Geiger #23 // Review
Tariq is crumpled-up on the suburban grass. He’s seeing his family for the first time in a long time. They thought he was in the hospital. Actually...he was in the apocalypse. He’s time-traveled. So naturally he’s going to be more than a little bit disoriented. But that doesn’t mean that he isn’t going to be happy. It’s a moment of bliss, but it’s destined to be very, very short in Geiger #23. Writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank continue an appealing science fiction serial that’s only getting more interesting as things progress. Colorss comes to the page courtesy of Brad Anderson.
Tariq is embracing his family on the front lawn before the apocalypse. He’s not supposed to be there, though. He’s suppose to be somewhere else entirely. And so a blinding, white light appears in the sky. He’s pulled into it only to find himself reappearing...in an office on Friday, August 36th. The Northerner is there. The lettering on the glass door to the office reader “DHP.” Geiger is understandably quite upset. He kicks-in the door of the office and investigates. It’s a small space. There isn’t much to see. Then the phone rings...
Johns expands and expounds on the mysteries that he’s been delivering to the page in a captivating 23rd issue. The surreal nature of time travel is given all the more intensity in an issue that is largely placed in a tiny, little vintage office with a cat bed, a rotary phone and a page-a-day calendar that always displays the same day. The surreal nature of the drama might have a tendency to distance the narrative from any kind of emotional gravity, but Johns centers the story on the interpersonal turmoil of the title character with such extreme precision and efficiency that the surrealism doesn’t seem like an obstacle.
A suburban front lawn. A tiny, little mid-20th century office. A couple of guys. Johns isn’t making it easy to draw much visual appeal out of the script. Frank does a brilliant job of making it all look...almost stunning in its own way. There are some really interesting decisions being made regarding the framing of the drama. Of particular note is the overhead shot of Geiger, Barney and the Northerner entering the office. It’s not often in ANY narrative visual medium that the viewer is placed at a 90 degree angle to the ground. By doing this, Frank makes the surreal simplicity of the office breathtakingly vivid. It’s impressive stuff.
Plot elements continue to rattle around the page chaotic. However, there's definitely a design behind it all that Johns is delivering to the page with delicious precision. The elements that the author is working with feel very familiar. But they're placed on the page in a way that makes it also very, very interesting. Little moments of happiness like the one the title character entered into early on in the issue. Continue to dangle just enough incentive for the realtor to feel something other than complete hopelessness. It’s just enough to keep the pages turning for another issue.
