Broken Frontier

Zoom Suit is the creation of John Taddeo, a life-long comic book fan and former Marketing Manager for Marvel.  Taddeo originated the basic premise for Zoom Suit over 20 years ago and now finally is in the process of developing it in the realms of comics and animation. 

The Zoom Suit cartoon, a simple 12-minute piece of animation, debuted this past spring and has received strong positive feedback at many festivals and conventions.  Adapting the first half of issue #1, the cartoon is an interesting promotional tool for the small press title.  The prologue sequence introduces viewers to the stripped-down animation style (one that Taddeo likens to Jib Jab cartons) and limited soundtrack.  Viewers are transported to the farm of an elderly couple near Roswell in 1947.  An alien craft crashes nearby and upon investigating, the couple find a dying alien, clad in a fantastic suit of armor – the Zoom Suit.  This sequence actually manages to encapsulate both the strengths and weakness of the entire Zoom Suit cartoon.

The elderly couple and the spaceship crashing, of course, draw a strong parallel to Superman’s origin.  Yes, the elements are familiar, but it also helps invoke a certain tone of innocence and purity that suits Taddeo’s all-ages hero.  The animation, despite the simple nature, does create a surprisingly strong sense of motion.  It might not be cutting edge animation, but I’ve certainly seen video games that don’t move with this speed or fluidity (think SNES era).  Unfortunately, there are places where Taddeo seems more concerned with displaying the technical aspect of the cartoon, resulting in longer scenes and lingering shots.  As a result, it’s difficult to absorb the sense of shock and urgency as the pacing slows.  The humor – supplied by some belching from the elderly couple – unfortunately comes across as forced and breaks the sense of wonder and awe entirely too early. 

After an eye-catching, but indulgent segue, Taddeo moves viewers to the modern day – on Halloween to be precise.  The Zoom Suit has now made its way into the hands of the US government and is being transported under heavy guard by helicopter.  In this case, the pacing suits the scene well, as the soldiers and Agent Simon Bane move with steady precision.  Moving the foreground and back grounds out of focus give viewers a strong sense of depth, while the use of multiple “shots” (much like you would see on the 24 television show) at a given time adds to a growing sense of impending dread.  Naturally, things do not go smoothly, and the Zoom Suit is stolen in a surprisingly graphic and violent sequence.  Following an entertaining and clever obstacle in the thief’s plan, the Zoom Suit is lost somewhere over New York City.

The story then shifts down into the city and introduces 12-year-old Miles Mason.  Once again Taddeo draws on classic superhero themes, in this case teenage isolation and loneliness.  His efforts to show Miles as an outcast are hindered by stilted dialogue, some of which tries too hard to be hip (“Oh, snap”) or a little too dated for a 12-year-old (I could be wrong, but are many 12-year-olds still into The Jetsons?).  That being said, the final minutes of Zoom Suit bring true charm to the story.  Miles achieves the ultimate in wish fulfillment and the debut of the armored protagonist has a very pure, old school feel to it.  Switching to computer animation for the Zoom Suit creates a strong contrast with the more traditional animation of “the real world” while the soaring score in the final scene leaves the viewers with a sense of wonder, anticipation and hope for the future.

While the Zoom Suit cartoon felt a little hollow to me, the comic provided to be more substantial.  The opening sequence still contains some awkward humor – fart jokes this time – but as a whole is much tighter.  These three pages give readers both a sense of drama and a feel for the lighthearted tone of the book.  Moving to the military scenes, artist Billy Dallas Patton conveys the same plot points as the cartoon, but this time in a less graphic (and more appropriate for all-ages) manner.  Moving to Miles and his friends, the dialogue is virtually identical and suffers from the same problem as the cartoon – right up to when the Zoom Suit arrives (prompting a truly amusing panel regarding wish fulfillment that really should have made it into the cartoon).  Patton also offers a nice tip of the hat to Jack Kirby and Don Heck’s Tales of Suspense cover (the first appearance of Iron Man), as Miles dons the Zoom Suit for the first time.

Moving into the second half of the comic (and material not covered in the initial cartoon), readers are able to finally see the true strengths of Zoom Suit.  The newly outfitted Miles meets up with his friend Brittany, resulting in some very charming scenes.  Miles experiments with the abilities of the Zoom Suit, and the two kids quickly are caught up in the excitement of this fantastical find.  Their enthusiasm is infectious, while Taddeo’s dialogue feels much more natural.  At Brittany’s urging, Miles goes into the city to “fight a never-ending battle for truth, justice, his friend Brittany and the American way.”  I can honestly say that the ensuing rescue scene is one of the best superhero sequences I’ve read in years.  Miles admits his fear and uncertainty, yet still leaps forth, putting his life on the line to save others.  The young hero displays courage, enthusiasm and humor, carrying on the torch of the “pure” true superheroes of the Silver Age.  The final pages immerse the reader in Miles’ joy of his newfound abilities and a few amusing send ups of Superman: The Motion Picture and Peter Pan (which, to be honest, are both rather appropriate references for this comic).

Zoom Suit didn’t grab me right from the start, but once Taddeo and Patton started hitting their stride, the magic took hold.  Provided the creative duo can keep focus on the strengths of this book – humor, innocence and classic super-heroism – Zoom Suit has the potential to be a much welcomed addition to the all-ages superhero genre.

It might take a little while to hit its stride, but Zoom Suit is a fast-paced, fun adventure comic.

The Zoom Suit cartoon can be found at www.superverse.com, while the 4-issue mini-series will be listed in the February issue of Previews for an April 2006 launch.