Broken Frontier

As part of our ongoing spotlight this week on the British comics scene, Broken Frontier is providing a brief look at some of the collected editions of material, both vintage and contemporary, that deserve your discerning attention. Bored of the recycled storylines and themes of super-hero comics? Fed up with constant reboots of your favourite characters? Keen to try out something a little different next time you’re at the LCS? Then check in this week for a different spotlight each day on Brit comics material designed to expand your consciousness beyond the capes and cowls…

Between 2008 and 2009 a bold, but ultimately doomed, experiment in reaffirming the traditions of the British weekly took place. The DFC, an anthology comic with a diverse mix of styles and strips, drew talent from a variety of sources both from within and without the conventional comics field. This included, notably, children’s fantasy novelist Philip Pullman. After 43 issues, The DFC’s subscription-only run came to a much regretted end. However, a number of the featured strips have now been released in collected volumes from David Fickling Books.

The term “all-ages” is often casually thrown out there in conversations decrying not only everything that is currently wrong with the industry but also as a perfect ideal of what comics really should be. Whether more “all-ages” comics is what is really needed, or more “age-specific” comics, is up to the individual reader to decide. The DFC Library, though, is a series of collections that provide entry points to the world of comics across the entire age range of younger readers.

Sarah McIntyre’s charming Vern and Lettuce, for example, is probably the DFC offering aimed at the youngest target audience. Chronicling the adventures of Vern the sheep and his best friend Lettuce the rabbit, in the animal world of Pickle Rye, this is a delightfully good-natured collection of one-page gag strips (in the first third of the book) and a longer, ongoing storyline for the rest. The latter follows Vern, Lettuce and their animal friends, as they journey to the big city seeking fame on reality TV show Barnyard Talent. Vern and Lettuce is, without a doubt, the comic book equivalent of the “feelgood movie”.

Good Dog, Bad Dog is a madcap detective comedy with a canine twist. Dave Shelton’s slapstick cop antics will appeal one level to the younger readers with their visual gags and the strip’s often frenetic pacing. Older readers, however, will find much to amuse them in GDBD’s obvious homage to the film noir genre and in picking up the loving references to that era of cinema.

Those British readers who remember borrowing Asterix albums from their local libraries as children and poring over every detail, in every panel, will find much to love about Monkey Nuts, the magnificently absurd comedy from the ever popular Etherington Brothers. Every page is a thing of beauty, with art so detailed that each re-read is a new journey of discovery. On the Isla De Monstera, in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, Sid, an unemployed, tap-dancing monkey and Rivet, a robot vending machine, form a crime-busting business under the guidance of police Chief Tuft, a talking coconut. As brilliantly bizarre as it sounds, this is a perfect showcase for the talents of the inimitable Etherington Brothers.

Mo-Bot High from Neill Cameron is a winning fusion of the sensibilities of the school-based serials of British Girls weeklies of the ‘70s and ‘80s with a contemporary Manga influence. Cameron’s story follows schoolgirl Asha as she discovers something very peculiar about her new school: every pupil, including herself, is able to control their own personal giant robot via their mobile phone. Playground politics combine with dark conspiracies in a strip which can be succinctly described as Grange Hill meets The Transfomers.

The Spider Moon, Kate Brown’s enchanting fantasy story, has the feel of a Studio Ghibli classic. This first volume acts as the introduction to Brown’s intricately designed and thoughtfully realised realm of floating islands, skyships and prophecies of a falling sky. Like Mo-Bot High, The Spider Moon’s strong female protagonist, Bekka, should be a character that will appeal to girls of all ages, and the cliffhanger ending is a perfect set-up for the eagerly awaited follow-up.

Finally, Mezolith, written by Ben Haggarty and stunningly illustrated by Adam Brockbank, is the tale of the prehistoric Kansa tribe, living on the shores of the British North Sea, 10,000 years ago, and their struggle for survival as the seasons pass by. The serial focuses on Poika, a young boy growing up in the tribe, as he learns about the sometimes savage, and sometimes magical, world around him. Haggarty and Brockbank have one of those exquisite storytelling relationships that completely absorb the reader and effortlessly draw them into their fictional reality.

While the likes of The Beano and The Dandy valiantly fly the flag for the tradition of British weekly comics (and long may they continue to do so!) one can only wonder if the DFC Library’s more European philosophy of album-sized comics may be the format of the future. Come Christmas, - when the usual batch of articles bemoaning a lack of suitable comics gift ideas for younger readers rear their predictable heads - remember the books of the DFC Library; they make a perfect introduction to the wonderful world of the comic strip for the uninitiated junior audience!

For more on the DFC Library check out the website here and watch out for the DFC’s spiritual successor The Phoenix, coming in the New Year…