On their way to bury a time capsule, five friends – Grady, Heidi, Natasha, Daniel, and Billy – uncover a metal bunker buried deep in the woods. Inside, they find letters addressed to each of them… from their future selves. Told they will destroy the world in the very near future, the friends find, over the next few days, growing further and further apart. Though they’ve been warned against making the wrong choices, how do they know what the right ones are? Can the future really be changed, or will an even darker fate engulf the world?

Collecting the first four issues of the ongoing series, The Bunker is one of the best print debuts of 2014. Some of the early issues were available in 2013, but since their release by Oni Press in print, we’ve gotten new material from the masterful Joshua Hale Fialkov as writer and Joe Infurnari on art. The Bunker is a sci-fi thriller, that uses time travel to explore the ideas of destiny and fate. If these first four issues don’t suck you in, I’d be shocked.

Fialkov is an amazing writer who has mastery of so many genres. Here he mixes the mystery of the television series Lost of an impending apocalyptic meltdown. The most difficult thing is to talk about why this comic is so good without spoiling any of the discoveries throughout. And that’s a lot of the enjoyment, that slow reveal as to what’s going on, and the piecing of everything together.

But, what I can reveal and truly sticks out is Fialkov’s portrayal of the individuals who stumble upon the mysterious bunker. Their reactions, and interactions are fantastic and very realistic. You feel like this is how college age people would talk and interact in this extraordinary situation. Motivations play out intelligently and realistically, so that even when horrible decisions are made, we can’t help but understand why they do they way they do.

Fialkov’s writing is enhanced by Infurnari’s art which has a distinctive style and look. It fits the time bending series, both the frantic present and the gritty future.

This first volume is perfect for those who want to catch up, and if you’re not already reading this series, you should be. It delivers with each and every issue, and I fully expect it to be on numerous “best of” lists when the year wraps up.

Story: Joshua Hale Fialkov Art: Joe Infurnari
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy

Oni Press provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review