"Pretend you're God."
Synopsis: Meanwhile, Casey and Miss Hodge...
As much as I want to learn what happens with Hunter and Zoe in the previous issue, Nick Spencer switches over to Casey and Miss Hodge. Last we saw Casey and the lovely Miss Hodge, they somehow traveled back in time. Now, time traveling isn't anything new to comics, but it's what this issue brings to it that changes the concept of time traveling.
But before I get into that, I want to talk about Casey. Despite this being issue #16, we don't know that much about her, due the other characters in this series. It's fitting that she's the last of the cast of teenagers to have a more focused flashback. She shares her flashback with her father, making things even more interesting considering that she's in the past already. Out of the main cast, Casey's background is...let's just say it's normal out of the other characters (Hunter would probably be second, followed by Jun, Ike, Jade, and Zoe respectively) with her growing up as an army kid. We already know that she's a bright kid, but a bit headstrong. That's why she's the perfect character to travel back in time. She has a real purpose in this series other than being a leader.
But then there's Miss Lara Hodge. So far, she is the only adult character I like. Maybe it's because she's helping the kids. But there's got to be another reason to why she's helping them.
Back to the time traveling concept, Spencer adds a element I have not seen before. Changing the past is also nothing new, but what if you change the past by actually controlling people's actions? It's a weird concept yes, but you're playing as God in the past! That's what Spencer incorporates in this issue.
The artwork continues to be great as Joe Eisma still add his charm to the series. He doesn't have to try hard to impress me with the artwork because of how simple it looks, and it works for this series. Also, great job on the cover by Rodin Esquejo.
The one thing that has me wondering is the direction Spencer will go with Casey. After all, she's stuck in the past with no way to get back to the present currently. And considering that this series is supposed to take place at school, it feels weird having one of the characters outside from that now.
It's definitely not a good time to pick up on this series despite switching over to a different character.
Overall:
Another great issue. I was worried at first that this issue would make me lose interest since the story shifted to Casey and Miss Hodge, but I found myself rereading this issue over and over.
