The Rocketfellers #1 Review: An Intriguing Time Travel Adventure

Time travel stories are classic. Tales of people going back and forward in time can be found in almost every type of media, often delivering stories of adventure as the characters find themselves in unfamiliar circumstances, often trying to find a way to not only survive but make their way back home as well. The Rocketfellers is one such story. Written by Peter J. Tomasi with art from Francis Manapul, The Rocketfellers takes on the idea of what might happen if you combined The Jetsons with something like Lost in Space or The Swiss Family Robinson, just with time travel thrown in — and with a manhunt of sorts and the fate of the future to up the stakes. And while the first issue doesn’t fully outline many of the details of why this adventure is happening or reveal too much about the titular family at the story’s center, The Rocketfellers #1 has just enough intrigue jet propel things forward for what could be a perfectly timed adventure.

The Rocketfellers #1, more or less, starts things in media res with readers being introduced to the family in the 25th century as things are starting to go south for them. The family — dad Roland, mom Rachel, kids Richie and Rae, and grandpa Rodney and grandma Rosie — is fleeing from an unexplained threat. While the adults are trying to keep things chill for the sake of the kids it is clear that something or someone is chasing them. The family is headed for a time pod but are being pursued by Chronex. Whatever the reason for the pursuit, it’s important enough Rosie is willing to sacrifice herself so everyone else can escape not to a place, but a time: the 21st century.

From there, the issue establishes what life in a “primitive” time is like for the Rocketfellers. Despite being in the 21st century for a year, they aren’t fully acclimating. They barely know their neighbors, they’re having a difficult time fitting in, and everyone is eager to head back home but aren’t able to just yet. Eventually, it’s revealed that they may not get to go home at all and, more than that, there is something mysterious that is the cause for all of the upheaval — and it is suggested that things might get worse, both in the future and the present.

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Overall, the issue is good. It’s a fun read and the art has a slightly retro, space-age quality to it that feels a little larger than life, making it fit well with the story. That said, The Rocketfellers #1 spends most of its time not revealing anything. It, in a sense, feels less like a comic book and more like a half hour episode of television meant to simply introduce the cast and general conceit without really diving into the story. With that in mind, the issue gives readers a sense for each of the members of the Rocketfeller family and their personalities as well as how they are adjusting — or not adjusting — to their new home. In terms of tension and forward motion, things really only start to get interesting in the last few pages when readers find out that things back in the future are still high risk and that there may not be a happy ending and while that is enough to make one want to turn the page for the next part — scheduled to come out in December — it feels like there could have been just a little more to the story offered here. Beyond that, however, there’s a freshness to the story that isn’t necessarily superhero-coded and just feels like an old school sci-fi story, something that there’s always more room for in comics.

While the story could use just a little more meat and we don’t get to know our characters perhaps as well as we might like just yet, The Rocketfellers #1 is a fun first issue that brings slightly kitschy sci-fi to life in a story that is as curious as it is centered in humanity. With solid art and plenty of questions, there is a lot to be interested in with just this first issue and it makes for an intriguing prospect going forward.

Published by: Image Comics

On: November 20, 2024

Written by: Peter J. Tomasi

Art by: Francis Manapul

Colors by: Francis Manapul

Letters by: Rob Leigh

Cover by: Francis Manapul