The Mysterious Manuscript, by Lars Jakobsen-- a graphic novel for Timeslip Tuesday

The Mysterious Manuscript, by Lars Jakobsen (Graphic Universe 2012), is Book 1 of Mortensen's Escapades, a graphic novel series for older middle-grade readers.  Mortensen is a young (early twenties type young) time traveler from Denmark, one of a group of secret agents trying to keep history in order, and keep important artifacts in the time in which they belong (this is explained in an one page introduction). 

When we meet Mortensen, he is on his way to an assignation with an antiquarian bookseller, who has found a book that should not exist--no book from 16th-century Scotland should include a picture of a bi-plane.  So Mortensen time-travels off to Scotland to try to destroy the book....

And ends up crashing around a castle, being thrown in jail, loosing his time travel device, being rescued by a mysterious ally, and taken to the home of a mute young woman (named Blossom, which I am dubious about) who turns out to have been the one who found the plane.  It becomes clear that the book with the plane picture is not all that's going to have to be "fixed"-- for one thing, the young woman is now in danger of being burnt as a witch thanks to Mortensen's arrival in her time.

It was an interesting story, plot-wise, and time-travel-wise as well, but I found the action to be just too quick.  The characters never had a chance to breath, and the story never had the chance to expand into something truly engrossing. I am left utterly confused about many plot points.  It really does not help that the young woman who helps Mortensen and who seems to be the only person who actually knows what's going on can't talk.

So though I almost liked the premise, and the art style was just fine (except for Blossom's fire-engine red lipstick), it didn't quite click for me.  My handy 13 year old graphic novel fan had the same feeling (but didn't notice Blossom's lipstick).