Broken Frontier

In yet another display of his incredible writing ability and versatility, Damon Hurd provides a whimsical, romantic story just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Miles has just gotten into a huge fight with his best friend Sarah because she won’t skip school with him to buy the new Cure album. Feeling even more lonesome than ever, Miles arrives at Media Play over an hour before the store opens. There, he meets the outgoing Anna, who also cut her classes in order to buy the same album. In the time before the Cure album arrives to the store, a beautiful, serendipitous friendship, and maybe something more, comes to bloom between the two.

Damon Hurd has, for about two years now, been considered one of the finest writers in comics’ small press. Known for his incredibly heartfelt and universally relatable writing, Hurd has gathered a large, devoted fan base which I consider myself a part of. With this new graphic novella, Hurd solidifies himself amongst the elite. Before the story begins, Hurd warns readers that it is a teenage melodrama best suited for the insecure teenager in all of us. Viewed as such, you will swear that Hurd has lived your life, done what you’ve done, and felt what you’ve felt. His ability to tap into human emotions is that strong.

With A Strange Day, Hurd captures the romance and awkwardness of teenage life in a gorgeous way. While most of Hurd’s past projects have been first-person introspections, this book is pure character interaction at its best. Every word of the dialogue is placed perfectly, and the characters react in just the manner that you know you would have. The characters mesh both awkwardly and beautifully, as their shared spirit shines through their wildly divergent personalities. Further, the writer makes nice use of Cure lyrics to make the story that much better. Hurd pours such emotion into this story that you will not be able to help but feel its poignancy. Hurd has once again produced a truly incredible story.

With the likes of Rick Smith and Pedro Camello, Damon Hurd has always been blessed with excellent artists. Tatiana Gill is no exception and she may very well be the best of the bunch. Gill’s soft, fluid art suits this tale perfectly. Her character designs could not be better and her facial expressions tell as much of the story as do Hurd’s words. Hurd’s script is very demanding for the artist, and Tatiana Gill is up to that challenge in every possible way. Her name is one to be on the look-out for in alternative comics in the future.

All in all, A Strange Day proves that you simply cannot go wrong with a book written by Damon Hurd. His writing is incredibly poignant and when that writing is combined with Tatiana Gill’s art you have a surefire winner. A Strange Day is one of my favorite single issue comics ever. If you enjoy slice-of-life comics, you simply must buy this book.

- Eliot Johnson