Broken Frontier

Radical's interpretation of this well-known tale combines dazzling heroism in a rich fantasy realm.

It’s inherently obvious that Radical have the best production values of any comic publisher on the market. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the pages inside the fancy covers live up to the potential, as any reader in the ‘90s worth their chrome-holo-foil covers will tell you. Radical live up to a high standard though, which is probably mostly due to their limited output. Rather than draping shelves in cheap superhero knock-offs, they seem to know a good idea when they see one, and then go all out to make that idea as attractive and readable as possible. Freedom Formula, Hercules, Shrapnel, and my favourite – Hotwire, are books that stand head and shoulders above a lot of other comics simply due to the care with which they are created.

Writer Ian Edginton (Warhammer 40,000) and artists Patrick Reilly and Stjepan Sejic (Witchblade) present a grand follow-up to the first issue’s introduction of the pickpocket character of the title, and the world he inhabits. This series is a rather bold interpretation of the legend. Most people would only be familiar with the basics of the Arabian tale such as the magic lamp, evil sorcerer, and wish granting genie, which gives Edginton a broad canvas with which to paint his story.

The evil sorcerer is present, in the form of Qassim, who, unlike Aladdin, is aware of his heroic bloodline and believes it to be the key to granting him the power of the genie, or djinn. Led to a secret cave, Aladdin unleashed the djinn, which in turn magically created an entire city.

This 64 page issue begins in the city of Shamballa, located near the instant city of which Aladdin is now ruler, as a mysterious prince visits, throwing his wealth out to the desperate residents, and catching the attention of their king, who sees a potential son-in-law. As is often the case with fantasy tales though, all is not as it seems and Qassim soon rears his ugly head and takes Shamballa's princess with him, leaving Aladdin forlorn and looking like the main suspect.

After some impressive Prince of Persia-like acrobatics, Aladdin escapes death by hungry beasts and reluctantly teams up with the much wiser Sinbad. It is at this point in the issue that we are taken to a hidden city beneath Shamballa. It is also the point in which Sejic takes over art duties from Reilly. Sure, it's noticeable, as Sejic uses light in a much bolder fashion and the characters look slightly different, but it's not jarring and occurs at a fitting place in the narrative. It's during the pair's travel that we learn slightly more of Sinbad's murky past, and meet the Mantis Queen who lives on the souls of her city's residents. Aladdin must then decide if his desire to save the princess from Qassim's floating palace is worth the price the Mantis Queen demands.

Edginton has once again created an action packed issue, especially in the second half. With the older mentor and young, but eager adventurer taking on deadly beasts on a life and death (and love) adventure, this is an unashamedly, old-school swashbuckling tale. Reilly's more subdued earthen art works splendidly in the more grounded scenes of the first few pages, while Sejic lets loose in the bulk of the book with sweeping vistas and larger than life battles. With Prince of Persia and Clash of the Titans soon tearing up the cinema screens, Aladdin could very very well join them if this series is anything to go by.