Co-creators Benito Cereno and Graeme MacDonald offer up a zany science-fiction comedy that casts a couple of historical figures in a buddy action movie. The tone of the comedy here is the sort of thing one might expect from Matt (Rex Mantooth) Fraction, or from Transmetropolitan writer Warren Ellis, if he'd suffered some kind of stroke that instilled a goofier tone in his scripts. Cereno asks the reader to sit back, relax and stop taking everything around him so seriously, and MacDonald boasts an exaggerated style that's playful and full of energy. I hope it isn't long before we see more of the Bully Pulpit and its creators.
Teddy Roosevelt has come into possession of a time machine, and he's set off into the future to find adventure. There's just one problem: it travels through time and not space, but fortunately, Teddy teams up with the ghost of Thomas Edison to rectify the situation. Teddy's misinterpretation of America's history after his presidency leads them to South America, where they discover that Hitler's descendant is plotting to take over the world. Just not this one.
MacDonald's style here could be described as a cross between the works of Jim (Bad Ideas) Mahfood and Todd (Wildguard) Nauck. The character designs are simple but striking, and Riley's colors are vibrant, reinforcing the lighter tone that dominates -- hell, defines -- the book. MacDonald's thick-lined approach brings a couple of important qualities to the book. First of all, it reinforces the oddball tone of the book; there's no effort to attain a sense of realism here. Furthermore, it adds a dynamic and powerful quality to the characters. They're goofy, yes, but also larger than life.
The plotting is ludicrous, and the script acknowledges it. Logic be damned, says Cereno. This is about fun. There's a Silver Age sensibility to the pseudo-science here, but the script acknoledges none of it makes sense. More modern, mature sensibilities are cast aside, but at the same time, there's a raw quality to the story as well. The script is clever too, foreshadowing a twist in the ending and criticizing genre conventions at the same time.
What's most enjoyable about this book is how the writer plays around with the two main characters. Teddy is a rogue here, not so much a hero with a strong moral center, but an adventurer who's bored out of his mind. Edison's dialogue boasts a 21st century tone, and it's such a bizarre fit for the character that it adds to the entertainment. Cereno throws the reader off by instilling the two protgaonists with personalities that are completely different than what one might expect.
