The Next Casualty -- CHRONOS

Based on the strength of John Francis Moore’s X-Force run, I went on a back issue spree a few months ago and picked up a full run of the short-lived Chronos series, which was written by Moore and penciled by Paul Guinan in the late ‘90s. I remembered this book from one of the many “Save _______ from Cancellation!” crusades I saw during my early days on the internet, and while I know nothing of the established Chronos of the DCU, I felt confident enough in the material to pick it up. And, no surprises, it’s quite an enjoyable book. The protagonist has a real personality, the premise is treated in an intelligent manner, and there’s no way to guess where the stories are going.

Not long after I finished the run, Comic Book Legends Revealed ran a feature revealing that the title wasn’t technically cancelled by DC in 1998. Writer John Francis Moore, citing numerous reasons, pulled the plug. Paul Guinan provided a surprisingly frank account of the behind-the-scenes issues plaguing the series at the time, which can still be found online (http://www.lby3.com/1998/09/17/times-up-for-chronos/). While this meansChronos wasn’t strictly cancelled for low sales (even though sales were apparently at cancellation level, DC still had faith in it), it’s still a short-lived ‘90s DC title, which means it fits my remit for this series. The revelation of the backstage problems just makes it even more interesting to review in hindsight. It’s not going to be an easy book to review, with the numerous time travel plots and multiple iterations of the main character, but I consider it a worthy challenge.