Boom.

Let’s take the linear storyline model from Xenoglyphs and totally toss it. It seems like we’re going to match pieces of story in a bouncing around kind of manner, and I think it’s a great idea.  Omar Spahi has a deft hand at letting us know what’s going on when we need it, rather than when we would expect it.  I dig this kind of exposition last approach; it’s sometimes more fun to get into the action straight away.  The chase scene in this first issue is awesome, but its import is magnified by what we already know, which though the outcome is reasonably assured (as the character in peril is healthy and upright in later-timelined earlier issues), there’s still a pulse-pounding thrill to it that burns through the panels.

We get to see these guys being normal young adults, rather than the slick and battle-ready pros we’ve seen them be.  We’re also treated to some panels of a Xenoglyph whose power we hadn’t seen before in the hands of an important historical figure.  I’m very interested to see where this stone ends up, and what it will mean for our heroes in the present time.

Spahi is starting to expand beyond the narrative he began in Xenoglyphs, and I’m pretty excited to see what other storylines he’ll be adding and how things will begin to tie together.  Even in little moments, we can see things being laid down for further exploration later, and the potential for a millennium-spanning adventure is very exciting from this team.  There’s still a majority of the stones we have not encountered, and I’m sure each of these will bring more surprises down the road.

It’s still a good time to jump into this series that has notes of Animorphs, Captain Planet, and Voltron built in, and you should enjoy the ride.

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