The Possibilities Are Infinite, and So is the Story
The Good: Nick Spencer does a great job at weaving together an amazingly captivating story with a great level of subtlety and slow pacing done right.
Christian Ward's art is pretty much the perfect kind of trippy surreal and colorful look this type of story demands.
It could seem gimmicky, but Spencer's weaved it just right with the amount and variety of Mark's that appear in this story. I'm almost expecting this to end like 'All You Zombies' where it turns out every single character in the story is the same person via time travel, sex changes, etc.
The idea here is so unique, and presented in such a way that makes it seem even more so.
As opposed to just about every other reviewer, I think the use of scenes with real people serves to accentuate the haunting sense of 'real' in this series, coupled with the idea that all this technology being a smartphone app, makes the possibility of this becoming a reality (Or multiple realities, HAR HAR) appear not too far off. I felt the transition was done well.
The Bad: The switch between using the term 'Deadenders' and 'Singularists' is rather abrupt and almost pointless, especially when the real world news report uses 'Singularists.' I feel like starting out with 'Deadenders' feels pretty pointless if the switch was going to occur so soon.
I also feel like Mark is learning his lesson too early. Nick Spencer usually makes things go by so slowly that this is really unexpected.
Ward's art is sometimes TOO trippy. I mean that in the sense that there's hard to find a sense of 'normal' in this book. Mark goes from 'crazy' to 'crazy.' Although I suppose part of that could be the intent, it just sort of throws me off sometimes. But again, that might be the intent.
Something's been nagging at me from the start and I doubt it will ever be answered. If Mark always ends up in dead end jobs, how can he afford to be one of the biggest reality switchers in the world?
In Conclusion: 4/5
There's a lot to nitpick here, but there's a lot to like. It's a very unique concept with very unique storytelling and very unique art. It's not quite as finely polished as what I usually expect from Nick Spencer, but it certainly isn't to be missed. The possibilities are infinite, and so is the story.
