- The Infinite Loop (issues 1-6)
- IDW Publishing
- Written & Lettered by Pierrick Colinet
- Illustrated & Colored by Elsa Charretier
- Color Flats by Rose Citron
- Edited by Sarah Gaydos
- Available now!
A science-fiction series that asks the age-old question, “What would you risk for a chance at true love?” Meet Teddy, a young woman who lives in a faraway future where time traveling is a common practice and her job is to maintain the status quo by correcting tie paradoxes. But when she meets Ano, “a time paradox” and the girl of her dreams, Teddy must decide between fixing the time stream or the love of her life, both of which have unique consequences.
Welcome to The Brigade, where patterns are revered and change is feared above all. The largest threat to The Infinite Loop are the dreaded paradox forgers, temporal terrorists determined to break the pattern by creating anomalies in the time line. The easiest way to do that is by introducing things that don’t fit in… simple items that in their own time and place wouldn’t draw a second glance, but placed discriminately where- and more importantly, when– they don’t belong, could disrupt the norm.
Nobody likes their norm disrupted, do they?
Or do they?
So what happens when an anomaly takes the form of a person? A living, breathing human being who thinks and feels, dropped off at a time when extremes of any kind- thought, emotion, even the concept of “night & day”- have been eliminated for the obligatory greater good might shake things up a bit. It’s Teddy’s job to make sure that doesn’t happen… but there’s a problem. Teddy’s a Brigade agent and very good at her job, but when she meets Ano for the first time, eradicating her isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind.
Gotta say, I love this kind of speculative science fiction, and I was more than happy when I ran across this one while looking for something a little different to read… The Infinite Loop presents a potential future where we’ve abolished all of our problems rather than resolving them. And yes, there’s a difference. A very important one that gets ignored too often when people would replace a car every five years rather than consider maintaining it- or even building one that lasts for twenty (don’t make faces, that used to be a thing). Fixing, improving things is just too hard… much simpler to get rid of what’s bothering us and replacing it with the next Thing.
Pierrick Colinet gets it. In a story that’s got more than a bit of Blade Runner in it (or maybe more accurately, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) the question posed is, what do we lose by giving up our perceived imperfections? Colinet asks that question in a way that doesn’t make the reader feel badgered or assaulted. In fact, I’d say that The Infinite Loop would read just fine as a simple action/adventure story, if it were read by the chronically obtuse. All of the deeper tidbits thrown in are extra, elements that go above and beyond as gifts to the reader looking for a little gravy for the brain. The philosophical points and morality plays are all there, but they’re seeded in amongst some really sharp, wry wit and very cool characters. Going on step further, Colinet uses some creative lettering to help us get into Teddy’s head… flow charts instead of standard narrative text boxes are one of many slick elements that sets this book apart.
Elsa Charretier carries the majority of the visual load, handling the illustration and coloring, with flatting duties taken up by Rose Citron. The effect is pretty damned impressive, for a look that brought the great Darwyn Cooke to my mind. There’s an awesome retro simplicity to Charretier’s line work, with a very slick fifties & sixties aesthetic in its design. The action moves along at a great pace, and has a cinematic quality to it that I always appreciate in a comic. Sure, comicbooks are a two dimensional and basically static medium… but when an artist is able to convey a dynamic feel, helping a reader visualize the action as though it were a movie playing out in their head, that’s some next level stuff. Finally, the layouts are outstanding, not keeping to a basic grid but using much more creative ways to break up the page. All that and Charretier is able to maintain the humor that Pierrick Colinet has introduced in the script, letting the subtle wit play out in the pictures.
The Infinite Loop is one of those titles that distinguishes itself by being more than it really has to be. On the surface, it’s important to note that this is an excellent example of representation for the LGBTQ community. Beyond that it’s just an entertaining story, full of action and populated by great characters who are just doing their thing. After the opening chapters/issues, the story takes a turn into some heavy themes, and front to back this is a comic for mature readers only, but in the end it’s a title that doesn’t demand a reader’s participation in any one demographic, no membership required to enjoy it.
It’s about as inclusive as you can get.
Final Score: 9
