Broken Frontier

Every man carries a burden. For some the burden weighs too heavily for him to live with it. For others, it offers something to live for.

I have to admit that when I started reading the first page of this issue, I was concerned that Avatar had somehow screwed up. Jacen Burrows’ exquisitely detailed art was there, but the content and setting threw me for a loop. Turns out an undetermined but substantial amount of time has passed since last issue. The war worn Russian soldier has since journeyed from the deserts of Afghanistan all the way to the desert southwest (which was an uncharacteristic mistake, by the way) via walk, snowmobile, boat and train. His layover in this small desert outpost is lengthy due to an injury sustained whilst jumping from a moving train. But the story here seems to be centered on another man--local lawman and recent widower, Sam Wallace. He’s struggling with some community problems, and fighting a losing battle with some inner demons.

Garth Ennis offers a pretty accessible script here. The narration shapes Wallace’s story and catches up with how the Russian reached this point of his journey. The one drawback I did get from this issue was that it bore a striking resemblance to the Salvation story arc of Ennis and Steve Dillon’s infamous Vertigo series, Preacher. Both are set in relatively similar locations, and both deal with the law and a cattle-slaughtering business. The sets and characters of 303 both feel more real than those of Preacher, though, which (and Preacher is great, mind you) is somehow more refreshing and slightly frightening at the same time. I sometimes think Ennis goes overboard with the narration of his books, but here it helps connect the dots by painting a tapestry that is sometimes sad and almost always poetic. It also fleshes out the characters in a fashion that is hard to come by in comic books.

As stated above, Jacen Burrows continues to impress. He is under contract with Avatar Press, but how he wasn’t snatched up by one of the Big Two long ago is an enigma to me. Whereas the first three issues were riddled with action sequences and a considerable amount of gore, this issue is relatively quiet. Instead, Burrows displays his ability to create emotion through not only detailed facial expressions but through individual posture as well. I believe Greg Waller (Nimbus Studios) has done other color work for Avatar. This is a good move by the company, as he gives the book a slick, yet not flamboyant layer with the colors. It’s become a hallmark of Avatar’s. All this makes for a nice package, which should be expected for an additional dollar on cover price over most other books.

Ennis and company are really putting together an impressive story here. I may have wanted a little more story progress than I got with this issue, but then it’s hard not to say that when something is this well-crafted.

-Kert McAfee