Time travel has shifted from novelty to major narrative device in Dynamite’s new Miss Fury reboot. And after some less than stellar issues where reader’s were left wondering what the hell was going on with heroine Marla Drake, this new shift is welcomed. And makes for a very strong issue #6.

Here’s the official word from Dynamite:

Miss Fury’s journey through time has ended. But when she returns to “her” Manhattan, she finds that her lover, Captain Chandler, has disappeared. Did he ever exist at all, and if not, what does that say about her sanity? And how do the Crusades-era knights fit into the puzzle?

Until just recently the central mystery behind Miss Fury was this: has socialite Marla Drake really become unstuck in time? Or is she just fucking nuts? And for a while, this seemed like a real mystery. Writer Rob Williams had crafted a narrative that toggled between an alternate 2013 where Nazis covertly run Washington DC, and a more familiar 1943 where war tensions run high. But then the narrative sorta drifted off topic; Williams got distracted with his time-travel tricks and Marla’s characterization took a back seat. And so did the mystery. But then came issue #5, where Williams’ pulled back the curtain and revealed this: Marla isn’t nuts at all — the Nazis *had* built a whirlpool-like time machine. And she got sucked in by mistake.

The revelation (and resolution) of this initial mystery seems to have liberated Rob Williams to build the character again and offer a new set of mysteries. In issue #6 he no longer seems beholden to teasing us with the same old “what-if” or “how-the-hell” questions. Instead, issue #6  is pure Matrix-style story-telling with parallel worlds, time portals, and…yes…Crusades-era knights. It’s still too early to tell if this new direction will pay off, but it’s nice to finally know all the rules and players. And it’s definitely more fun to read.

Marcio Abreu provides illustration for #6; his style is a bit sketchy and a bit more rigid than what Miss Fury readers have been used to in the past. While it’s a departure from the hyper-detailed art of issues past, it still reads true.

Miss Fury #6 provides a breath of fresh air. For a title that was heading south a few months ago, issue #6 provides a strong upswing.

4/5