One Coin Reads 23: Infinity 8, volume five, by Lorenzo de Felici, Lewis Trondheim, and Davy Mourier

Infinity 8, volume five, by Lorenzo de Felici, Lewis Trondheim, and Davy Mourier

2017, English edition 2019

Normally, you shouldn't jump into an eight-volume series with volume five, but for a sci fi book about a temporal loop with a different artist and different lead character on each volume, it shouldn't matter.

There is a Captain America vibe to this character

This is yet another of the discount Lion Forge Magnetic Collection books I've picked up. At worst, they've all been pretty good, and at best, great. This one is different in tone to those in that it's science fiction, but I thought it a relatively safe risk. It's decent, but I probably like it the least out of all the ones I've read. It's an action story that's well done, but it doesn't seem to have as much below the surface as the other ones.

This guy can draw

The concept behind it is strong: a massive spacecraft is stuck between galaxies due to an anomaly, and Protocol 8 is put into effect. This protocol involves setting up eight timeline probabilities for eight super agents to investigate. Each of the volumes features a different agent and artist, with co-writer Lewis Trondheim keeping the stories harmonious with one another. It's a very cool idea for a series. 

I like the detail of her saluting her watch

This book features agent and mother Ann Ninurta who performs her job regardless of risk to herself. She carries a shield that doubles as a weapon and a hoverboard. She also endures what we'd call sexual harassment, but is treated in the world of the book as part of the job.

There's so much room in sci-fi to explore variations on inter-personal work space

Early in the book, she gets her mission to investigate an unexplained occurrence at a space-graveyard, and from there, the book is a non-stop sci-fi zombie rollercoaster.

Not a scene in the book but a pin up reflecting the contents

The art in the book is good. I especially like the colors. It has a tone of Jamie Hewitt, and the coloring is reminiscent of Jerome Opeña at times. The action is clear.

In the book notes, the artist notes on Ann's creation, he wanted a strong, attractive character without having her be sexualized. He gave her a shield like Captain America that could be used like the hoverboard from Back To the Future II. He's having fun with this, it's meant to be light.

That's a bit like Jerome Opeña, right?

The writing is good. It's a sort of "into the frying pan into the fire" kind of vibe, with Ann going from one deadly situation to the next. Where the book explains what's going on, my eyes glazed over and I filtered it out. Like so much sci fi, it can read like gobbledygook, but some readers might appreciate it more than me. But they manage to create a number of distinct locales in a small pocket of the galaxy.

More and more, it's the silent passages in stories which tell stories effectively for me, where characters show, they don't tell

Whether I would pay $20 each for all eight volumes to see how it all comes together is another thing. I liked this, but I wasn't dying to read more. It strikes me as being like a Marvel or DC crossover, but at half the length and double the price. Maybe it's a home run when read as a whole, but it's a heck of an investment for a new single story. I am interested in checking out another volume or two though. It's an interesting concept to build a story around, and maybe another book would add a layer to this one.