He’s befriended dinosaurs and battled Frankenstein but has the Steward finally met his match in bright young woman from the 21st century?
Days Missing #3
Publisher: Archaia Comics
Writer: Ian Edginton
Artist: Lee Moder
Colorist: Imaginary Friends Studios
Letterer: Troy Peteri
Cover(s): Dale Keown, Frazer Irving, Lee Moder and Imaginary Friends Studios
Summary: September 19th, 2008. The Large Hadron Super Collider in Cern, Switzerland is about to go operational. Humanity is poised to re-create the very same conditions that resulted in the Big Bang and the birth of the universe. Physicist and Cern team member Kate Prosper notices something in one of the tests, a temporal anomaly with no reasonable scientific explanation. Meanwhile, truck driver Alain Murais would do anything to save his dying son, who is suffering from leukemia. But he’s out of money, insurance and time. Kate and Alain’s paths will end up on a collision course not only with one another, but also the mysterious Steward. Before the Day is over, no one will ever be the same…
Review: When last we left mysterious Steward he was trying to prevent a Frankenstein-like monster from terrorizing a quiet countryside in 1816. The first version of that day resulted in a body count that he was not willing to accept. Folding space and time, the day restarted and the monster was never reanimated to walk the Earth. It did however leave just enough of a lingering thought in author Mary Shelley’s head to inspire her greatest work. This latest issue brings us a little closer to home – 2008.
Doctor Kate Prosper is one of ten thousand scientists and engineers working on a highly technical super collider with the aim of recreating the Big Bang. It’s tense work for all involved seeing as how the energy they’re using is equivalent to two and half tons of TNT. Kate is a time lord of sorts, her specialty is temporal dynamics and progression, so she’s very interested in a recent mishap. The collider strayed from it’s original programming and collected some information she terms temporal sutures. Yup, you’ve guessed it. That’s the Steward’s time-folding handiwork and he’s not eager for her to discover his existence. Kate asks for help from her estranged husband, McKenzie, who is a paleo-astronomer. She doesn’t have time to fix their marriage but he’s the first person she calls when she needs help.
The more human side to this story comes in the form of truck driver Alain Muraise. His young son Michael is lying in a hospital bed, not too far from the collider, dying from leukemia. For one reason or another, he and the doctors have finally run out of options and he loses it. Kate and Alain meet when he sneaks into her building to destroy the collider she was secretly collecting information from. The Steward, sensing a nearing tragedy, steps in and reveals himself to Kate. Unlike in previous issues, the Steward lays it all out for the startled Kate – what he does, why he does it and how equally important and dangerous her discovery could be. He appeals to her heart rather than her mind and she quickly sides with her heart. When he folds the day Kate thinks about how much her husband means to her and ignores her discovery in lieu of reconnecting with him. The vague whispers in Alain’s head lead him to spend valuable time with his son instead of his quest for vengeance.
Ian Edginton (Stormwatch) and Lee Moder (Legion of Super-Heroes) are the creative team for this third issue of the mini-series. The idea that a human in this century could discover the Steward’s influence is an intriguing one, and while the science aspect of his powers are worthy of further study, I find it hard to believe that a woman who’s dedicated her life to science would choose her husband over what is potentially the greatest discovery of mankind. I don’t even think the Steward’s case is all that strong for her to forfeit that knowledge. I felt Alain’s portion of the issue took away from the plot rather than added to it. I also felt like there wasn’t a whole lot going on artistically this issue. The story doesn’t really lend itself to a lot of exaggeration or excitement but Moder’s work is clean and crisp. I particularly enjoyed Alain’s resemblance to Jean Reno, whether it was deliberate or not. We’re back to another history lesson for the next issue as Martz and Hego Petrus bring Cortez and his Conquistadors to the page.
Days Missing #3 from Archaia Comics is in stores now.
Click here for a review and preview of Days Missing #1.
