Broken Frontier

Recently, I’ve hit a run of review assignments covering characters or books I never had the chance to properly experience over the years. It’s just one of the perks of the job: I get to visit – or revisit, in some cases – all of the books and titles I never had the time or money to read when they first hit the shelves.

Dawn was one of those characters that always intrigued me but for which I never seemed to have the time or extra money. Joseph Michael Linsner’s Earth goddess always struck me as a little bit different than the other good girl books of the nineties. As someone with a great passion for mythology, her ever-changing appearance and origins as the goddess of birth and rebirth are instantly appealing to me. I just never took the chance back in the day, unable to afford another title every month, as a cash-strapped university student in Ottawa.

Things happen for a reason, as they say and now in Not to Touch the Earth, I have the perfect opportunity to meet Dawn for the first time.

Celebrating her 20th anniversary, Dawn’s creator teams up with artistic collaborator Eva Hopkins to present the perfect introduction to the character and her mythology for new readers, while giving existing fans an elegantly simple yet poignant stand alone story to whet their appetites for more. Speaking as one of the former, I found this cautionary tale a natural fit for what I knew of the character’s backstory. Linsner ties Dawn to Celtic mythology as the eternal consort of the Horned Man and deftly interweaves a retelling of an old fairy legend to create something utterly unique.

Without going into too much detail, this is a modern cautionary tale warning the reader of the dangers of falling in love with the goddess of rebirth. It’s more than just a clever repackaging of an old fairy tale. Set against the backdrop of a frustrated man’s search for companionship, Linsner’s story is a commentary on romantic love in today’s fast paced, digital age. Love comes with a price and that price is commitment – a lesson the foolish Darrian learns the second his foot hits the earth at the end of the book.

The story is both introspective and epic in tone, appropriate for a character straddling two worlds. Linsner extends this balanced approach to his gorgeous artwork, which effortlessly captures both the drudgery of Darrian’s mundane office existence and the magic and majesty of Dawn’s eternal fairy realm. Linsner and Hopkins illustrate each and every panel to the fullest extent, rendering full, luscious backgrounds and brilliantly realized characters.

A delightful introduction to a character I’ve long ignored, Dawn truly came alive for me in Not to Touch the Earth. Thanks to the superlative craftsmanship and thoughtful storytelling of Linsner and Hopkins, this tight little number is the perfect way to immerse oneself in the lush mythology and sultry stares of one of the sexiest women in comics.