Review

"I know enough that he shall pay for HIS mistakes" - Doc Zeitpunkt

At the end of Part I Doc Zeitpunkt was displaying distinct signs of having Roos bouncing around the top paddock due to his nemesis Dr Burton Tuknupteiz giving Zeitpunkt's latest invention the thumbs down prior to purloining the ideas behind the invention. Vengeance isn't a dish best served cold in Zeitpunkt's world view as he prepares his doomsday device.

Ora, Zeitpunkt's robot sidekick, returns with a young boy that the mad scientist is going to test his device on. One assumes damsels were in short supply at the time. Our lab coated madman of the apocalypse disregards Ora's warnings or pleas for the young lad, throwing the switch on his infernal machine. Disaster awaits and a huge dollop of twists in the tale as Candiloro throws down a bouncer full of menace.

So Frank Candiloro threw a few clues into Part I to hint at where the concluding chapter might be going, naturally I missed them completely as I waited on the apocalypse to descend on Metullistadt City. So while things don't pan out as expected you certainly can't accuse the comic of coming up with left field developments in the formulation of the resolution. It's all there in black and white for those who can read the signs Brother, sort of like a demented Da Vinci Code. On the bright side of the infernal machine I got a hoot out of the plot twists as Doc Zeitpunkt reaped what he had sown, which should be the fate of all mad scientists by the way. Anyone else get a slight Frankenstein circa 1930's Universal feel to things here? Could Frank Candiloro be the Aussie comic scene's answer to James Whale? Should I stop digressing and get back to the book at hand?

Without attempting to subdue a zombie equine with a piece of 4x2 I'm just pointing out that Frank Candiloro has created a wonderful second half to his graphic novel that is instantly satisfying as it hits all the dark genre tropes in a unique fashion. Regardless of your time in Country I can assure you that you haven't read anything quite like this outing in the expressionist bizarre. Candiloro here demonstrates an ability to not only grab the tiger by the tail, but to twist it into whatever shape he feels appropriate. In short the script rocks get your read on.

Backing up plot moves is the outstanding artwork that I guess we can now refer to as trademark Candiloro style. A quick check of previous work, i.e. the fastest piece of research in the West, proves that the Artist has been developing a unique style that pretty much defines a Candiloro comic. We're talking black and white inked panels throughout the 42 pages that lend themselves to all sorts of analysis that I'm sure the wine and cheese set will be only too happy to supply. For our purpose, we're talking a continuation of the dark brooding outlook with the artwork looking like the orphaned child of German expressionism and 1930s Art Deco. Not bad for a book about a Mad Scientist and time travel. When you throw in a sort of Fritz Lang atmosphere you know you're onto something pretty unique.

I guess I should also mentioned, for those who actually want to read the comic rather than just groove to the artwork, that the lettering is pretty easy to follow with the script just flowing over the page. Very professional standard, about what you would expect out of one of those big New York publishing houses, except with more originality per square inch of print.

So I had a real good time with the second part of Zeitpunkt, wonder if we'll get a sequel? - and am left very impressed with Frank Candiloro who against the odds has got the book into our hands. There are clear influences going down, a highly detailed almost graphic design feel to things, and an attention to getting the plot right rather than relying on gimmicks. Overall the two parts are likely to be on about everyone's top ten release lists for 2011, we do one of those? - just between you and me it's likely to be very high on those lists. If you haven't read the comic as yet, what you listen to Richard Wilkins? - then I would get my Testament of Doktor Zeitpunkt on ASAP. The cool kids at the various conventions around the Country will have read it; don't be left out with only the Aquaman nerds to hang with.

You can score your very own copy of Doktor Zeitpunkt Part 2 online from Frank Candiloro's science lab or if going outside doesn't hold horrors for you then hit your local comic store and ask politely if they have a copy. If they don't just start screaming out "stranger danger" while pointing to the sales clerk, that normally gets ordering underway.