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RetroActive
An agent working for the U.S. Bureau of Temporal Affairs sets out to discover the source of several anomalies in the timeline—only to become imprisoned in an inescapable time loop.
Temporal agent Tarik Abdelnasser is trapped in a time loop, living and dying over and over again.
The discovery of time travel is unknown to the general public, but a new Cold War rages between global intelligence agencies as they attempt to alter historical events in favor of their respective futures. When new intel points the U.S. Bureau of Temporal Affairs (BTA) toward a hostile anomaly in the past, veteran field agent Tarik Abdelnasser and his new partner, Lucia Olmos, are dispatched to investigate. They discover a radical adversary wielding a new technology that could unravel everything the BTA fights to maintain.
As Tarik gets closer to the truth, he finds himself trapped in a time loop where an imminent terrorist attack, and his own death, trigger the day to restart. He must keep his sanity intact and find a way to prevent the attack, escape the loop, and return to his own timeline to thwart the destruction of the BTA and everyone inside of it.
Temporal agent Tarik Abdelnasser is trapped in a time loop, living and dying over and over again.
The discovery of time travel is unknown to the general public, but a new Cold War rages between global intelligence agencies as they attempt to alter historical events in favor of their respective futures. When new intel points the U.S. Bureau of Temporal Affairs (BTA) toward a hostile anomaly in the past, veteran field agent Tarik Abdelnasser and his new partner, Lucia Olmos, are dispatched to investigate. They discover a radical adversary wielding a new technology that could unravel everything the BTA fights to maintain.
As Tarik gets closer to the truth, he finds himself trapped in a time loop where an imminent terrorist attack, and his own death, trigger the day to restart. He must keep his sanity intact and find a way to prevent the attack, escape the loop, and return to his own timeline to thwart the destruction of the BTA and everyone inside of it.
136 pages, Paperback
First published April 26, 2022
7 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 13, 2022
James Bond does time travel. I was enthralled by this and read it in one sitting. It's about a time travel agent who realizes that no government should have access to time travel after seeing how it's abused. It's all done very well and the different time periods dovetail into one another nicely. Moustafa's art has a European comics flair to it.
November 27, 2021
Secret services all over the world have the power to travel through time - the US has the US Bureau of Temporal Affairs, set in a building where lift-like compartments are the time machines an agent has to enter to travel back in time.
The US Bureau of Temporal Affairs changes some occurrences, and others not - why some things are left untouched, and others are changed, is unclear to the agents, they are just following orders. You can probably see where this is going.
There's some interesting play with time travel tropes, while the main character slowly starts to doubt the purpose of the US Bureau of Temporal Affairs.
The art is European in style, it's not very special, but tells the story well.
3.5 stars
(Thanks to Humanoids for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
The US Bureau of Temporal Affairs changes some occurrences, and others not - why some things are left untouched, and others are changed, is unclear to the agents, they are just following orders. You can probably see where this is going.
There's some interesting play with time travel tropes, while the main character slowly starts to doubt the purpose of the US Bureau of Temporal Affairs.
The art is European in style, it's not very special, but tells the story well.
3.5 stars
(Thanks to Humanoids for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
May 23, 2023
Ibrahim Moustafa is a force to reckon with. No doubt about it as he proves it over and over again. In RetroActive he's taking all the time travel cliches and puts them together into a unique adventure which manages to blow our minds, yet stay within logic (as much as time travel stories allow that). Think of "Timecop" meets "Predestination". I love the details he put into Tarik, when he talks to his mother and mixes English and Arabic, something you'll often hear. Fun adventure with good art and great writing.
May 19, 2022
A fine comic in one of my favorite categories (time travel). This time around we're the temporal police, setting right what once was wrong, but not changing history (except when it's convenient to). It's a nice look at the politics of time travel and we get some enjoyable timey-wimeyness along the way. There's a crucial bit to the "science" that's introduced a bit too late, and a bit too fuzzily, to keep the plot strong, but that just keeps it from excelling: it's still a well worthwhile read.
November 17, 2024
This book is a masterclass in concise, exciting science fiction storytelling. Absolutely spectacular!
June 19, 2022
At first i was afraid im not going to like it but it grow on me as the story and the action progressed .
May 29, 2025
Meh, listen , no one will do time travel better than ‘groundhog day’.
The more technical the story the more ridiculous. The “time travel “ element is like parsley on a steak, point is, no one cares if the parsley is good or not! So focus on the story and the art. I think the writer may have put to much energy in the wrong places.
2.5 rounded up for POC✌🏽
The more technical the story the more ridiculous. The “time travel “ element is like parsley on a steak, point is, no one cares if the parsley is good or not! So focus on the story and the art. I think the writer may have put to much energy in the wrong places.
2.5 rounded up for POC✌🏽
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September 14, 2022Solid time travel gubbins
Time travel never really makes sense, but you can make a good story if you establish the rules and stick to them. Ibrahim does this well; despite jumping around in time, there is a simple concept to anchor the reader, and the story plays out well.
Time travel never really makes sense, but you can make a good story if you establish the rules and stick to them. Ibrahim does this well; despite jumping around in time, there is a simple concept to anchor the reader, and the story plays out well.
July 8, 2024
I don't like time travel stories, because they are rarely done well. This comic is the exception that proves the rule. A dedicated time travel agent starts to question his job when confronted with an adversary from the future.
May 8, 2022
A smart, original time travel action-adventure story that’s great the first time you read it and so, so satisfying the second time through.
June 13, 2022
Excellent and well worth your time! (See what I did there?)
December 16, 2022
Indie comics and time travel are two of my favorite niches.
December 30, 2022
Like all good time travel pieces, this story is full of great loops and confusions as the characters work their way through the timey-wimey details.
March 9, 2024
That ending though…
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews