has often struggled outside the Marvel MAX imprint.  Too gritty and realistic and he doesn’t quite fit in the superhero abundant Marvel Universe.  Too wacky, and you end up with weirdness like Frankencastle or Frank as an angel. I think Rucka is a writer who will manage to find the balance and, at the very least, I’m sure will get some dark, noir-y goodness. And certainly, the art is going to be absolutely gorgeous.

Other Picks: Flashpoint #4, Batman: Gates of Gotham #4, Scalped #51, Secret Six #36, Wolverine #13, Superboy #10, Sweet Tooth #24, Amazing Spider-Man #667, Moon Knight #4

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Captain America & Bucky #620 – This one comes with a big asterisk as I just came back from vacation and haven’t picked up some primo books from the LCS yet (American Vampire, Detective Comics, etc.), but this issue really illustrated by Chris Samnee and Elizabeth Breitweiser are two of the brightest lights out there on the artistic front.  Sure, the story of how Bucky became THE Bucky is entertaining, but Samnee and Breitweiser are the real stars here.

Most Anticipated: Scalped #51 – With the sad news that Scalped will be ending with issue #60, you just KNOW that Jason Aaron is going to be bringing the heat for the remaining 10 issues.  He’s been pretty unafraid to do bloody and traumatic things to these characters, so I can only imagine what he’ll do now that he isn’t saving anything for future story arcs.  The end starts here!

Other Picks: 50 Girls 50 #3, Severed #1, Infinite #1, Hulk #38, Punisher #1, Rachel Rising #1, SHIELD #2, Sweet Tooth #24