Broken Frontier

Welcome to Broken Frontier’s weekly recommendation column, Guiding Lines.  This is where I, Scott Hinze, a long time comic book critic, creator interviewer and man of fandom, gaze across the vast fields of funny books and pluck one special read that you should know more about.  So let us begin with one of the things I do best, some graphic novel grievances.

Brace yourselves for a shocker - comics are a medium of communication and storytelling that not everyone on Earth understands.  I’m not talking about fan culture or continuity here; many strange folk don’t seem to grasp the left-to-right, top-to-bottom panel structure.  Usually everyone digs the dailies in the newspaper alright, but having them stacked on top of each other and being in sequence inside an entire book just blows some people’s minds.  So, not only are you brave for picking up and appreciating comics in spite of stigma, but you’re smart for being able to understand them without Scott McCloud having to hold your hand. 

Other ignorant peeps find our beloved words and pictures too simple, not-engaging enough and feel that all the good stories have already been told.  They believe there isn’t any variety on the comic rack but their remedy is simple – they can read this column each Tuesday and be enlightened.

It doesn’t help that a lot of comics either try too hard to be different or keep doing the same thing despite low overall sales. 

It’s not usually a bad thing, but both Indie and Corporate comics get bitten by the experimentalism bug from time to time. Many make their work so obscure that only the most temporally-unrestricted (or drug-induced) reader may put ideas (though not necessarily correct ones) together.  I’m not saying Surrealism or Impressionism shouldn’t be in comics, but storytelling should generally tie the thoughts together coherently. 

On the other end of the spectrum, many publishers know their audience intimately—at least they think they do—and produce their books with an ever-intensive evolution of repeated spectacle.  Due to this, the majority current male-readership is inundated with sex and violence at almost every-level while the minority is left out because… this policy sells books in the short-run.  In the long-run, it will not only eliminate any chance of new, smart readers coming aboard, but it will also begin to alienate the regular readers as they mature and discover the vast content found in prose and periodicals.  Critics, like me, are looking for more books to put in front of non-readers to prove to them that there is more to comics than macho-powers and near-porno.  Thank goodness we aren’t totally falling deaf on our decision-makers’ ears.

With the above gripes about our art form in mind, I looked for this week’s recommendation and choose Mike Oeming, Scott Kolins & Wil Quintana’s amazing Thor: Blood Oath.  Now give me a chance, you know I usually connect the dots in my space here. 

I miss the god of thunder.  He was a fine Avenger, great hero and wonderful connection to the Norse mythology that is so important to Marvel’s history.  Alas, some creators (who just ‘don’t get’ his dialogue) and editors at the House of Ideas decided to shut down Asgard and slapped it with yet another Ragnarok during that mistake that was Avengers Disassembled.  So, no more “Marvel Universe Thor” until they decide to fleece fandom yet again with a resurrection, new volume and alternative covers—whatever.  The cool thing is, inside Thor: Blood Oath we have a new story set in classic Asgard with our colorful characters we love and grieve for.

As we prepare for the third issue to hit stores tomorrow, let me catch you up to date.  Thor and his three pals, Fandral, Hogun & Volstagg mistakenly kill the son of a giant and must go on a quest for near-impossible items to atone for the accident.  The friends already recovered the apples of Lerad the Eagle and have their eyes set on Dionysus’s wine-swine guarded by Hercules himself.  After that, they must still recover the spear of Irish hero Cuchulan and a cursed Japanese sword.  These laundry-list quests that heroes must accomplish in tales of myth are a ton of fun and there is a reason why many (Hercules’ Labors, Arthur’s Grail, Link’s Triforce, etc.) survive today. 

Oeming is becoming a true scholar of Norse legend and infuses his study in every issue, right next to sharp humor and intense action, with grace.  Of course, the most daunting part of producing a Thor story is the bizarre dialogue which is usually either heavy-handed or skipped-over.  The text is presented in the modern caption-less format which makes the dialogue that much more dangerous and powerful at the same time.  Oeming uses the language to its fullest, but refrains from beating us over the head with the fact that these guys speak all old-school.  The mere fact that we don’t get tired of the Norse tone in the second, very wordy issue speaks volumes of the choices Mike has made.  The read doesn’t have to stoop to any low levels to find excitement, but relies on the refreshing use of story.  When I spoke with him a couple of years ago about his desire to write, he told me he was going to be patient, read the right books and learn the craft.  After months of working with others and obviously sharpening his sword, the artist of Powers has arrived as an excellent script-writer. As a long-time fan of his art, I’m very proud of him. 

As much attention as the writing deserves, the art is a mind-boggling drool-fest.  Every page balances Kolins’ legendary detail work with mastered layout craftsmanship.  Taking my above bellyaching into account, the most novice reader will never get lost or be bored.  As we’ve seen in both Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Marvel Team Up, Kolins can draw classic versions of characters in exhilarating ways with consistency.  This gives every kind of reader imaginable something to value in the read.  I find myself crediting Kolins quite a bit when reflecting on the books he does, but it needs to be noted that he is a colorist’s artist.  Wil Quintana’s color palette shines so bright in this series thanks to the setting and action Oeming provides and the parameters that Kolins gives.  The landscapes are lush and characters get dirty under the glow of moonlight.  Could this be one of the best creative teams on this group of difficult characters?  The title of this column says it all.

Guiding Line: Uber-fun mythic comics have returned in a big way with Thor: Blood Oath.  This is one read that breaks the mold by delivering clarity with originality and access with substance.