Broken Frontier

Ever walked through Artist Alley or the Small Press Alleys at conventions and wonder what types of books you could find or whether anything was worth looking at? Here is a collection of books that can be found there.

Helios: In With the New #3

Neo-Force deals with the loss of a former teammate and the inclusion of some new members to the team, all the while Senator Strickland is pulling the strings on a conspiracy to take them apart.

Helios the book has had an interesting journey. From publisher Dakuwaka, to the short lived Speakeasy, and now back to Dakuwaka. This is only worth mentioning because the book itself has just as many twists and turns, especially in this double sized issue. It makes for a fun book, but one that is held back by itself. The writing and artwork are both adequate but neither stands out. Rand’s writing has a nice flow to it but lacks the authenticity of a real espionage book. Likewise, with Pena’s artwork, it is all clean, simple and does the job. If only his faces didn’t make the characters look like Muppets.

Helios is one of those books that is good enough to keep you reading, but its also one you wish would improve.

Falter Egos

Action Eagle is having a hard time making it as a super hero. Without any money coming in he may have to give it up, but instead, he is inspired to form the Action Society of Superheroes. Check that acronym.

For being a book with superheroes, Falter Egos doesn’t have a lot of action. However, that’s more than alright because these aren’t exactly the heroes you want running off into battle. They’d fail miserably and we’d miss out on all the great dialogue. Because this book is funny. Very funny. The page design is very simple, but again this works in it’s favor. Each panel has the exact amount of detail necessary and highlights the humorous nature of the story.

In playfully toying with the idea of superheroes, Comical’s Falter Ego’s has put together a tremendously fun book that will not cease to cause laughter.

Shore Losers #4

Two friends very unsuccessfully try to meet women at the New Jersey shore, even worse they have some people following them to steal the women they talk to and adding drinks to their bill.

Shore Losers present a couple of fun archtypical “loser” characters. These guys can’t seem to get a break anywhere. They are constantly being sabotaged. And at times it is fun to watch. In fact, the only thing holding this book back is the poor plotting. For some reason Jack Caprioni felt the need to add an overarching theme to this book that feels very forced. With this forced onto the book it falls flat and doesn’t reach it’s true potential for humor. Even the artwork holds up and feels perfect for the story.

While showing a lot of potential, Shore Losers is instead an honest book that is only held back by it’s own desire for complexity.

Dorothy #5

The Wicked Witch starts to take action against Dorothy as we learn the story of a couple of her henchmen in Illusive Arts’ Wizard of Oz Update.

Illusive Arts’ Dorothy book continues to impress. Not merely an updating of L. Frank Baum’s classic story, Dorothy is instead an amazing re-imaging of the tale. But unlike the original, this is not a children’s book. The story here is very dark, especially in this tale of some of the Witch’s henchmen. This tale is shown mostly as flashback, as we learn the origins of these men being sent to clean up the witch’s kingdom, which only serves to highlight the impressive art style used to create this book. The photo realistic style of the artwork heightens the dark nature of the book by making it seem so real.

Dorothy is one of those books that is hard to find, but should not be missed. Between the phenomenal artwork and the incredible re-imagining of a classic tale, this book has something for everyone.

Con Artists Week 1 & 2

Nigel Sade and Brian Miskelley are two artists that dress as pirates, drink a lot of rum, cause trouble at conventions, and chase women. Sounds like some fun guys.

Jennie Breeden, creator of the webcomic The Devil’s Panties, created Con Artists to showcase the adventures of fellow artists Nigel and Brian. If you have ever been to a convention and noticed a couple of guys walking around dressed like pirates, they are the stars of this book. And they are as loud and boisterous in the comic as they are in person. Breeden’s work here captures their free spirited adventures brilliantly. The stories are told in a webcomic style with each page containing a single story, and each one is good enough to make you laugh and continue reading. Breeden sometimes over-inks her artwork but it remains simple enough to understand and actually becomes part of the charm of the book.

Con Artists is one of those books that doesn’t seem like much, but within 2 pages of reading you will be doubled over with laughter. If you see these guys at a convention, hang out around them, it’s bound to be fun.

Crow Princess

A young girl has been practically disowned by her mother, is picked on constantly at school, and finds that her only companionship comes from the crows.

There is a sense of sheer joy and honesty with a book like the Crow Princess. It is immediately obvious that this story has a real meaning to the creator Rachel Nabors (which is odd because this is one of only a few of her books where the main character is not named “Rachel”). There is a true sense of care in how she goes about telling her story. At it’s heart, the Crow Princess is a fairy tale. The artwork and manga influenced style work incredibly well with the story.

Rachel Nabors’ Crow Princess is one of those rare books where everything works incredibly well together and gives readers a fun read that will keep a smile on your face long after you’ve finished it.

Li’l Scamp #1 & #2

The Li’l Scamp deals with his first day of school and one of his first holidays, all of which are new to him since he is only recently removed from his former home… Hell..

One thing that makes Li’l Scamp somewhat unique in the world of comics is that the namesake of the book is the least talkative. In fact, one could argue that he isn’t even the main character. Something like this requires a few extra things from the creators to ensure that it is done to the advantage of the book. Li’l Scamp gets some of these correct. The secondary characters are funny and unique and the artwork’s cartoonist nature highlights the comedic nature of the book. The real problem is that the setups and punch lines don’t seem to match up. Everything is done right in terms of pacing and setup, but the payoff too often seems out of place. Sometimes the end joke is funny enough to get you to laugh, but even then it is still far too noticeable.

The adventures of the Li’l Scamp are attractive enough to get you to look and funny enough to get you to smile, but they lack the cohesiveness to make you ask for more.