Publisher: Vertigo Comics
Writer/ Artist: Jeff Lemire
I went into the store this week with the opinion that even before reading this title it would be my Pick of the Week. Having only recently read Jeff Lemire's work, surprisingly one of the first comics I read by him was the digital first Adventures of Superman issue which is certainly worth a download for 69p.
Theres something about Lemire's unconventional drawing style that make his comics appeal to me, the illustrations just suit his stories so well, his Essex County collection for example, the hand drawn style that tells a story in itself like someone illustrating their own life as the time goes by. Although if you are to read Essex County I strongly recommend the advice I did not take, which is be prepared to feel a little low and down afterwards. Lemire's previous work I have read has mostly been black and white but here he adds his own watercolours to his illustrations, giving it that more personal sketchbook tone.
This issue is a bit mind bending and so very cleverly formatted being in the style of a flipbook introducing us to two very different characters who should never have met, each character starting at either end of the comic, further displaying the distance between them but through the events of each of their stories and some incredible circumstance they end up meeting once you hit that centre page.
Minor spoilers from this point forward. Our first character a female human from the future,Nika, desperately scouring the universe for the only element, a flower known as Trillium, which can save the human race from a disease that is hunting down and constantly adapting to kill them. This leads her to a planet where these flowers have been found within a ancient culture and homestead of an alien race. Nika is granted entry into what is clearly a Mayan/ Aztec ruin which leads to some trigger travelling her through space and time as she explores these ruins. The male character, William, we meet fighting in World War One, Lemire dramatically illustrating the horror that was the trenches. This then leads to him at some sort of Museum exhibition where events lead him on an expedition and field trip to find a ruin mentioned by this Archaeologist and adventurer who curated the exhibition. Throughout his field trip he has flashbacks of his time in WWI, and during the course of this expedition William and his team are attacked by natives, queue more flashbacks and frantic running and evasion which end up with him arriving at the ruin and meeting a certain time travelling Nika from the future who has somehow just stumbled out of this ruin. You can feel their eyes meet as you reach the center page and the end of each of their stories for this issue
This format is so so clever, the stories running parallel to one another and both characters meeting once you hit the middle of the book, by the end of this first issue I felt I knew about the perilous position of Nika and her mission to save the Human race and also the sad history of William and his inner demons caused by fighting in WW1. I really hope that although these two have now met and are together the book will keep the same format going throughout this limited series. A very fun and interesting way of doing a point of view take on characters.
I was intrigued by this comic when it was announced and after familiarising myself with Lemire's work since its announcement sometime back I had high hopes for this title and it didn't disappoint. If you haven't picked up Trillium yet and fancy trying something a little different to your mainstream Marvel and DC titles I strongly recommend you visit your local store and grab a copy now!
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