Broken Frontier

The last time DC Comics released an anthology about their characters by a similar set of alternative cartoonists it was Bizarro Comics, which won countless awards and even more fan acclaim. This sequel, as incredible as it is, does not quite match the level of the original volume but the mixture of a variety of alternative styles and familiar characters should prove a beautiful way to ease into indy comics.

The main complaint about anthologies is that, no matter what, no one will enjoy every story in the collection. Bizarro World does not prove this belief wrong, however great stories overwhelmingly outweigh the less desirable entries. These entries range from purely fun stories that could have been taken directly from the silver age to purely satirical stories. Even some heartwarming tales have crept into this anthology. In this case, the best stories are always the truly alternative ones that can only be described as, well, bizarre.

Unlike Bizarro Comics, Bizarro World does not feature a framing sequence. The book still works perfectly well as it opens up with a tone-setting piece that ends up being one of the stronger pieces in the book. This story, “Bizarro World,” by Chris Duffy and indy art heavyweight Scott Morse, centers on a visit to a super hero theme park that seems to have gotten everything wrong. The rare treat of seeing Morse’s art in color makes this story worth it, while Duffy’s satire, particularly the final joke, is sure to leave everyone laughing. The next two stories feature such talents as Chip Kidd, Tony Millionaire, and Matt Madden and keep up the high level of quality from the first story. Both of these stories are pure fun.

The next story of note centers on the Legion of Super-Heroes as Abe Foreu teams up with perhaps the quintessential alternative cartoonist, James Kochalka. The story and art mesh perfectly for a story that’s sure to leave a smile on your face. The next story, by comedian Patton Oswalt, exists entirely for the joke on the final page but trust me, it’s worth it. The incomparable Craig Thompson provides the art for the next story while Chris Duffy returns with his second story in this anthology. Thompson’s art, of course, is beautiful but Duffy’s story has a very conflicted tone, suddenly going from humor to poignancy.

The origin of Green Lantern’s fabled yellow weakness is getting a lot of publicity from Green Lantern Rebirth but forget that series, as Jason Yungbluth and Jason Paulos provide us with a far superior story about that weakness. That pair packs an incredible amount of humor and creativity into only five pages of story. After an enjoyable story by Aaron Bergeron and John Kerschbaum, Mike Doughty and Danny Hellman treat readers with a great story about perennial satirical punching-bag Aquaman. Following a story about Batman fixing his computer Johnny Ryan and Dave Cooper deliver “Super-Dumped,” a genuinely funny story about Wonder Woman dumping Superman. Cooper’s unique artistic style alone makes it worth reading. Multiple contributor Evan Dorkin and incredibly talented underground cartoonist M. Wartella are up next with the perfect story for all those wondering why Batman didn’t pick a monkey to become Robin.

The second story to actually feature Bizarro is written by industry heavyweight Harvey Pekar with art by the one-of-a-kind creator of Opposable Thumbs, Dean Haspiel. For such a combination of talent, this story really strikes me as weak. Haspiel’s art is of course gorgeous but Pekar’s script simply falls flat. The next story features just as much talent as Dylan Horrocks, Farel Dalrymple, and Paul Hornschemeier deliver one of the anthology’s strongest stories in “Dear Superman.” A third consecutive all-star team, this time Peter Bagge and Gilbert Hernandez, offers up a hilarious story about the Red Bee. After a heartwarming Justice League story and a Legion of Super-Heroes short that features art by Andi Watson, comes the book’s standout moment, “Ultimate Crisis of the Justice League.” A mixture of the bizarre and hilarious, this story about the Martian Manhunter, by Todd Alcott and Michael Kupperman, is truly a must-read.

The creators of Bipolar, Tomer and Asaf Hanuka, create a surprisingly mainstream but still moving, Batman story. The one and only Paul Dini follow them with a fun story about Krypto the Superdog. Ariel Bordeoux’s story about The Legion of Super-Heroes excellently combines modern and silver-age styles, while Evan Dorkin and Ivan Brunetti deliver a hilarious one-page Two Face cartoon. After a good but confusing, Supergirl story by Maggie Estep and Dylan Horrocks, Leela Corman, creator of Subway Series, writes and draws a beautiful story in her patented style. The next two stories both feature Paul Grist: a Flash story which he draws and a Batman story which he writes. Both of them, particularly the Flash story which is written by Eddie Campbell, are solid stories. After Evan Dorkin puts DC characters into newspaper cartoons, Studio Kaiju offers up the entirely forgettable “Lantern Sentai.” The next story, “Monsieur Batman,” satirizes the French rather than superheroes.

Kurt Wolfgang and Reggie 12's Brian Ralph are up next with an excellent story on the concept of selling out. Ralph’s art is particularly gorgeous in color. After a welcome story about Kamandi, comes the hilarious “Bring Your Kids to Work Day” by Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier. Speaking of hilarious, Kyle Baker follows them with yet another short story that’s guaranteed to leave you in hysterics, “Personal Shopper.” The concept is just too brilliant for me to spoil at all. The book ends on a strong note with Paul Di Filippo and Derek Kirk Kim’s Deadman tale, which perfectly combines humor with a bit of emotion. Kim, the brilliant creator of Same Difference, does some especially gorgeous artwork.

All in all, DC Comics has put together a winner with Bizarro World. This book truly has something for everyone, including not one but two jokes about the old Hostess advertisements and I hope that everyone gives it a shot. It is worth the lofty cover price. If you only buy one DC book in 2005, it should be Bizarro World, without a doubt.

- Eliot Johnson