Standstill #3: Time For Cruelty

What wouldn’t you do if you could stop time? In Ryker Ruel’s case, the answer seems to be “Almost nothing.” Standstill’s time-stopping main character grows still more selfish and malevolent in Standstill #3.

Ryker plays the good samaritan, saving a bike riding child from being run over in Standstill #3. But the rest of his actions turn darker as the issue goes on. His visit to a rich socialite/television star is downright cruel even by his standards. Meanwhile, Colin races against time (no pun intended) to rebuild his time stopping device so that he can find the person who stole the original.

Standstill #3 loses some of the series’ charm as Ryker’s behavior grows even more extreme. His strange sense of humor bordered on the sadistic from the beginning, but he morphs into savage cruelty. Where his actions early on, motivated by vengeance on the part of people who were harmed (or simple comeuppance to people acting like jerks), helped keep him likable, his behavior here is less understandable and somewhat off putting.

Balancing Ryker’s descent into unsympathetic territory, though, is Colin’s growing prominence. He remains largely a blank slate as a character, considerably less developed than Ryker who seemed to be the series’ protagonist in the first issue. But his frenetic dialogue as he tries to recreate the stolen time stopping device keeps him compelling. Colin’s story more so than Ryker’s creates the need to turn the page. Ryker’s story is carried more by morbid curiosity in Standstill #3 than anything else.

Potential story deficiencies in this series are easily accommodated for, though. Standstill #3 benefits from visual storytelling the same way previous issues did. The two page layout gives the impression that the story is constantly in motion–constantly advancing. Colin’s dialogue benefits considerably from these wider panels.

The wide panels also let Robinson get close on important characters without losing surroundings or bystanders. Much of Ryker’s character is communicated visually. As he walks down a street accumulating accessories from passers-by, his smile conveys true malevolence in a way that it originally. This is in keeping with the growing sense of cruelty about him in Standstill #3.

This level of detail considerably helps Colin’s scenes as well. As noted, he doesn’t possess much depth at this point beyond needing to recreate the time stopping device so that he can stop the person who stole the original. Robinson’s ability to get close on Colin and his companion in the wide panels lets him use detailed shading to bring out emotion. Robinson’s art adds a sense of urgency to Colin’s actions and attitude, further reinforcing the urgency that underscores that story thread.

Loughridge’s coloring adds significant depth to Riker’s scenes out in public in Standstill #3. Several panels both on the street and in a coffee shop offer a more inclusive pulled back look at the scene rather than close in on Riker or other characters. For instance, multiple panels in the coffee shop give a few of most of its interior. Loughridge fades his colors on objects, people, and background as he goes further from the panel’s starting point of view. The coloring opens up the scenes considerably.

Standstill’s two-page layouts offer Tweedie a lot of space to comfortably fit in dialogue. Even so, he does a good job staying out of the way of the artwork. His dialogue placement never interferes with the expansive layout and the fast pace it produces.