Broken Frontier

The Huntress’ origin is explored as readers learn how a mobster’s daughter became a superhero.

There has long been a feeling of "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" with the Huntress. The character has been a fan favorite since her introduction back in the 1970’s. With the exception of some back-up features and solo mini-series over the years, however, she has long been a staple of only supporting casts and team books. Does slightly novice comic book writer Ivory Madison have what it takes to give Huntress the final push to solo stardom? Let’s see…

Helena Bertinelli is at loose ends. The only survivor to the slaughter of her family, she went to live with a family of mafia assassins in Sicily. When that family was arrested, Helena wandered a bit but ended up right back on the farm. She is unable to go back and yet unable to move forward either and so she remains frozen in place… until an outside force acts upon her. Helena’s life is moving again but is it really the direction she should be going?

"Year One" style stories are always difficult for writers since fans already know the outcomes. No matter what Madison does, readers know that at the end Helena will be the Huntress. The trick, therefore, is to create dramatic tension in the journey, not the outcome. While, at this early stage, Madison does not quite manage to create that dramatic tension she does build a nice, solid realism to the story. This issue feels like a house of bricks rather than a castle on clouds. The Bertinelli family reads like some of the nastier family situations that make the news in our everyday life and even the Asaro family does not seem outside the bounds of reality. Madison also does a good job at presenting Helena to readers. Here the future Huntress comes across as tough but brittle right from the start and it is a characterization that fits well.

Madison’s writing is not without its flaws, though. Some of the narration borders on the pretentious and there is at least one sequence of dialogue – a discussion of sexist terminology – that feels just tacked on. Also, there is a sequence where the smart, careful, and cautious Helena suddenly makes a completely boneheaded move. While I suppose it is meant to show the depth of the character’s feeling, it just isn’t believable considering what we’ve been shown up to this point.

The art, by Cliff Richards, is nearly perfection personified. Richards draws the characters with a real sense of body shape and understanding of action. A few of his poses look a little stiff and awkward but overall these characters come off as realistic and believable. He also captures the locations well. His interiors and exteriors for the Asaro farm really do look and feel like they are European. Since much of this issue is talking heads and family scenes, he does not get to add a whole lot of action but he proves that, with excellent facial expressions, even a talking heads scene can be gripping.

As a first issue, Huntress: Year One does not exactly explode off of the page. There are flaws but Madison and Richards are taking a slightly different tack with this comic and it will be interesting to see if their little experiment pays off. The creative team is working hard to ground this title in realism and emotional drama instead of fantasy and that is worth giving it a shot.