DC: The New FrontierVol 1
By Darwyn Cooke
2005
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
DC: The New FrontierVol 2
By Darwyn Cooke
2005
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Does for the DC universe what The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen did for Victorian literature: yonking characters from every hidden and far-flung corner it can find, stirring them into a big fat cooking pot and serving it up with some tasty, heady new flavours. Now - obviously - superheroes have been 'guest-starring' in each other's books for a long, long time (Batman and Superman have been doing it in "World's Finest Comics" since 1941) - but DC: The New Frontier goes a lot further than most. Mixing up several origin stories, re-imaginings and a brand new mystery on the same epic canvas: this is a story where no one hero is the star - and every action has a consquence that bumps along to someone else. Also - because this is a 21st century comic - it's free to move around and poke around at the anxities and fears of the time that have previously been masked: it's not a full blown warts-and-all exposé by any means but it does allow the comic to get itself closer to the real world than it could at the time. Throw in a few cameos from the likes of Hitler, Nixon and - was that Frank Sintara? - and you can start to understand why Darwyn Cooke chose that title. The artwork is all stretched out in a sort of widescreen - three panels to a page - thing that gives it a unique slightly cinematic energy: drawn with a Kirby-style simplicity that keeps it just on the right side of abstract. Due notice: If you do intend to start reading this then you will need to brush up on who the Challengers of the Unknown and Suicide Squad were as well as the usual Justice League of America suspects because it doesn't help out much any readers who don't have any previous experience (but then I guess that's what the internet is for). But for any pre-existing Silver Age comic fans - you're in for a Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster award-winning treat. Or as I like to think of it: Mad Men - with capes.
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Further reading: Justice, Batman: Ego, Richard Stark's Parker, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore, Kingdom Come, Superman: All Star Superman.
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