Advance Review: ‘Pause’ #1 Takes Readers To A Frozen NYC

Did you ever wish you could have an hour or two just to yourself? That you could turn off the outside world and have just a few precious minutes when everyone else was frozen? A new limited series from the John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction imprint takes that wish out for a test drive.

In Pause, Henry Jacobs is riding the New York City subway when everything around him stops. There’s no explanation, just a pause in time. For some reason, he can un-pause people and animals just by touching them, which he does to fellow passenger Halima Ghosh. The pair soon set out to see the sights on a tour of a frozen Manhattan.

Matthew K. Manning‘s script is the stuff of either fantasy or horror, depending on your point of view. He doesn’t bother explaining the cause of the pause — at least not in this first issue —  instead focusing on the pair’s behavior. We’re not dealing with scientists after all.

Manning’s concept is a good one, though occasionally the words get in the way. He introduces each main character with a clumsy “Meet so and so.” There are certainly more elegant ways of acquainting readers with his creations, though if that is his greatest writing sin, he’s doing pretty well.

With his rough lines, artist Conor Boyle depicts a gritty New York, even when it is at rest. His illustrations tell their own stories without need of a script. And his use of colors – and more importantly blacks and whites – makes it easy for the reader to understand who is paused and who is moving.

By the premiere issue’s ending, it’s clear the story will take an interesting turn to become a mystery/thriller. If this strong start is any indication, readers will want to hit their own pause button to make time for this series.

John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Pause #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, February 26th from Storm King Comics.