Broken Frontier

Daytripper issue #9 is quite possibly the first issue of the series that I have truly enjoyed and connected with. With the series reaching its climax within the next month, the stories so far have been little more than a collection of heart-shattering or teary-eyed tales. Each individual issue has contained a host of reoccurring characters, yet the stories themselves seem unconnected, as do the worlds the characters inhabit. They all end with a tragedy from within the Domingos family, and for a while maybe we were supposed to take everything at face value.

Issue #9 however leads deeper than the book ever has before. We get a glimpse of the end, our first hint that a deeper connection, outside of us peeking through a window on these lives, could exist. That is, you see, what the book does so well. Like its previous issues, it feels like we’re peering not only into the lives of these people, but their very souls. This is of course due to the wonderful writing/art duo of Fabio Moon and Gabriel Bá. They have created a unique type of Vertigo book. The way the beautiful and emotive art merges with the storybook style telling is just wonderful.

I don’t know how the brothers do it, but when you read through any issue of this book pay close attention to the eyes. The eyes are like a portal, through which they convey more than they could ever write or draw.

It’s stunning work to say the least. While I haven’t been the greatest fan overall (at one point I considered dropping it) with issue #8 the whole thing clicked. It’s one idea, one emotion, and one story – explored through various scenarios. We are on a journey of discovery, with the characters and with ourselves.

This penultimate issue of Daytripper weaves and meanders senselessly like a dream, knowing full well that it is both engaging and playful to read. It would have, in all honesty, been a glorious way to end the series. It’s touching and mysterious enough to plague your mind – hours after you put it down.