The war between the Syndicate and the Union continues. It’s difficult to tell who truly has the upper hand. The Syndicate HAS conquered several Union territories over the course of the past few months. As they discuss things with Ms. Jemisin of the Union, they’re stepping over the corpses of her dead soldiers. One would think that would give the Syndicate the upper hand in Time Before Time #25. Writers Rory McConville and Declan Shalvey continue a story brought to the page by artist Geoffo and colorist Chris O’Halloran. The war drama continues to be dense, thick, and very, very ponderous as the war grinds on.

Fang asks Olivia if they have everything that they need from the smiling robot. Evidently, they do. They’re dragging the creepy little thing away when one of the guys working the truck tells them to get the hell away from it. Really loses his cool. They have no idea what set him off about the little robot. It’s just the sort of thing that goes on in a war across time, though. Things don’t always seem totally intelligible. The Syndicate seems to be too big to go up against for now, but that could change. And...maybe it already has...Jettie’s sister, Nadia, has shown up unannounced, claiming to have information.

The intrigue continues. It’s all...really, really thick stuff that really doesn’t need all the sci-fi and time travel to make it work. Seriously. The series has had its moments, but issue #25 would totally work without the science fiction elements...so it feels kind of like a weak political thriller with a little bit of family drama thrown in here and there. What’s more: it’s a dialogue-driven issue. The story doesn’t really benefit from the comic book format at all. The characters have been more interesting in the past. Recent events have taken their toll on everyone. 

War is hell. The constant tensions feel kind of overwhelming as everything progresses. Geoffo and O’Halloran capture the overall sense of fatigue that seems to be dominating everything. There’s a thick and heavy mood about the issue that seems to weigh everything down somewhat stylishly. One would think that a war between time travelers would have been more...bizarre and disjointed. Like maybe there might have been something new that might have filtered in to make it all seem that much more deadly. But it’s like Ron Perlman used to say: “War....war never changes.” 

Everybody in the ensemble’s just...in a mood. They’re having a bad day or week or year or...offensive or whatever. It’s just...the 25th issue of the series is overcome with such extreme...fatigue. Everyone’s just a little edgy. Maybe the series gets a chance to sleep until August, when the next issue comes out. Maybe everybody’s going to be a little bit better rested by then. It’s a good series. Really. Issue #25...just caught everyone on a bad month, is all.

Grade: C+