Broken Frontier

It’s summer time and that means lots of comics. Whenever there are lots of comics, you can be sure that Marvel and DC will be putting out their fair share and half of everyone else’s too. The big two bank on the boost of their events to drive extra traffic to their other books. This means that they will try some of their stranger ideas. For instance, Marvel has Marvel Apes. DC has DC Universe Decisions.

From the mind of DC’s resident shock writer du jour and Vertigo’s most family friendly scribe comes this story of heroes revealing their political leanings. After a failed suicide bombing at a rally for a Presidential candidate, the Justice League is thrust into the political spotlight. Evidence leads to more attempts coming and that means that the JLA must serve as bodyguards for all the runners. Of course, the most brash member of the team, Green Arrow opens a hornets’ nest when he opens his mouth just a little too wide.

The writers here couldn’t be more different. Winick likes to throw big ideas out and often adds a bit of controversy to his scripts. His runs on books like Titans and The Outsiders have often been eclipsed by the sensational events that happen in the books. Willingham, as the writer of Fables, has shown a unique ability to keep his stories grounded on solid characterization even in the midst of epic stories.

Here, the two utilize both sets of skills to their fullest and create a compelling read that could have easily been discounted. I know when I saw the solicitation, I said "what the heck?" If nothing else, the pair prove that the JLA should be and can be a good read regardless of the story being told. This is something that has been missing from the team’s title since it relaunched after Infinite Crisis.

One has to wonder if Fables or Titans would sell better if both these writers worked on them. As much as this reader adores Willingham’s bread and butter, it would almost have to sell better if it were injected with a bit of that old summer blockbuster type action. Titans is certainly full of that big story and big explosions and big stars, but the characters have never quite seemed right. Together, the two authors are magic and I hope we see them paired on something a little less bizarre.

Much has been made about the concept here. However, is it really that far of a stretch? From books like Red Sun to Civil War, comics have never been afraid to provide political and social commentary. Books like Ex Machina or Nightly News use this type of content as part of their charm. Superheroes have dabbled in the political arena before, whether it be Oliver Queen becoming mayor of Star City, Superman struggling with his arch-nemesis as President of the United States or John Huros assassinating a very obvious political figure. Maybe all the fuss was over the idea of Superman getting his hands dirty in all the mudslinging we see during a Presidential Campaign. The fact that the writers make the scenario not only plausible, but somehow manage to keep the characters true is a testament to their abilities.

Leonardi pencils the book with a standard comic book look. For the most part it is nothing special, but there are glimpses of greatness here or there. The most exceptional example is when the bomb goes off a few pages into the book. Wow.

This is by no means a perfect book. I have no idea who the robot guy hanging out with Robin is, but the imperfections that are there do not at all detract from the reader’s enjoyment of the book or the craft of the story as a whole. As with Marvel Apes earlier this month, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of something I had assumed would be a throw away book.