All the problems of DC’s 1960s “The War That Time Forgot” series from STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES — repetition, repetition, repetition — are not present in DC’s current reboot, THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT: VOLUME ONE.
Whereas the original stories were the same thing over and over again — World War II soldiers fighting dinosaurs — Bruce Jones’ update aims for an action-driven plot steeped in its own teasing mythology, à la TV’s LOST.
As this six-issue collection opens just prior to Japan’s invasion of Pearl Harbor, Lt. Carson of the U.S. Air Force narrowly misses being shot down by a Japanese plane, yet is sideswiped by … a pterodactyl!?! Next thing he knows, he wakes up on an island, with his plane nowhere in sight. Standing before him are a Davy Crockett-esque man who calls himself Tomahawk and a red-haired Indian named Firehair.
Other characters from various periods of time populate the island as well: World War I German fighter pilot Enemy Ace, the Viking Prince, the Golden Gladiator, the G.I. Robot and sleek, sexy woman-from-the-future Akisha. If you recognize some of those names from obscure DC titles of yesteryear, that’s part of what makes WAR so fun, throwing characters who normally don’t belong together into the same sci-fi tale.
Although there are attacks aplenty, the dinosaurs are almost secondary, with the mystery of the inescapable island and its purpose being the real hook. Unlike LOST, answers come pretty quickly, including a huge, game-changing twist I never saw coming. Art by Al Barrionuevo and Jimmy Palmiotti is terrific, recalling more those AIP Edgar Rice Burroughs flicks of the ’70s and less of its source material. —Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES:
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT: VOLUME 1
