Chrononauts #3

By Mark Millar, Sean G Murphy, & Matt Hollingsworth

As Danny and Corbin continue to live their dreams in time, Mannix and his alpha team finally make their move to retrieve the suits and the two rogues. Of course, this leads to crazy moments and a spectacular montage. An event that was foreshadowed in the last issue finally plays out and ends the book on a dark note…

Mark Millar seems to be writing to the artistic strengths of Sean G Murphy with Chrononauts. There isn’t a lot of plot progression, but a lot of action takes place over many time periods. He’s letting Murphy take the reins in the storytelling, which is works for this material. Millar knows when to let the visuals push the story forward and elevate it; he doesn’t let egos get in the way of making the comic the best it can be, I respect that a lot.

Something to pay close attention to is this creative team’s rules of time-travel. Every story in this sub-genre has its own, but this narrative hasn’t explicitly stated all of them. It’s fascinating to see how they implement them into the plot. During the montage, moments that look familiar merit closer inspection and will make one go back to the previous issues. Subtle easter eggs like this are a real treat.

Sad to say, but there are some people who aren’t fans of Mark’s work, but for Sean and Matt Hollingsworth’s artwork alone, this series deserves readers appreciation. Fans of this duo’s work on The Wake, should absolutely pick this up. Despite a relatively basic panel structure, Murphy makes every page so dynamic. Whether it be an expressive face of a character or someone jumping out of a window, there’s always something of importance in the image. Hollingsworth is a consummate collaborator; he colors the pencils so well. He maintains the edgy, rough, detailed style that really defines Sean’s work.

This is just an absolutely gorgeous issue and it can’t stress that enough. There’s not much left in this story arc, so those already invested should stick with it. This is a just fun ride, plain and simple. Oh, and Morrissey is in it!