Meet Ryker Ruel, an enigmatic, lecherous, and clinically insane sociopath who has stolen a top-secret device that can freeze time! Now, as the bodies of world leaders pile up, famous works of art go missing, and other strange crimes dominate the headlines, only the device’s creator, a run-of-the-mill science geek, knows what’s happening and sets out to stop Ryker’s seemingly endless revenge tour. Standstill #1 kicks off an interesting debut that plays with the concept of freezing time.
Written by Lee Loughridge, Standstill #1 is an interesting debut of a series. The concept is rather simple, an individual steals a device that can freeze time and uses it in various ways. It’s a concept we’ve seen many times before, hell even an episode of The Simpsons featured it. But here, Loughridge delivers some mixed signals as to whether we should be cheering on our main rogue that is Ryker Ruel.
Ruel is described in the teaser as an “enigmatic, lecherous, and clinically insane sociopath,” but what Ruel does in the first issue makes us want to cheer him on. Bigoted bikers who have clearly done something wrong, a lecherous businessman, royalty, and more are the targets of Ruel’s ability. The device has been pilfered from the U.S. military, not exactly a group we could trust with such technology. So, who are we supposed to cheer for in the end? It’s a bit of a mixed message when it comes to that.
Still, Loughridge delivers Ryker’s acts with flair and a style that makes things interesting and entertaining. It’s all done in an extreme but at the same time doesn’t feel too extreme to distract. I fully expected a person to be thrown out of a plane as an example, and instead, the individual is humiliated in other ways.
Andrew Robinson‘s art delivers a style to it all that adds to the devious feel of Loughridge’s story. Ryker as a character is presented as a “cool” individual with an almost Bond like coldness about him. The only issue visually is the comic relies heavily on layouts over two pages and as I read it digitally, it’s not an optimal way to read the comic. Still, the comic visually looks solid and has a devilish playfulness about it when it comes to the art.
Standstill #1 is an entertaining start but it doesn’t really give us a reason as to why its main character should have the device taken away from him. Sure he’s causing some chaos, but it feels like justice against those that deserve it. It doesn’t make it’s case yet and if anything, readers come away cheering for what’s supposed to be the villain.
Story: Lee Loughridge Art: Andrew Robinson Letterer/Design: Rob Tweedie
Story: 8.0 Art: 7.75 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – Kindle
