You may know Lee Loughridge as the colorist for big-time books like Deadly Class. But earlier this year, Loughridge dropped the colored pens for the writer’s pencil as he lead up the mostly entertaining MidState. While that book was clearly the work of a first-time writer, it also had enough humor, novelty, and personality to feel as if Loughridge had the makings of a second career at hand.
And Standstill solidifies that (mostly).
Whereas MidState had a little more creativity in its premise, Standstill sees Loughridge tackle a story about someone who can stop time. (And also happens to be a bit of sociopath to boot.) Sure, we’ve seen this plot device used a thousand times (and arguably in peak form with Sex Criminals), but Loughridge is clever enough to have a hook, with the solicitations asking, “If you could stop time, what wouldn’t you do?” Is it a little hokey? Maybe. Could it possibly just be marketing chicanery? Sure. But it at least gets at what makes Standstill appealing so early on, as it tries to be more than just a mere sci-fi story.
More specifically, Standstill is a kind of revenge tale that uses that time-stopping trick as a plot device. It’s how Ryker Ruel, our aforementioned sociopath, is able to sow discourse worldwide. And that will inevitably put him into conflict with Colin Shaw, the time device’s creator. I’m down any time a story boils down to mano a mano battles of fists and wits (see Face/Off), and the Shaw-Ruel confrontation is potentially interesting for a few different reasons.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
One, as I touched on briefly, it gives us maximum conflict, and it respects people and their potential storytelling heft over any time-manipulating wristwatch. Similarly, I’m enjoying the idea that, as the book sets out early on, Shaw is the one struggling with his personal life, while Ruel is basically living it up as an agent of chaos in a Tommy Bahama shirt. That raises all sorts of juicy questions and multifaceted conflict between the two.
And to really make the most of it, the debut issue is paced out perfectly to let these two tell their own stories and really build up the conflict when it finally does happen. (Eight issues seems like the perfect length for a story like this one.) It’s a revenge thriller wearing a different hat, and it respects that nebulous identity so far to feel like we’re setting up something big and bloody that’s really going to delve into that premise/hook about how far we’d really go in making the life we really want for ourselves.
Still, as much potential as the book’s story has, so much of Standstill #1’s inherent power will likely come from artist Andrew Robinson (with Loughridge also serving as colorist). Robinson has this wonderfully timeless, pulp-leaning style that expertly builds the core pillars of this world. If we’re making a revenge story, all these noir-y vibes are so deeply important in setting the mood and tone, and here we’re wading around a Raymond Chandler novel by way of some Hollywood blockbuster.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
The people and designs, especially, just draw you in with the right balance of grit and sex appeal — it’s the kind of dirty place you want to explore, and that melding of magic and filth is easy to traverse. It gives us something real and textured to hold on to, and whether it’s a seedy bar or even a cramped airplane, you just want to see what lies ahead.
But it’s more than just a world that looks good enough to drop yourself into. There’s some other key features of Standstill‘s visual presentation that add to its early prowess. The way time “travel” is captured, for instance, is really great — it removes a lot of the sci-fi hullabaloo you might expect and instead feels sudden, abrupt, and almost silently violent. And that’s what we need to feel unsettled by this development and to treat it with the caution and intensity that it deserves.
When the time device does have a more profound visual presence — Ruel absolutely dresses down some clown — it almost acts as a highlight. It shows the significance not just of the moment (which makes a slightly passing gimmick feel more significant), but it demonstrates who Ruel truly is. It’s a bright, beaming circle on the kind of odd morality he has, and what informs his actions and penchant for violence. It’s a tight, efficient way to regard the time travel hook, and to contextualize it in a way that makes it feel significant without overwhelming the human drama and tension that made Standstill #1 actually impressive.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
And, of course, we have to mention Loughridge’s own color. On the one hand, it’s a nice addition to Robinson’s work — the pair have a cohesiveness and a shared aesthetic that feels really apparent across issue #1. That connectivity is great in building this world in a way that things remain consistent and married to larger ideas and objectives even as this book has the space to try a few directions before it settles. (By that I mean, the story does feel quite solid already, but there could be tweaks and changes, for the better and/or worse, that reframe the whole thing.)
Plus, Loughridge on colors is a subtle way to extend his work as the writer, and to have another means to set the tone and mood in a way not every other writer gets the chance. He uses that “power” to not just make a good looking book but to draw attention to certain ideas, define a character without saying a word, and lean into certain influences and inspiration as a framework.
Are there other, more significant downsides to Standstill #1? Sure. The ending feels a little abrupt, and not in a way that makes me excited (more like, “Huh, that’s an interesting choice for a closing shot.”) I’m also a little worried that, if issue #2 isn’t an oversized, 60-page offering, this book may not have the time and space needed to continue its slow build and to give enough pages to the conversations and context that’s helped it excel thus far.
But I’m optimistic about Standstill, and both Loughridge and Robinson are onto something that could be a powerful tale of revenge and humanity that has just enough magic and whimsy to feel interesting. If it can lean into what’s worked so far, and avoid those downfalls, then time may truly be on Standstill‘s side.
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