Broken Frontier

Age of Insects sallies forth into its third book, another 48 page, oversized-cut thing that is exceptionally easy on the eyes, especially due to yet another Ben Templesmith cover.  But lest ye believe that only the exteriors hold any merit (although they definitely do pin down the from-the-rack allure—in spades!), this third entry of the series is by far the best, both in story and art.  The plot at last begins to unravel, the hidden threads of the characters’ pasts and the connections between them coming into the light.  Toss in a magnificent opening action sequence with enormous double-page spreads (and in a book this size, that’s saying something!), plus a bizarre new romance and a cliffhanger end, and Not Human: Book Three is quite a madcap middle chapter.

Writer Sparky Greene wields a style similar to Joe Kelly or Keith Giffen, where the lion’s share of the plot comes through in the eventual reading of the series.  Things are never spelled out, and the dialogue seems cryptic due to the characters knowing more about what’s going on than the readers ever do.  Events transpire in odd bursts—it’s never predictable what the next chapter is going to showcase.  And yet every issue, as it goes, these disparate parts really truly madly deeply sweetly are without doubt, and without question, coming together.  There’s a brief character guide at the front of Book Three, which radically helps matters, as the cast is now reaching team-book size and scope.  Best of all, the characters, to me, begin to feel alive in this installment.  They and their world are beginning to feel organic, the events familiar and natural, and the drama indeed dramatic.

Artist Louis Pieper continues to grow as a first-timer, and nowhere is this more apparent than is in the intricate detail and brash double-page spreads which he rarely, if at all, displayed in Book One and Book Two.  His linework is developing layers, and rich tones of shading, and his layouts are growing gutsy, both with panels and the arrangement of the elements inside said panels.  His work on Book Three looks like a noir-ish Pop Mhan (Ghost Rider, Spyboy), and coupled with tint-terrific colors by Heather Kenealy and Bronwyn Burns, the book looks, frankly, like one of those old “numbered” Marvel Graphic Novels from the 80’s.  Considering the epic sci-fi horror fantasy flavor of the story, it seems this even more so, a complete and total flashback and return to the beyond-genre sensibilities those GN’s were once infamous for.

If you haven’t taken the plunge and sampled Age of Insects yet, all I can say, at this point, after three glowing reviews and an interview with the creators , is that you should.  We’re three out of five books in, so it looks as though the title is here to stay, at least long enough to finish up its first series.  Plus, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more beautifully designed and packaged comic on the racks, that’s for damn sure.  If you miss the risks Marvel and DC used to take with their oversized numbered GN’s, Maxi-Series, and Epic Comics line, then Age of Insects should hearken you right back to that bygone era, with a story and art and style that seems highly reminiscent of those glory days of the speculative-fiction comic.  It’s worth the price.  Hey!  Now, that’s saying something!