Broken Frontier

In the near future, the invention of nanites has allowed for the eradication of all disease, and through this, the ability to combine different species’ DNA into successful hybrid man-beasts.  But when one particular Lion-man named Bruno uses the nanites to deliver a long-ago conquered strain of avian flu, and then withhold the cure, civilization ends and humanity is all but lost.  But a hybrid named Frank—the last of the Chickenheads—survives the ordeal, and with his samurai training and natural immunity he journeys to find those responsible and gain sweet, satisfying revenge.

From the cover alone, LotC Book One looks to be one kick-ass read.  Artist Tony Wicks (Jack in the Box , Crowman) handles full scripting and illustration duties on LotC and it shows: the story elements, the exhaustive number of characters and concepts and creatures and events overpopulate the pages like an artist’s sketchbook, and in a way that proves immensely satisfying.  Wicks doesn’t have the most “proper” sense of pacing and structure, but he does wield a natural voice, an intuitive story logic, and an imagination difficult to rival.  LotC is his playground of pretty much whatever the hell he wants, and backed by a solid and thoroughly rewarding story it’s also a damn fine comic.

Clocking in at 48 pages, “What Came First…”—the first entry in an ongoing line of graphic novel installments—introduces the world and characters in full and packs in (as I mentioned before) far more than most.  Through a wild and winding chronology Wicks delivers the full story of the future world of LotC, and begins what looks to be a long-standing arch-rivalry between evil Lion-man Bruno and heroic Chickenhead Frank.  There’s a two-page preview for the second chapter at the end, and even knowing the full story of this first, the sneak peeks revealed came across as complete surprises, absolutely intriguing and demanding I return for Round Two.  This is one series that won’t be predictable but which is entirely accessible—just about the best pairing in fiction, period.

Wicks’ art is gloriously detailed, artfully toned and full to bursting in every panel.  His layouts in LotC are somewhat standard, but nevertheless strong, the action dynamic and his ability to illustrate beasties and hybrid man-creatures and hi-tech sci-fi stuff equal across the board.  Occasionally the figures are stiff though Wicks’ anatomy is only in part of a realistic kind, his overlarge heads and bulbous bodies resembling that of a young Frank Quitely or, even more on-the-nose, the crazy stylings of comics legend Fletcher Hanks.  Any way you cut it, it’s a professional and slick looking package, awesome to behold in its unique, slightly-larger-than-digest size cut (8 x 5?).

I’m a big fan of Wicks’ other comic Jack in the Box (which he creates alongside writer Martin Buxton), and Last of the Chickenheads only cements the man in my mind as a major new talent.  He’s still in his early phases, but his work’s worth hunting down and getting in your hands right now, because the last thing you want is for him to not continue making more samurai Chikenhead books!

###

To order copies of any and all C2D4 Comics go to www.C2D4.com