Broken Frontier

Meet Athena Voltaire – aviatrix, adventurer and maybe the only person who stands between mystic forces of darkness, Nazis, and the rest of the world. No pressure.

Writers and artists Paul Daly and Steve Bryant have obviously cut their teeth on movies like The Maltese Falcon, 1930’s adventure serials, and the Indiana Jones trilogy. They’ve also taken a few pages from Mike Mignola’s Hellboy and B.P.R.D. series as well as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. With all of these influences one might wonder if there is any room for originality. So is Athena Voltaire just Indiana Jones with a bust line?

Aviatrix, cowgirl, entrepreneur, and stuntwoman – Athena Voltaire has been it all and done it all. Now she is being called upon to recover an artifact, the statue of a falcon, which may hold the secret of the Hollow Earth. Ranged against Athena are a troop of Nazis and a mysterious Frenchman, all of whom have their own reasons for wanting the statue. Athena and her allies will have to put their lives on the line and not all of them may survive.

This series debuted as an online comic then moved to print with a single issue published by Speakeasy Comics before that company imploded. Undeterred, Daly and Bryant are now bringing Athena Voltaire to readers via Ape Entertainment. In a smart marketing move the creative duo chose to reprint the first Speakeasy issue and combine it with the second issue of the mini-series. This makes Flight of the Falcon double-sized and actually a bargain at $4.50. But is it still worth the money you ask?

Admittedly, there is little groundbreaking with the story here. Nazis, an artifact with occult connections, the world threatened by mystical, possibly unstoppable, evil, and exotic locales, all these and more are nothing readers have not seen before. The "new" here come with the hybridization of the myriad influences. Athena Voltaire is like a hot remix of a favorite dance tune – it’s still the same music but with a new beat. Daly and Bryant keep the emphasis on action and movement and make sure the dialogue is equally swift and light.

The art, provided by Steve Bryant, has a smooth texture and style. The work actually puts one in mind of Greg Land, before that artist got too heavy into photo referencing. Each panel is a testament to Bryant’s cinematic eye as each panel looks like it was taken with a movie camera. There are a few moments, however, where the characters are too obviously stopped and "posed" for effect. Those panels do briefly break the adventure movie illusion that has been so carefully crafted.

Recent years have seen an explosion of comics tapping other genres from noir to horror. Athena Voltaire: Flight of the Falcon happily taps the cask of old-fashioned adventure with a beautiful, strong, female lead. The vintage may not be new but it is still a potent wine. If you are looking for action and adventure with an old-fashioned, anything-can-happen attitude then look no further.