Advance Review: Making Sense Of All The Timelines In `Time Before Time’ #22

Stories involving time travel have a tendency to be confusing. And when a series has been running for as long as Time Before Time – 22 issues and counting – it can be tough to remember who is who or when is when.

So readers are excused from not remembering the identity of the mysterious man who showed up at the previous chapter. Fortunately, the creative team has made it easy to remember Stan, thanks to a recap and a presentation of some of the character’s backstory.

As it turns out, Stan was the guy who stole the time pod from Tatsuo and the robot Kelvin, leaving the pair temporarily stranded. Now Kevin and Stan find themselves billions of years in the past in a society that shuns robots. It happens to be run by their companion Nadia’s mother.

As confusing as all that may sound, writers Rory McConville and Declan Shalvey have put together the most straightforward issue in quite some time. It’s easy to follow and yet tells multiple connected stories at the same time. It’s a testament to their natural storytelling abilities that they have been able to cobble the pieces together into an interesting uber-tale – much less keep the competing plot lines straight.

It’s also a good story – and well as a nice reward for readers who have stuck around for a few years.

Artist Jorge Coelho, with colors by Chris O’Halloran, continues to give the series its signature look. A highlight is Stan’s journey through time at the beginning of the issue. He starts as full human, but after numerous jumps, ends up with new robotic attachments, finally looking very much like Marvel’s Deathlok. As Kevin learns of his plans in the past, Stan’s look changes one more time – in a frightening way.

Once this story arc is complete, there will only be a few issues left in the series. If the creative team can keep up the momentum they’ve shown here, it should be a wild ride to the finish.

Time Before Time #22 will be available for purchase tomorrow.