Writer: Peter J Tomasi
Artist: Francis Manapul
Colorists: Francis Manapul, John Kalisz & Ian Herring
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Cover Artist: Francis Manapul
Designer: Steve Blackwell
Editor: Brian Cunningham
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $14.99
Release Date: September 10, 2025
When does your life begin? With your birth, your first big job, marriage, or a singular achievement? The Rocketfellers’ story starts in the 25th Century, as they race to evade their pursuers. Yet their lives begin anew when they travel back in time. How will this future family find life in the 21st Century? And why did they have to flee the era of their birth? Let’s leap into The Rocketfellers TP Vol 1 and see!
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Story
After remaking their lives in Olympia, Washington, the Rocketfellers invite the neighbors over for a meet-and-greet. A BBQ on Thanksgiving may be unusual, but Roland recognizes the need to get to know his neighbors as he flips the burgers. The wives and mothers gather around Rachel. They pepper her with questions about handsome Harry Helicopter, who Rachel flies above the city each morning for his traffic reports.
Rodney is getting up in years, but he intrigues the older ladies by mentioning his age and his military service. Richie makes new friends in the pool. His little sister, Rae, offers umbrellas in case it rains. The Rocketfellers TP Vol 1 introduces readers to a loving, supportive family. Yet Peter J Tomasi’s story reveals how they are suffering.
Rose’s death plagues them most. But aside from leaving Rodney’s wife and Roland’s mother behind, they also miss the 25th Century. Leaving the technology and superior resources of their time forces each member to adapt. Rae develops a close relationship with nature. Richie’s technological abilities help him pursue his interests, but don’t come without risks.
Rachel has put her career on hold for her family twice before. Now, her family’s safety forces her to miss what might be her last opportunity to fulfill a dream. At least Roland can continue his bioengineering project in the basement. And after losing his wife, Rodney’s dedication to fitness attracts disciples.
In The Rocketfellers TP Vol 1, trouble arises from the people they left behind. Roland’s former employers aren’t happy that he absconded with company property. Reggie covers his brother’s tracks at the Time Zone Protection Agency. Yet while Reggie gets on with his life, the wheels of justice that would allow his family to return grind slowly.
Art
Francis Manapul begins his story with the Rocketfellers speeding across a snowy landscape. Yellow energy courses through a sleek copper structure that would give Anakin Skywalker’s podracer a run for Watto’s money. A missile sends the vessel tumbling through the snow. The family climbs from the fiery wreck clad in yellow and black, with orange insulation extending above their necks. Rose helps her husband hobble along as figures on hoverbikes race toward them. After she begs them to abandon her, a silver cyborg confronts Rose. White specks of snow dot the metal face as orange eyes reflect Rose’s final moments.
After the desperate race for survival in the tundra, the family surrounds Roland as he greets neighbors on their backyard deck. Older women watch as Rodney does pullups with a free weight chained to his waist. When their neighbors aren’t watching, Rex, the family’s chihuahua, proves an able companion. The canine cyborg sprouts appendages handy around the house or piloting a vehicle. Yet this family from the future motors around town in an old Volkswagen bus. John Kalisz, Ian Herring, and Francis Manapul adorn Peter J Tomasi’s lighthearted tale with a bright, cheery palette.
Rob Leigh portals black uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons in The Rocketfellers TP Vol 1. The letters grow bold for inflection, enlarge for raised voices, and rarely shrink. Balloons grow spiky when characters undergo stress. Purple letters in lavender boxes denote time and space changes, while Reggie speaks with his brother across time using green boxes with lightning-bolt arrows. Sound effects enhance this story about losing loved ones, forming new traditions, and Roland’s bioengineering experiment floating in green liquid. Thanks to Image Comics and Ghost Machine for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Each member of the Rocketfellers has given up something to become exiles. Yet each also gains something to ease the pain of that loss. Every page of this reverse Buck Rogers saga resonates with the power of family to help, harm, and inspire in The Rocketfellers TP Vol 1.