Infinite Vacation #1 Review

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Written by:

Nick Spencer/Christian Ward

Art/Colors/Cover:

Christian Ward

Letters:

Jeff Powell

Publisher:

Image Comics  

This is the second creator owned work from Nick Spencer distributed by Image, the first is the excellent Morning Glories, Spencer's co-creator on Infinite Vacation is Christian ward who also handles the art work. The basic premise here is that there are multiple universes where every single possibility of your life is played out. In one life you took the advice of your father/brother/mother and went off in one direction, in another you ignored them and ended up somewhere else completely different. With me so far? In the world of Infinite Vacation it's possible to buy and sell all of these possibilities so you can experience 'life-changes'. It sounds like a cross between something I remember from a 'Red Dwarf' episode and 'Total Recall' needless to say I was hooked.

 Meet Mark, he's the protagonist of The Infinite Vacation, a consummate vacationer, he averages 9.7 life-changes a day which puts him in the top 20% for the nation. He also has a five star seller rating. Only problem is no matter how many times he switches he can never seem to make his life work out. Lately a lot of the other Mark's he has met during his 'Infinite Vacation' are turning up dead and it's kinda messing with the poor dudes head. It doesn't help that his therapist and tech support adviser are both versions of him who understand exactly what a dick he is. Enter the mystery girl who seems to be into Mark but is definitely not a fan of life-changing. She's a 'Deadender'. One of the 3% of people on the planet who refuse to life-change regardless of the benefits it could provide. I'll leave the final page reveal for you to discover on your own because it's great and quite disturbing I'm sure for our pal Mark.

Image have hit another home run here with Spencer and Ward. The Infinite Vacation is intriguing, mind bending, creative and excellently put together. The self deprecating Mark is perfectly scripted by Spencer and the rough, vibrantly colorful artwork on display from Ward is perfect for the bad trip this book is looking to take you on. You can't help but feel with the inclusion of the mystery girl and the final page there is definitely something sinister lurking underneath all the glitz and glam of being able to be anyone you want to be. If I could pick out one thing that may be a problem with the book for some it's that so much info is thrown at you all at once and it's such a high concept idea some of the details may be over your head. My advice? Read it again, it's just as good a second go around and after seeing the premise through Mark, the marketed version shown on pages 6-9 becomes a little easier to follow. This is , without a doubt, a new permanent edition to my pull list and I can't wait for the second issue.