Broken Frontier

Powerful Gems. The Spear of Destiny. Evil Mayan Gods. Armies of Martians. In dire times, the United States can count on one man, Theodore Roosevelt.

Rick Remender writes some of the most fun comics around. No, they aren't tightly plotted masterpieces. No, he isn’t changing the face of comics. He has one mission and one mission only. That mission is to entertain. He knows that you are spending hard earned money on his books and by accepting your money, he knows that he needs to fulfill a promise. His promise is that his book will be fun.

The Frank Frazetta series from Image has taken classic paintings by the fantasy master and turned them into comic book stories. This book based on the Creatures painting which has what appears to be Theodore Roosevelt surrounded by all manner of fantastical monsters, UFOs and what not. Remender takes this inspiration, throws in a little Hellboy, adds a little Amazing Screw-On Head, and throws just a dash of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in for tang.

The concoction that he comes up with is not new, but it sure is fun. In May of 1898, Roosevelt formed the Dark Riders, a top secret group that would help him with his dangerous paranormal investigations. One Edgar Rice Burroughs becomes a member and Roosevelt’s closest advisor for years. In that same year, an adventure on the Mexican border leads to the raising of Tlacolotl, an evil Mayan god who wants the gem that powers Teddy’s antique version of the Ghostbusters’ Proton Packs. This leads to an even bigger adventure in 1909 as our hero sits in the Oval Office. I won’t spoil the rest of it for you, but I will say that I need to see a fight between Zeppelins and UFOs on a movie screen like now!

It’s all in good fun, from the obvious inspiration for Burroughs’ writings to the hilariously ham-fisted dialogue of the Martians to the recitations of famous speeches and altering of catch phrases by the 26^th U.S. president. Remender tells a sprawling epic tale that is somehow concise. It ends almost too quickly and begs for more to be done with the concept. Can I write in a candidate for the Pilot Season program?

Complementing the story well is the art of Peter Bergting, whose art is surprisingly somewhere in between that of Mike Mignola and Kevin O’Neil. You know, those guys who drew the books I said were obvious influences on the story. It makes for a unique bit of comfortability with the book, like we have seen it before and we liked it. The difference here is the dark red hue of the book that makes for a rich and haunting milieu.

If you are looking for wholly original comics, this is probably not the book for you. But, if you are looking for rip roaring adventure that is fun and inspired, you will be hard pressed to find an equal on the spinner rack!