Broken Frontier

An angel is sent to Earth to be one of God’s warriors against evil. Coming here, though, means becoming mortal; Innocent can bleed...and he can die.

Shawn Granger introduces readers to a war hidden for centuries – powerful forces of good who fight equally powerful forces of evil and darkness. This is not necessarily a new theme in comics, so what does Innocent: The Sword bring to the table?

Innocent, an Earthbound angel, is already embroiled in a battle with a dragon when the readers meet him. Barely escaping with his life, he is found in the mountains of Asia by a kindly group of villagers. As the villagers seek to restore Innocent’s health, one gets the feeling fate is not finished with the angel or his rescuers.

The author, Granger, frames the opening of this story beautifully, placing Earth between the realms of Heaven and Hell not just physically but also metaphorically and philosophically. Once past the framing, sequence, however, the story struggles.

A large portion of the first half of the comic is spent on the battle between Innocent and the dragon. While this battle is suitably epic in scope I found myself wishing for more information in order to become invested in the outcome of the battle. Obviously the dragon is an evil being but what has he done? What makes him evil? Are all dragons evil? Where and how did Innocent meet the dragon? How did this fight start? These are all questions I found myself asking and without answers, I found the fight hollow.

The story picks up, however, once the villagers enter the scene. The leader of the small foraging party is truly a Good Samaritan, as well as being a devoted father. In contrast to him, however, is his mysterious and suspicious daughter who appears to be a warrior as well.

Unfortunately, the ending to this issue also stands a little weakly. It seemed to lack the drama that the reader might expect and that I’m sure the author intended for it to have. I actually went back and double checked that I had not missed a page somewhere, expecting more story, but found that it was indeed the end.

The black and white art provided by Daniel Zeta was, however, eye catching. There is a manga influence to his style but with a nice eye for detail and landscapes. His work adds much to the battle with the dragon at the opening and sets a good tone with the bleak, snowy, mountainous landscape where the story takes place. The sharp lines on his work add to the harshness of this world.

Overall, Innocent: The Sword #1 has an interesting idea and an artist perfectly matched to tell the story. There were, however, too many unanswered questions and too much mystery to fully enjoy the story. While I am sure that Innocent’s tale and his mission will be revealed as the story unfolds, for now it is difficult to become invested in a character when you know so little about him.

More information on Innocent: The Sword and its creative team may be found at www.kingtractorfilms.com and copies of the title can be found in shops or at www.dimestoreproductions.com