“Timeless,” Part 05
Writer: Bryan Hitch
Artist: Fernando Pasarin
Since “Timeless” began, I’ve had a very love-hate relationship with this book. I didn’t like it at first, but then it grew on me. Then it drifted a bit, and came back. But with this final issue – knowing that I don’t have to read it anymore – I am glad it’s over. This final issue was readable, but that’s about as nice as I can get. I hate talking about negatives – I am a very positive person – but this issue didn’t live up to what I expected. The ending showed the true nature of this arc: to set up the next one, and that’s something I can’t get behind. Not to say that I haven’t enjoyed some parts of “Timeless” – there have been some moments that stood out to me – but as a whole, it didn’t really need to happen.
I understand the concept of arcs following arcs following arcs, but a one-off every now and then isn’t a bad thing. Justice League has been all following from story to story with no breaks in between (minus the Justice League vs. Suicide Squad tie-ins, but even they moved this series forward in some way) and it’s starting to lose its charm. While I know that this is how the series has always been – even in the New 52 and before that – other Rebirth titles are taking their time and tying in arcs in clever ways, but this entire arc just felt like a set-up for something else, and that’s something I’ve been feeling a lot with this book.
One thing about this issue that got to me was how rushed it felt. There was almost two issues of conclusion here all thrown together in one. The last few issues have been more of a Batman/Superman book rather than a League one – and normally that wouldn’t be an issue – but in an arc like this where the team are scattered throughout time, it’s important to find and strike that balance, and I hate to say it, but Hitch didn’t do that for me. Again, this is all personal opinion, but I can guarantee I’m not the only person who felt this way.
I know I said in a previous review that I don’t like long arcs and was happy to see a shorter one, but this is an arc that needed more issues. If Hitch had more space and time to flesh out the situation, this could have been a stellar piece of work. That being said, over five issues, I still didn’t fully grasp what was happening, and just when I thought I did, the book threw something new at me and confused me even further. Negatives aside, the art is what saved this book for me. Pasarin and his team did a wonderful job as always, and I found myself looking back over some of the panels twice or three times to appreciate the effort and care that clearly went into them.
Conclusion
As the final chapter of “Timeless” closes off this arc by leading into the next one, I hate to say that I won’t miss it. This arc was set up to be something more than what we got, and I feel as though even one more issue could’ve redeemed it in my eyes.
Images courtesy of DC Entertainment
