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Comic fans have been following Chuck Dixon's hard-hitting work for decades, as he's written everything from Batman to the Punisher, Airboy and G. I. Joe (among dozens of other titles).
These days he's kept busy with the excellent Wimterworld - but he's also made his mark writing novels, including a new series that fits right in to his bare knuckles approach.
The Bad Times series is a terrific combination of science fiction, historical adventure and modern military action all rolled into one fast-paced novel.
The first book (Cannibal Gold) established the rules of time-travel for an odd mix of scientists, engineers and former Soldiers.
Now cut off from their sponsor, the team must carve its own path in the world, and that begins with a journey to the Mediterranean and a hunt for a long-lost treasure.
That search lands the team in the middle of a different kind of warfare and a desperate fight for survival.
The story features some shocking twists and turns along the way and makes smart use of its premise.
One of the many things I like about the series is (perversely enough) that the modern-day explorers / fighters keep underestimating their ancestors. Considering the unforgiving world of those bygone days, we should give them a little more credit - and this series spells that out in spades.
A heck of a fun ride - part science fiction, part Punisher, part Conan!
I can’t wait to read the third volume!
Grade: A
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I’ve long been a fan of Chuck Dixon's work in comics - he's written approximately a million comics (only a slight exaggeration), including character such as Batman, Nightwing, the Punisher and Airboy, to name just a few.
So I was anxious to check out his newest series of novels, Bad Times.
It’s a rip-roaring love letter to science fiction, the military and blood-and-guts pulp adventures, all rolled into a fast-paced novel.
It tells the story of a secretive group of scientists who invent a sort of Time Tunnel (how I loved that TV show), but when their first exploration team goes missing, they hire a group of ex-Rangers to try a rescue.
What they find is a mind-boggling, overwhelming menace that will challenge their skills and their instinct for survival.
It’s one of those books that ends far too quickly (thank goodness the second volume is already available).
I won’t be surprised to hear that a canny film director - or videogame producer - or comics publisher - has snapped this up.
A bloody good time!
Grade: A
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