In LIFE IS STRANGE: PARTNERS IN TIME: TRACKS, available from Titan Comics on April 13th, 2021, Max and her collection of alternate reality friends begin a cross-country road trip while Tristan tries to unstick from reality so he can find a way to bring Max home.
The Details
- Written By: Emma Vieceli
- Art By: Claudia Leonardi
- Colors By: Andrea Izzo
- Letters By: Richard Starkings, Jimmy Betancourt
- Cover Art By: Claudia Leonardi
- Cover Price: $16.99
- Release Date: April 13, 2021
Was It Good?
It’s good if you’re a fan of the video game. If you’ve never played Life Is Strange, this volume does a stellar job with a few prologue pages to catch the reader up to what’s going on and who are the individual characters.
If you’re not a fan of the video game and just want an interesting comic to read, I cannot recommend this volume. You’ll either be lost or bored to tears or both.
Therefore, this volume is only a recommend for fans of the source material.
As a bonus, the art is pleasant and matches the tone and feel of the story. Check out our LIFE IS STRANGE: PARTNERS IN TIME: TRACKS preview here to take a look at the pages.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
Time-traveling Max is stuck in an alternate timeline and separated from her true love, Chloe. Tristan, the phase-shifter, is stuck in Max’s original timeline after a failed attempt to bring Max home. Tristan managed to make contact with Max’s Chloe to explain the situation, and Max made contact with alt-Chloe.
In both timelines, each group surmises following a traveling group of entertainers will put them on a parallel track that will keep them close enough to possibly intersect. Tristan is still woozy from jumping timelines and his powers are taking a long time to return. Max uses her time rewind powers only sparingly to avert disasters, and she does her level best to keep moving forward on the trip.
Eventually, alt-Chloe becomes frustrated with Max for making little time changes because those changes, albeit small, affect the lives of everyone around her. Tristan’s powers begin to come back in uncontrolled ways. As the volume draws to a close, Tristan appears to have his powers back, escalating the hope he can bring Max back home.
If it seems there’s not much to this review, it’s because there’s not much to the volume in terms of actual progress. There’s a lot of talking. There’s a lot of sharing of feelings. And a lot of each character coming to terms with their lot in life. But it’s all small individual moments that build relationships, doing very little to make progress in the overall plot.
That may sound like a negative, but it’s not. This volume is a very solid interpretation of the video game. Therefore, if you’re a fan of the game, you will like this volume. If you’ve never played the game, this will be a struggle to get through.
How Does It End?
Max rewinds at the best and worst possible time. Tristan is alone in a van full of passengers. And Pixie sees something she shouldn’t.
Final Thoughts
LIFE IS STRANGE: PARTNERS IN TIME: TRACKS, available from Titan Comics on April 13th, 2021, is as perfect a translation to the Life Is Strange video game as you can get. If you’re a fan of the source material, you’ll enjoy this thoroughly. Casual readers need not apply.
Score: 6/10
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