Broken Frontier

Everyone is on the look-out for rising stars in comics. If this debut book is any indication, Max Estes fills that role nicely.

William is an apartment manager with a justifiably guilty conscience about many things. Yet, he just cannot stop making the same mistakes over and over. As things keep piling up on William, an unexpected figure arrives from his past. That unexpected figure=s advice may just be exactly what William needed. Then again, it may already be too late.

Max Estes=s work first drew my attention in the Project: Telstar anthology. There he gave readers a heartfelt story that stood as one of the Eisner-nominated book=s best. Here, Estes takes a totally different style to storytelling. More heart-wrenching than heartfelt, Hello, Again is a largely dismal piece, but it makes for excellent reading, thanks to Estes=s considerable talent. Estes makes William=s flaws painfully apparent, but he also makes him a very likable guy. While the supporting characters definitely help build William=s identity, they also have very little depth of their own for the most part. However, that lack of development serves only to further spotlight William, who is one of the more interesting characters I=ve seen in comics this year.

The plot really holds little importance as the book=s focus is clearly on character and concept. That concept proves to be very interesting, while the introspection into William=s psyche is thoroughly engaging. The plot does take a pair of surprising twists, but character development is certainly the book=s purpose. The story ends on a surprisingly happy note, but it works with the story and nicely cheers up the gloomy tone. This tale was a bit off the wall and certainly not for everyone, but fans of alternative comics should check it out.

Max Estes employs an extremely highly art style that is reminiscent of many of his peers at Top Shelf and other alternative publishers. He does, however, also have his own unique artistic look and it=s a good one. Estes=s ability to convey emotions makes his art work nicely with his story while his art is just plain fun to look at. The heavy brow that Estes places on William perfectly emphasizes the guilt he carries while the fisherman has a warm countenance that suits his character nicely. Estes=s work may appear simple to the untrained eye, but it is really excellent work.

Given that I had only read one short story from Max Estes, I had extremely high hopes for this book, his debut. Estes has me eagerly anticipating his future work with this intriguing character piece. Top Shelf has found another winner--Max Estes is a name to watch.

-Eliot Johnson