Review: Transference #1

Black Mask is quickly becoming one of my favorite publishers, out to produce some quality comics. We Can Never Go Home continues to be a major contender for comic of the year, and their other titles have a level of quality in the story and art that rival other publishers with a significant market share. Outside of We Can Never Go Home, we haven’t been able to review their other titles, but that is going to change, right now. The first of their other books that we’re going to review is a nice little adventure in time travel, Transference.

TRANSFERENCE #1

Artist: Ron Salas
Writer: Michael Moreci
Colors: Tamra Bonvillain
Letters: Jim Campbell
IN STORES 7/8

Solicitation:
Colton Moss and his elite team of special agents run counter-terrorism operations utilizing a secret form of time travel technology called “transference,” which enables them to send their consciousnesses back in time – but, when Colton’s past is altered to reshape his life in the present, he discovers this technology isn’t as exclusive as he thought. Now Colton must prevent a large-scale insurgency in the U.S. – and do so in the transference-past, where a terrorist’s consciousness could be in any body, so everybody is a potential suspect.

Preview:

 

Review:
The thing about writing time travel is that there has to be clearly defined rules, especially as science discovers more about how the fourth dimension works and the possibility of moving through it. A good writer also has to balance the plot with the inherent problems in travelling through time. Moreci depicts Colton Moss as a top agent in his organization, especially at the beginning of the story, so when he seems to be on shaky footing, as a reader, I get worried, knowing that the conflict in the story is serious and the antagonists that he will face are serious threats indeed.

Ron Salas is a very good artist, but sometimes, his panels are too open. His figures sometimes appear a little stiff, but everyone is consistent, and he he knows his craft. The colorist, Tamra Bonvillain is good at depicting ambient lighting to establish location and stays away from Photoshop-like tricks until the very end when it is absolutely necessary to convey the threat that exists in the cliffhanger.

While not as good as We Can Never Go Home, the quality is there, so I do recommend picking this book up, as I am definitely on the hook for the next issue.