The Argus
At some point in your life you’ve been told or said yourself: “If you want something done right, you’ll have to do it yourself.” Well that’s the very premise that writer Mark Bertolini (Bastard’s Waltz, Scum of the Earth) and artist Darryl Knickrehm explore in their new time bending comic series The Argus. The four part series will be entering your time continuum March 4th by Action Lab’s Danger Zone. But what IS The Argus?
The Story
It begins when an incredibly bright young man named Randall Patton has an idea. Imagine the possibilities of temporal time displacement. The ability to travel through time. Even his teachers told him it was not possible. But no sooner did his idea come to mind, it manifested itself to him. This was in the form of himself…and himself and himself. Actually quite a few versions of himself. Although he initially didn’t recognize them as such. They had come to his home…to his room. And they needed something. Him! As seen in this preview:
And so the begins the tale where due to his idea, a “time police” is created. Made solely out of the different versions in time of Randall Patton. Versions that are differentiated only by the year they are recruited. They called this group, The Argus, also known as “The Eyes.” Their mission? To prevent the misuse of time travel that may result in disastrous events. But now (if there is such a term) a member of their group has went rogue and quite insane, and they need the original version of Randy to stop him. Can he assist them? What will happen if the original version is killed? These are the questions that will be answered in this four part series.
Artwork
The graphics style of artist and co-creator Darryl Knickrehm is tight with a fine line for detail. Colors are muted which almost reflects some of the bleaker aspects of the environment. Makes for a concise bit of story telling with some dynamic panel use to set the pace.
Thoughts
If you are a fan of time travel paradoxes such as in films like Looper with Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, then The Argus will be right up your alley. It wastes no time in jumping right into the story. However, it keeps the reader supplied with ample back story so they are not immediately lost. This is accomplished through the natural questions anyone might be asking if presented with versions of their past and future selves. By the time the first book is complete you are left with as many questions as answers. This is great place to start a series. Read if for yourself beginning on March 4th.
Official Synopsis:
Time travel is real! Scientific prodigy Randall Patton has had a breakthrough that allows travel through the timestream, which immediately led to the creation of The Argus, the temporal law enforcement organization that polices the time/space continuum. After an accident renders one of the members of The Argus insane, he begins killing off the others - except they are all versions of Randall Patton from various points in his own life! Who can stop Randall but himself?
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
