A grade school history teacher, looking for a respite from her life’s problems, finds the ultimate escape when the owner of a local winery reveals its secret to her: drink the right glass of wine in the right tasting room, and travel back in time to the year it was bottled. Together, they’ll journey through the history of the 200-year old winery… as well as their own.
Writing
Thomas F. Zahler is back again. With his new book, Time and Vine, the writer and artist once again finds a way to use comic books to tell more personal stories with characters. The concept of using wine as a time travel device is very unique and gives a lot of possibilities for what can be done with the series. .
There also is a bit of intrigue involving Jack and his late wife as both of the trips back to the past involve seeing her and lamenting about the follies in their relationship. Though he has rules against changing history and instead tries to use the bar as a way for others to relive moments of time, it seems there is a good chance the storyline could result in the timeline being distorted. Whatever the case, the concept is more than enough to get the audience interested in what’s to come.
Artwork
As stated, Thomas F. Zahler pulled double duty and does the art as well with Luigi Anderson taking care of the colors. The book has a similar look to the other pieces Zahler created like Love and Capes and Long Distance. Though the style is similar to what he has done before, the characters designs are new for this project and do not look like any of the other characters he has introduced in the past. It goes to show Zahler still has as few tricks up his sleeve as a creator.
Conclusion
This is the kind of series which is perfect for giving to your parents. Which is said with the utmost respect for the material. This is the kind of comic you give to a more mature reader who is under the disillusion graphic novels and comic books are only meant to tell superhero stories or are filled with nothing but violence and nudity. This is the type of series which allows somebody to tell personal stories they wish to tell in a unique way. It’s the start of something good and it’s easy to recommend someone to try at least a sip.
