Broken Frontier

Romance and Intrigue in the old West.  DC has brought back Bat Lash, but was anybody actually asking for him?

Let me preface here by stating that I do not enjoy westerns… rather dislike them, actually.  I groan at the sight of them in film or print, and roll my eyes at the countless hours of Gunsmoke and Bonanza that clog up the weekend’s cable line-up.  All that being said, Bat Lash isn’t too bad of a book.

This having been my first exposure to Bat Lash and DC’s entire Western Comics library, I feared I would find myself lost in ages-old continuity and not be able to keep up.  Fortunately, the issue starts off in an easily accessible en medias res, introducing the characters suitably, and giving them all decent little personalities for an opening chapter. 

The characters are, as could be expected, a bit cliché.  This is after all a piece of writing that is predicated by both its environment and its era.  In this case it’s the golden-haired “good” cowboy against the crooked sheriff of the county who’s clad in all black.  Both are vying for the affections of a sweet young thing that seems to have more of an eye for Bartholomew Lash than Sheriff Brubaker.

The art by John Severin is perfectly suited for this type of story; some panels even look as though they were pulled straight out of an old history book.  Walt Simonson’s cover is also a treat.

As I’d mentioned, I’m really not into Westerns.  That said, Peter Brandvold and Sergio Aragones have crafted a fun little story that left me a bit intrigued to see where this story’s headed. Unfortunately though, I’m not intrigued enough to actively pursue further issues of this series. Bat Lash is great for what it is… it’s just not for me.