"Oh God!"

Trillium #3
"Chapter 3: Telemetry"
Writer/Artist: Jeff Lemire
October 2013
Vertigo Comics

Jeff Lemire experiments with page layout presentation once again as a means of storytelling... and it's freaking awesome. The pages are upright and presented in a "normal" reading experience during Nika's scenes, whereas in William's story the pages are flipped, resulting in the reader needing to physically flip the comic in order to read it. It may seem simplistic and silly at first, but upon thinking about the choice to do this it is rather symbolic for their existences in two separate time periods (1917 and 3797). Duality is an important theme in this story and it is tackled masterfully by writer/artist extraordinaire Jerff Lemire (yes, he changed his name to Jerff).

I'm enjoying how the story being told keeps flipping back and forth: in the first issue, Nika and William's stories were told separately and met up in the final scene, and issue #2 told a story with both of them together. Now, in issue #3, the two have been separated and their current predicaments find them colliding through time and space to be reunited. The whole cat-and-mouse aspect is, while being an old trope, feels fresh in Trillium. Three issues in, I'm never quite sure what to expect of this series. With only five more to go, we're almost halfway there and I've yet to come up with any sort of prediction as to what is going to happen to Nika and William (and friends). Call it a poor imagination on my part or call it excellent storytelling on Lemire's part, this series is a mystery and a great one at that.

Downside up or upside down?

Jeff certainly packs in a lot of material within the twenty pages of Trillium #3. Nika's backstory is fleshed out just a little bit, with the reader being shown a brief sequence of her family's separation when she was a child. Surely this will be played out in future issues and will somehow save Nika during a time of trouble... This issue packs a lot of punch and feels like there's no filler; it's all meat with this story. Lemire doesn't waste any of the space on the pages for forgettable story elements; everything serves its purpose.

As for the art: do I really have to say anything? It's Jeff Lemire folks. While I can understand that his artwork is really hit or miss, I do think it needs to be taken into consideration that he has defined himself so well with his technique and style that no one else's artwork really looks like his. At least give the man credit where it's due. There is one page in particular that blew my mind: it's the double-page spread where Nika and William reunite. Not only is it a gorgeous piece of art but it's also such a strong and effective storytelling device. It's reminiscent of the first issue flip-book cover, which Trillium fans will surely never forget.