Broken Frontier

LIVING IN INFAMY

Created by Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes
Published by Ludovico Technique

WELCOME TO INFAMY, AZ…

Barely a blip on the map, this ignobly named oasis of strip malls and convenience stores is much more than it seems.  Unbeknownst to the general populace, Infamy leads a double life as the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s best-kept secret:

A Witness Protection Program for SUPER VILLAINS.

Chosen for its remote location and notorious Old West history, Infamy has, since the early 1960’s, quietly played host to a select crew of former super criminals and would-be world-beaters who’ve turned new leaves – and State’s Evidence – for that elusive second chance at life and the pursuit of happiness.  

Liberty, however, comes at a far greater price…

Infamy is as much an open-air prison as it is a safe harbor.  Though the average person can come and go as they please, those under Witness Protection dare not risk venturing beyond the town’s border as their brains have been hard-wired with sub-cortical explosives.  One toe over “THE LINE” – the invisible barrier surrounding the town – and BOOM!  Sanitation’s scraping what’s left of your guts off the pavement in the morning.

Here, the distinction between good and evil is thin and often blurred.  Because everyone is so excruciatingly normal, the serial killers are indistinguishable from the soccer moms, the mass murderers from the mailmen, the terrorists from the teachers.  In Infamy, everyone has two faces.  

Everyone.

From low-tech cat burglars to hi-tech hitmen, genetically engineered metamorphs to telepathic mutant masterminds, Infamy’s gallery of repentant rogues gone legit has multiplied over the past four decades…

Most lead respectable lives.  They’ve started businesses.  Gotten married.  Had kids.  Some have even lived to ripe old ages and died of natural causes, all the while leaving none the wiser for their checkered pasts.  Not their friends.  Not their neighbors.  Not even their families.  The secret lives they left behind have gone with them to their graves and stayed there.  Like the sign says: Securitas.  Salus.  Sanctuarium.”

Security.  Safety.  Sanctuary. 

These are the rocks upon which Infamy was built, the foundation upon which it stands.  Little does anyone realize that foundation is about to be demolished… Someone is fixing to blow the lid on Infamy, bring the entire neighborhood to its knees and leave nothing but a bloody stain behind.  And why? 

Because one man just couldn't keep it in his pants…

Living In Infamy #1
Words: Ben Raab & Deric A. Hughes
Art: Greg Kirkpatrick (p), John Lucas (i), John Cassaday (cover)

For readers who are interested in picking up a copy of the premiere issue at the San Diego Comic-Con International 2005 (and a free poster!), stop by Ben Raab and Deric A. Hughes at the Antarctic Press booth (#2307).