Broken Frontier

I’m on a bit of a Peter Milligan kick right now.  Accidentally, actually.  A few months back Kitchen Sink Press solicited a package of some of it’s old TPB’s for a steal (like 7 trades for around $10, I believe).  I hadn’t read any of the books included, but, figured for the price, it’s a deal an obsessive compulsive comic nerd like me just couldn’t pass up.  Inside that packet was Milligan’s book Skin.  The story of a thalidomide punk teenager in 1970s UK, with art by Brendan McCarthy, Skin is a remarkably powerful look at any incredibly marginalized social group .  I mean, of all the poor souls inflicted in the womb by the drug thalidomide, how many grew up to be angry ass kicking skinheads? Yet, Milligan manages to tell a story about youth, anger, and rebellion that is positively transcendent.  As luck would have it, the week after I had read Skin, the first collection of The Human Target, Milligan’s Vertigo series with art by Cliff Chiang was released.  I had passed on the book when it first came out, because I had no familiarity with the character.  Did I ever make a mistake.

The Human Target is easily one of the best books being published today.  At all times accessible, while still offering strong character development, and some of the absolute best twists and turns in a comic book today.  The book focuses on Christopher Chace, a master of disguise.  Christopher makes his living by becoming the people he stands to protect.  As a brilliantly trained actor, and with some pretty high tech mask making technology, all Chris needs is to hear a person speak, and watch them move, and he can’t be stopped.  In addition to the “man undercover” aspect, the book also explores the strange empathy that comes from “being” somebody else for extended periods of time, and how each persona affects Chris’s core, slowly drifting him away from who he thinks he is.

Milligan’s writing is sharp and witty, constantly keeping the reader hanging on to the plot for dear life.  To call the book a roller coaster is an understatement.  Nothing is as it seems, and all of the rules are thrown out the window. Milligan defies the standard superhero conventions, and embraces the dark psychological noir of Alfred Hitchcock and Roman Polanski.   And despite it all, the small slices of Christopher Chace that are left, shine through, allowing the book to have a definitive forward motion, despite an overall lack of long term storylines.  While Exiles is often called the Quantum Leap of comics, I think Human Target perhaps better exemplifies the joy and range of tone that show was known for.  Milligan shapes the tone and mood based on the situation his character gets thrown into, so every issue is just as likely to have laughs as it is to have hard hitting drama or wall-to-wall action. 

Rotating artists Cliff Chiang, who I first saw on the brilliant, but missed by many Beware the Creeper, and Javier Pulido, who worked on the OGN Human Target: Final Cut, which is responsible for launching this series, are both carved from the Darwyn Cooke/Cameron Stewart “animated” style mold, although there’s a definite influence of the Michael Lark school that gives the art a more realistic feel.  While both artists are quite different, the flow between their work is remarkable, and they constantly top each other for quality.  The dynamic art makes the writing of The Human Target feel all the more alive and vibrant for the unique art style.

But the best part of The Human Target? Any issue is a good jumping on point.  Milligan and Co. manage to tell stories that, while some are multi-part, you never need an explanation for.  The history of the character is alive in every line of dialogue, and the more distinct history, is explained slyly when needed.   This week’s issue is entirely self-contained, and serves an as even more excellent jumping on point for new readers.

This book sits in the lower part of the sales charts.  Yet, it’s one of the most reader friendly, and outright original books being published today.  So what’s your excuse for not reading it?

GUIDING LINE:  Peter Milligan, Cliff Chiang, and Javier Pulido are delivering one of the most consistent, action packed, unique books on the market.  Don’t pass the book by, or else it might not be here when you finally discover it.

- Josh Fialkov