The Time Museum by Matthew Loux (review)

This fresh graphic novel series is off to a promising, mind-bending start as Delia learns that time travel exists and that she’s been chosen to compete to be an intern at the Earth Time Museum. She’s stunned to learn that her uncle is actually curator of this museum, and the surprises don’t end there as she is thrown into lessons, time travel experiences, and a mystery involving an unusual man who gives cryptic, perhaps harmful, perhaps useful clues. Though similar in each, the six competitors hail from drastically different time periods and locations (there’s a futuristic Japanese girl, a quippy boy from Ancient Rome, etc.), so they offer a lot of different access points for readers. Vivid, almost garish illustrations are effectively zippy, matching the lightning-fast text. Structured panels force slowing during key explanation points, which is helpful given the complexities of time travel, but for the most part, the science of it all is kept to a minimum, allowing for a primary tone of sheer adventure. Fans of Loux’s Salt Water Taffy books (The Legend of Old Salty, BCCB 3/09, etc.) will rejoice that this is a new series with all the same spirited, dynamic energy of his earlier graphic novels.