Broken Frontier

Captain Dynamo is dead! Long live his five illegitimate children, each possessing one of his mighty abilities! But can they work together?

Readers were first introduced to the less than noble Captain Dynamo in the pages of Jay Faerber’s book, Noble Causes, where he was revealed to not only be a great superhero but a bit of a womanizer as well. Hey, we all got our vices, right? Eventually, of course, he was killed. Being that this is an Image comic, chances are he’ll stay dead. So someone needs to protect his city and who better to do it than the children who were the results of Dynamo’s infidelities? That’s right, he cheated on his wife to help spawn these kids who now have his powers. And his widow, the lovely Ms. Maddie Warner, found these five children and let them loose on the villains that would dare plague the late, great Captain Dynamo’s city. I know, quite a premise.

Thankfully, Faerber manages to write an introductory story that lives up to that ostentatious premise. The story reads two ways. First, it is like classic comic book exposition, giving us a clear origin story, characters with a solid, if a bit flat at this point, base, and enough action to quench any superhero comic book fan’s desire for the larger-than-life element of the stories. Second, Dynamo 5 shows us the humanity behind the heroes. Faerber gives his readers glimpses into Captain Dynamo’s infidelities, his widow’s secrets, and these young heroes’ coping abilities when thrust into a world that would not only seem unreal, but all too real. Remember, they wouldn’t be where they are if it hadn’t been for their all too human father’s all too human actions. In short, Faerber walks the thin line and walks it with grace, giving his readers an intelligent superhero comic book that is also fun.

Mahmud A. Asrar’s images are also a mix of the serious and the fun. His style is sleek and defined, classic and new. Asrar’s ability to incorporate solid action in each page is enviable. He gives readers images that are powerful, charged, and constantly moving by using clever line work and surprisingly sophisticated and varied paneling. His characters are strong, his backgrounds are precise, vague where appropriate, clear and well explained when necessary. But beyond that there is a feel to his work that makes us happy to be reading a book about superheroes. There is an innocence to it that can even be seen on a page chock full of violence and revelation.

Faerber and Asrar have joined forces to create a book any fan can enjoy. It is the re-imagining of a classic story giving it a whole new taste and sophistication.