“Transference” is a smart book that doesn’t hold your hand. It asks you to discern what’s really happening as subtle hints point towards the truth, but nothing’s as simple as it outright looks. Time travel’s the name of the game here and changin’ the future’s the job. Changing it for exactly who is unclear but at least our protagonist seems to have a better idea than us.
WRITTEN BY: Michael Moreci
ART BY: Ron Salas
PUBLISHER: Black Mask Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: June 24, 2015
That’d be Colton, the leader of a three-person team who regularly travel through time nudging it in a direction favorable to their employers. This isn’t something new to them and aside from one rookie they seem to have been doing this for years. We’re thrown directly into the middle of these people’s lives, right on the one job that changes everything. I won’t spoil it but trust me, it turns their shit topsy-turvy.
Being thrust right into it, there’s no time for backstory so we learn everything about Colton and his team from their actions. How they carry themselves and react to situations becomes all the more vital. It also makes every conversation thoroughly fascinating as you try to decipher everyone’s true motivations. You’re engaged in the espionage with the characters, naturally investing yourself in their struggle.
Time travel is rarely handled with as much nuance as we get here. It’s all about subtle changes whose true importance isn’t immediately apparent. It takes time for these things to unravel, leaving the person in a foggy sort of haze, not being able to quite pin down what’s happened. It’s a refreshing shift from time travel in action movies and superhero comics where every change in the timeline is painfully obvious and they only travel to cliche periods in time.
Transference grabs you and involves you in its story. Engaging with you as you read, wrapping the characters as well as the reader up in the mystery and intrigue. A smart and engrossing new time traveling spy comic, Transference is like a tall cool glass of water. Refreshing in all the right ways, it’ll quench your thirst.
Transference #1 hits comic shops on June 24th, 2015 and can be preordered using diamond code: APR151162