The Twilight Zone #5: Review

The Twilight Zone has been around long enough that most geeks already know what to expect — a morality tale with a bit of horror, a bit of sci-fi, and an abrupt pivot that (ideally) will make your skin crawl. Well, J. Michael Straczynski has just switched the script. And so far, so good.

Here’s the official word from Dynamite:

For three years, Diana Tyler has been working at a small cafe in the shadow of Wall Street, putting in long hours to pay for her college education. She’s level headed, strong, not given to flights of fancy…until the day when she suddenly finds herself able to listen in on the thoughts of other people. Suddenly a new world is revealed to her, with mysteries and wonders and an unforeseen threat that could mean the death of millions.

The Twilight Zone has always been, essentially, a series of one-shots — strange-ass tales that are meant to act like single-servings on the airplane; you eat one and move one. Well, Straczynski is doing something new here, and it ain’t that bad. After wrapping up his last arc (which ran one issue long if you ask me), Straczynski introduces a new tale that features a throw-away character from that original arc — a bodega girl who served the protagonist coffee, and, we learn, has suddenly gained the ability to see the future. While it’s too early to tell how and if this new story will merge with the old, Straczynski’s characterization of Diana Tyler is compelling enough that I want to keep on reading. And see what the hell is going on.

Guiu Vilanova’s art (which initially drove me a little nuts with its overly posed panels) has really loosened up with issue #5 and become…enjoyable. It’s almost as though Vilanova has finally gotten used to the characters — a side effect, no doubt, of being deeper into this series.

Overall, the second arc of the Twilight Zone is off to a beautiful start. And I hope it stays that way.