Review: Family Drama Dominates The Past In ‘Time Before Time’ TPB Vol. 4

As the saying goes, those who fail to study the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. Apparently the same can be said about learning from the future.

The story in the fourth trade paperback volume of Time Before Time focuses on time traveler Nadia Wells and her family who escaped in the distant path. Nadia narrowly got out of AD 4140 by stealing a time pod, only to arrive in 4.7 billion years in the past to find her mother and the sister she never knew she had. Despite being in prehistoric times, the city that Nadia’s mom governs as mayor – with its hovercars as free energy – rivals our future imagination.

The story from Rory McConville and Declan Shalvey is fairly predictable. Family strife, it seems, follows us regardless of the time period. There’s the requisite character who was thought to be dead who is really alive. There’s a returning character who most readers will have forgotten about who plays a major role. None of this is bad, per se, but we’ve been here before, more or less.

Jorge Coelho’s artwork improves over the course of the book. By the end, he delivers spectacular double-page spreads, and his use of shading is more pronounced, giving each panels more depth. Chris O’Halloran’s colors complement the effect nicely.

One nit: This collection does not include the interstitial story found in issue #24. It’s an understandable omission because it has little to do with Nadia’s story. But that standalone issue was the single-best installment the series has delivered. Hopefully it will be reprinted in a future tome.

With the long-running series drawing to its conclusion later this year, this volume is a must-have for fans. It tells one of the most straightforward stories in a sometimes-confusing narrative. And the strong artwork will give readers plenty to gawk at.

Time Before Time TPB Vol. 4 is available at your local comic shop today.