Time Waits

Time Waits #1-3

by Chip Zdarsky, David Brothers, Marcus To (Illustrator)

Join Chip Zdarsky, David Brothers, and Marcus To for a sci-fi adventure that defies expectation and time itself!

Meet Blue, a man trapped in the past, which is our present. Sent back in time for a mission he could not bring himself to complete, the former soldier Blue builds a life with Grace, the Sheriff of a small rural town. The pair build a foundation of happiness on a history of bloodshed, far away from the trigger-happy corporate overlords that used Blue as a human gun.

After ten years together, Blue and Grace are on the cusp of taking the next step in their adoption. Before Grace can fully convince Blue to expand their family, the future comes calling. The overlords want their first deserter and to complete the mission Blue could not. They have one simple rule: kill anyone who stands in their way.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Hardcover

Published April 2, 2025

About the author

Chip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's hard to stand out in the crowd with a time travel story.
this nearly did....focus divided between personal matters and blowing things up.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Time travelers from a corporate dystopia fight over a MacGuffin and the morality of killing people some fifty years before their present time. The protagonist splits his time between action scenes his soldiering past keep bringing around and the domestic future he's trying to build with family and friends.

Individual pages are well-drawn and well-written, but in the end I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the sound and fury. The relationships are good enough, but the plot just seems sloppily assembled and ready to fall apart under the slightest scrutiny.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contains material originally published in single magazine form as Time Waits #1-3.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

After several disappointing Dstlry titles where the authors deliver superb artwork but neglect the storyline, I am here rewarded by both.

Time Waits is a very enjoyable time travel series that doesn't give you a headache. The storyline is simple and trusts the reader to understand between the lines, avoiding any over-explanation. The characters are only sketched out, but enough to make them immediately endearing and make you care about what happens to them.
The action takes centre stage with classic scenes—the attack on the police station, for example—but they are all dynamic and very well executed.
The pacing of the plot is very good, with effective cinematic use of ellipses—Blue's loss of consciousness—and well-managed scene/era changes.

In short, this is a very good sci-fi action series, enhanced by the beautiful presentation of the Dstlry books.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read one time-traveling soldier story, you certainly know what's going to happen in Time Waits. Mission goes bad, soldier stays behind in the past, starts a family, but uh-oh wouldn't you know it, the future isn't done with him.

The pacing and dialogue are decent and the artwork is solid. It's a well-crafted piece even if it's endlessly derivative.

[Micah Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

There nothing revolutionary here and the ending feels a bit rushed, but it’s still got that incredible balance of high-concept, sentimentality, and action that the best creators use the format of comics to tell stories in such a unique way.

[Kelley May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool premise.

[Valéria. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 - it has pretty cool premise, but I was not okay with some stuff happening there, it felt rushed a bit and the way the villain dropped his revenge quest so suddenly felt kinda weird. It has really sweet moments though, great action too.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, good moments and liked the art, but not something I think will stick with me very long.

[Nicko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love me some Chip. So when I heard that he was going to be doing a JOHN WICK-esque trope-y type book mixed with some sci-fi, I was so excited. And I think this book turned out perfectly fine — but I think it just would’ve benefitted with at least an issue or two more. The version that’s in this book I think is the most safest told version of the story. I would’ve liked to have seen more backstory, a little more to make us sympathetic for Wyatt other than “you ruined my life”. I also thought the seeds and having Blue give them up felt like they didn’t quite know what to do with it. Lastly, I know time travel, despite it being one of my favorite genres, can be an automatic set up for failure especially when you overcomplicate it and start to play with its rules — I just would’ve liked to have seen the future versions of Blue and his family more developed other than in his “time headaches”. It would’ve made the ending much more felt. Anyway, that being said, the book and its story works perfectly fine for what it is. Lastly for real this time, I loved Marcus To’s art.

[Jason Holtzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well-crafted read! It isn't anything groundbreaking, but I think the fact that it stands entertaining on its own in a field full of other time travel books speaks for itself. The emotional core is balanced very well with the action, and it's clear that everyone involved has a good understanding of story creation. I think the ultimate resolution feels a little rushed, but I appreciate the protagonist's defiance.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most original of stories, but a fun way to pass the time. A soldier from the future is trapped in the past, settling down with the local sheriff and starting a family. But his corporate overlords can't let his perceived disobedience go unpunished and so...all sorts of time travel shenanigans take place. The art's good, the story fast-moving, but there's really nothing here you haven't seen before.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good start but loses it’s way and doesn’t feel like Zdarsky & Brothers had a clear idea where they were going with this and by the end I was pretty much past caring.

The Red v Blue element is also awfully heavy handed.

To’s art does its job well but I don’t think it made the most of the oversized format

[Woowott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Issue #1--Thoroughly delighted.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the large format and premise- excited for more!

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like this series but I don't feel it's a keeper.
Well written and illustrated. Nice colouring.
Just doesn't have something that grips me.
Well.worth a read.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing setup. I love time travel.

[Chris Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love everything DSTLRY are doing and the format the hardcovers come in. This was definitely not bad but just not really my cup of tea.

[Alyssa]

Good graphics. Interesting storyline of a person from time travel.

[John Stockton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Killer story, great art, enjoy it for what it is!!!

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really well done time travel action story. Art is really beautiful and the action is always clear and dynamic.

[Edd Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Mediocre 4/5 Sci-Fi Thriller about an ex-special forces time traveler finding family.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a great, charming adventure story.
Thanks to Fulton County Public Library for the loan.

[Zaynab]

I feel like I keep reading comics that are just not that good, and I have a few theories about that. But either way, it's unfortunate.

[Wm · Rating 5 out of 5]

All 3 issues - 5 stars