THE ARGUS #3, from Source Point Press on December 21st, 2022, hits the big reset button as a weapon of last resort for Randall to stop 96 from destroying the timeline. Will the reset work or will a reset make things worse?
The Details
- Written by: Mark Bertolini
- Art by: Darryl Knickrehm
- Colors by: Darryl Knickrehm
- Letters by: Darryl Knickrehm
- Cover art by: Darryl Knickrehm
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: December 21, 2022
Is It Good?
THE ARGUS #3 takes the mind-boggling time adventure up a few notches in the imagination department by giving Randall a chance to reset everything and stop 96 from going insane in the first place. Bertolini’s script deserves credit for conceptualizing what Time looks like and for taking Randall’s adventure to unexpectedly weird places. That said, the weirdness gets confusing very fast.
The bright spot in Bertolini’s script is the bizarre, imaginative conceptualization of Time as a place and a living entity at the same time. Darryl Knickrehm brings the bizarre conceptualization to life with organic textures, creepy tentacles, and places within spaces that allow Randall to see Time without being a part of Time.
That said, this issue struggles with keeping its story (and its art) straight. Randall hits the big reset button to make everything right, but then there are at least two role reversals and bait-and-switches that completely upend what you understood was going on. But the story doesn’t explain what’s really going on, only that what you thought was going on… isn’t.
If that confusion sounds confusing, that’s because reading the issue was confusing, which is not what readers want with an already fragile concept.
The art design and renderings are still very good, barring the one criticism that’s persisted throughout this series. All Argus members are Randalls from different points in time. In theory, they should all look like Randall but younger or older. Here, Randall revisits himself just before this adventure starts, and yet, two versions of Randal, separated by only a few minutes, don’t look alike and don’t recognize each other in the scene. Unfortunately, this is a case of the art actively working against the story’s concept, and it keeps taking you out of the story.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our THE ARGUS #2 review to find out how far 96 is willing to go to end everything.
We begin with the introduction of “the reset” as a way to set things right. Only Randall can push the big button, and if it works, he can stop 96 before he gets sucked into the timestream and loses his mind. Without any options left, Randall pushes the button and arrives at the gunfight just before 96’s disappearance.
The accident that pulls 96 into the timestream happens again, but Randall dives into the portal with 96. Suddenly, the two find themselves sitting in a large cube while a writhing mass of tentacles creeps and crawls along the walls, wanting to expel them. 96 somehow knows Randall pushed the button and that he doesn’t know what’s really going on. Randal’s only shot for clarity is to go back to himself and stop him from completing the formula.
We conclude the issue with multiple Randys, a secret plan, and more tentacles.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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THE ARGUS #3 takes the time-traveling adventure to weird and esoteric places when Randall takes a trip into Time itself. The plot is imaginative, and the art is generally good, but the plot twists make a fragile plot significantly more confusing, and the art choices increase the confusion.
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