Broken Frontier

Hi, how are ya?  Thanks for stopping by Guiding Lines @ Broken Frontier.  We’re the comic book column that cares.  That’s right – for the small price of about 5 minutes every Tuesday, you can subject yourself to the wonderful world of fanboy fancies.  We’ve plugged, hyped, and pimped so many books for so many different types of comic readers over Guiding Lines history that I’m having a tough time keeping to my rules of bringing a new title to the column archives and a different genre every week.

Number one issues are tricky.  This is mainly because we’ve never read the series before.  As comic readers, we are only inundated with preview art if we choose to be.  Comics are definitely unlike the movies with massive trailers before each feature and TV programs with unlimited promotional ability.  Only websites and magazines give out previews and I personally avoid them like a plague unless I’m researching a particular book.  But the fat “#1” on the cover raises the perceived value of the comic read, and there is an unspoken promise that we only need the content inside to understand what’s going on.

These days, if a book does not have a popular comic character on the cover or creator on the credits, it’s in trouble.  I’ll go ahead and say tomorrow’s All-Star Superman #1 doesn’t need any recommendations from this venue.  Of course, I’m getting this sucker for a million reasons, but the three-way combo of character, creators and new continuity almost tempts me (embarrassingly) into buying two of them.  There is no need for an actual recommendation for this bad boy. No doubt am I going to love it, but other titles need the immensely-valuable exposure that this column provides.

I will admit that the audience is much more likely to grab the first issue of All-Star Superman more than any other.  This draw has produced new volumes—or “seasons” as they’re called now.  Marvel has got three number ones coming out this week and I’m excited about all of them.  X-Men Deadly Genesis #1 is written by Ed Brubaker with art by Trevor Hairsine and promises to reveal dark secrets about everyone’s favorite mutant gang.  This continuity-driven team book will feature the heroes from Giant-Size X-Men. 
Next up is another Brubaker mini-series, Books of Doom #1 with art by Pablo Raimondi.  I’m a huge Dr. Doom fan and am eager to read the history of a more politically savvy sci-fi dictator.  
And then there is Thing #1, written by the hilarious Dan Slott with art by the amazing Andrea DiVito.  The premise is about Ben Grimm hitting it rich while hitting the bad guys.  On the surface, all of these books could be just average releases out of Marvel, but the buzz and creative teams have got me excited about all of them. 
There is no real recommendation here yet because all of the above number ones have had plenty of coverage up till this point.  Plus, I burned up my superhero genre recommendation last time with USM. 

Many books can rely on the reputation of their publisher.  Michael Turner’s Aspen Comics is a favorite of my wife and many of her friends.  They like looking at the beautiful art and respond to new, interesting characters.  Tomorrow, Aspen Seasons Fall 2005 #1 hits the shelves and inside you will find two new stories written and digitally painted by Peter Steigerwald.  Similarly, UDON Studios offers Exalted #1 to readers.  This one is written by Gala Ferriere and Jim Zubkavich with art by Noi Sackda, Greg Boychuk and Roberto Campus. The story is torn from White Wolf’s RPG setting and you’ll be sure to dig it if you’re familiar with the pencil & paper game.  I always like to dive into my Aspen & UDON reads looking for substance (which I find more times that I think I will) before I offer a recommendation, so today won’t be any different.

For even the kindest retailer and most devout Previews reader, an uninteresting text description means doom to a needy indie comic.  I’m not saying the solicitation for AdHouse Books’ Secret Voice #1 was a boring chunk of text, though, as I’ve read that this is a “collection of short stories, including various anthology pieces and original material” from Ignatz Award winner Zack Soto.  I dig collected works and even like sketch books from my favorites, but I think I’m going to sink my teeth into something a bit deeper for this column.  Sorry Secret Voice #1, you will be subjected to the vicious ‘flip-through’ method of comic consumer testing.

Let’s just skip Vampirella Revelations #1; I’m not interested in comics that make their primary selling point a sexual one.

So, what is a comic snob to do?  Have I burned through every number one hitting the new comics section this week?  Lo, there is but one humble indie read left to consider.  Oni Press’ Local #1 is written by Brian Wood of DEMO fame who also produced the amazing Vertigo read DMZ #1 last week.  Ryan Kelly provides the art and you may or may not remember him from ATI/Planet Lar’s Giant Robot Wars that came out early last year.  I’m a fan of both creators’ works and am totally stoked for this new title that promises self-contained single issues.  The premise is simple—this will be a series of stories highlighting local heroes.  Simple people in simple places living through complex problems… it’s enough to make a lackluster sequential art connoisseur celebrate.  These difficult, realistic stories are a blank canvas and they reveal more about the creators’ personalities themselves than fantastical personalities or environments do.  Good luck, Brian and Ryan—I’ll do my part to help out, let’s hope I can convince others to join me.

Guiding Line: For both the creators and readers, indie comics are not a financial investment, but a creative one.  Let’s take a (not so) risky venture on Local #1 together.