Broken Frontier

Hot new writer Alex de Campi and Top 20 artist Igor Kordey (X-Men) are receiving high praise across the board for the first chapter of their three-issue thriller Smoke, published by IDW Publishing.

Smoke is set in a futuristic London run by a government both morally and financially bankrupt, an ex-soldier-turned-government-assassin must contend with a crisis in London, an unusual terrorist group and their even more unusual demands, and a vindictive ex-girlfriend, even as he tries to rebuild his own shattered life.

“This is a spectacularly impressive effort from relative newcomer Alex de Campi,” according to Don MacPherson of The 4th Rail. “The extreme characters and political commentary remind me of the sort of thing one expects to see from Warren Ellis, but it's tempered with a grounded, emotional core.”

Another reviewer from The 4th Rail, Randy Lander, says, “De Campi and Kordey have created a fascinating near-future setting, populated it with interesting characters and wrapped it around an all-too-believable and yet just exaggerated enough conspiracy plot to keep the reader engaged from start to finish.”

Smoke is the first book in two years to get a rating of 10/10 as well as “Pick of the Week” at The 4th Rail (www.thefourthrail.com) from both respected reviewers MacPherson and Lander.

Comic Book Resources (www.comicbookresources.com) says, "The first issue… has had unusually high reviews and repeated sellouts from stores as well as disproportionately high message board buzz. This could well be the first breakout comic of the decade."

And James Groves of Comixfan.com gives a rating of 5/5 as well as stating, “Couple this return to peak form by Igor Kordey with a spectacular debut by Alex de Campi—who crafts together a complex and thought-provoking vision of a futuristic London beset by political intrigue, moral and financial bankruptcy, extreme and unusual acts of terrorism, and British espionage—and we have an introductory issue that excites me to the extent that a Warren Ellis or Alan Moore penned tale would do so on the same subject matter. It's a fantastic debut issue, and acts as a great pick-me-up from a market saturated by mediocrity and hype-laden events.”

Smoke is a monthly, full-color, 48 page three-issue miniseries, that debuted in May with issue #1.