Broken Frontier

In a fit of desperation, I became frustrated with looking for super-hero webcomics on Top Webcomics  and just started punching in “Heroes” to the search function. One of the results which immediately caught my eye was Local Heroes – sitting way back in 3338th place on Top Webcomics.

The webcomic involves the (mis)adventures of the Squire, a young sidekick on the super-hero team UNION (Unified Non-Profit Identification and Organization Network of the Supernormal), and yes, more acronyms abound. As always, super-hero life isn’t what Squire expected – his mentor the Silent Knight is, well, silent. The mystic super-hero Mystery-Man can’t remember who is on the team and who is his arch-nemesis. And to top it all off, his teammate the American Spirit holds a dark secret.

Created by Keith Quinn and Gil Dowling, Local Heroes is a worthy and refreshing read for anyone aching to see superheroes in the web pages (i.e. like me). Quinn’s pencils – and Dowling’s guest art – are both exceptional, though the current inking hasn’t caught up with the solid examples set by earlier strips. There are some times the story seems to run on auto-pilot, with the story skipping to the end of the adventure the moment victory seems in sight. In doing so, Local Heroes does break a cardinal role of writing – show, don’t tell.

The 1-3 panel format of Local Heroes is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it makes for breezy, easy reading, and both creators are able to pack more charm, wit and character into these few panels than comic book artists an entire issue. But on the other hand, the limitations of the format are visible, such as when Squire dons a random “abandoned trenchcoat” (I guess they were just lying all over the place in the 1970s) to become the Bystander. Some things just need more details. Fortunately, the strip is always improving, and the current storyline, which tracks adventure with a very different UNION in the Silver Age, looks to be an incredibly interesting reflection of the team’s modern day counterparts.

Overall, Local Heroes is definitely a webcomic worth your while. It’s simple, fun and engaging, and though not without its flaws, it’s tough to ask for more in the weekly updates of a good webcomic.