Broken Frontier

In the tradition of Robotech and Transformers, Marvel Comics unleashes the unstoppable combination of the Mega Morphs.

I think I am going to begin this review with admitting the truth about my reasons for buying this comic. To be honest it had nothing to do with the giant robot aspect of it, but more so with the appearance of Ghost Rider. Now this may seem silly to openly admit my folly to all the faithful Broken Frontier readers who read our reviews, but it’s best to set the record straight at the outset.

So let’s just get down to the heart of a story that’s already in progress. There isn’t much build-up here really, and once you get past that aspect of it the rest is easy to follow. It appears that Tony Stark has spent a considerable amount of his time building a series of giant Robotech-like armor that is meant to custom fit heroes like Spider-Man, the Hulk, Wolverine and of course, Ghost Rider. Again, I am not sure what’s the reasoning here outside of the cool looking esthetics, but Stark is determined to get these machines up and running. Now the only trouble here is that a mysterious individual has hijacked the program to build the same type of robot for Doc Ock to horse around in. It doesn’t take long before the Doc shows up and tangles with Spidey, as both giant robots duke it out. While the melee between hero and villain rages on, Tony Stark desperately begins searching for the mysterious individual who hijacked his program, but it doesn’t take long before that mystery is unraveled at the conclusion of the issue. I won’t give this individual away, so if you’re more than curious still then I suggest you pick up a copy to find out who it is.

Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t find the story plausible at all. In fact I found it to be rather silly at times, and it didn’t help to have fluffy dialogue to accentuate the childish concept. I am not all that familiar with writer Sean McKeever, but I can see why he was brought in to write this comic. He’s been noted as the type of writer to help usher in the more kid-friendly line of comics published recently by Marvel, and it shows here. Perhaps I am just a bit jaded by the fact that Ghost Rider hardly appears at all in this first issue, or maybe I just prefer a more adult oriented story. It could also be that I don’t feel this particular story is my cup of tea, and it pales in comparison to past toy-tie-in-books like ROM, G.I. Joe or even The Transformers. If anything else, the art by Lou Kang is decent enough if you enjoy manga-inspired sequential art like his. His work is a bonus in that regards.

Anyhow, I don’t think the book is a total failure. It’s obvious this title is geared towards an age-specific market and I am more than sure younger readers will get a kick of it. Now as for you adults, I suggest you might want to pass on this one and look for something a bit more mature. Also, for anyone who’s a Ghost Rider fan…forget it completely!