Originally published March 17, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
Zeb Larson reviews Chrononauts #1…
From MARK MILLAR (Kick-Ass) and SEAN GORDON MURPHY (Punk Rock Jesus) comes a bromance for the ages! Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly are two buddies who love to have fun. They’re also scientific geniuses. When their research leads them to a time-traveling adventure, will they use their knowledge for the good of all mankind? Or use the space-time continuum for their own ends? This is the story of man’s first, televised steps through the time-stream and everything going wrong in the process.
With Chrononauts, Mark Millar has managed to inject a bit of energy into the otherwise tired premise of time travel, namely by putting the time-travel action on TV. This is a fun book. Sure, you have to accept all of the plot holes and close your eyes to the inconsistencies or scientific fallacies. But if you’re the kind of person who gets really tripped up by those, then reading time-travel stories will probably just give you a heart attack.
Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly have, with a few bumps and hiccups, discovered the secret of time-travel (with some help from the U.S. Government, of course). After a few tests, including televised footage of the Battle of Gettysburg beamed back into people’s televisions, they decide to go back in time themselves. The entire world manages to tune in right as the unexpected happens and everything goes pear-shaped for Quinn. As the person with the next most expertise, Danny goes in after him to bring him home.
If you build a time-machine and want to back in human history to witness events, why wouldn’t you keep a team of historians on staff, or build an AI to give you some context? It would be helpful to know what the circumstances on the ground are like. Our grasp of history might not be perfect, but it might give a person at least an idea of whether a Mongol horde would be rampaging through the area or if you’d be dropping down into the middle of a battle. Just jumping back into the past willy-nilly is how accidents happen. Good God, even Doc Brown made more careful preparations than that.
Of course, that complaint is sort of missing the point: without some appropriate disaster, the story would be a hell of a lot less interesting. The book is off to an interesting start (though I giggle every time I see character call Quinn “Dr. Quinn”). All of the familiar time-travel conundrums are on display here. How much trouble are the two going to be able to cause? Will they be able to avert unthinkable damage to the present? Which famous characters from history will they meet? And will they manage to have any fun while they’re dodging through time?
This is a comic focused on having a good time with the story. There’s not a lot of deep content here or insight about the human condition, but at least the book promises to be fun. Let’s see if Millar and Murphy can keep up the pace for the next issue.
Zeb Larson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ONsp_bmDYXc&list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5
