Broken Frontier

Writer JT Krul and artist Alex Konat have a genuinely entertaining spy thriller on their hands and have successfully built upon a solid first issue. With the characters and their abilities firmly established, as well as each member’s role, it’s time to delve into the more story-driven plot mechanics that this series has in store.

In the previous issue, we only got a taste of the overarching threat, featured mainly in a bookend piece that resulted in a lowly hacker being lethally poisoned. The writer’s choice to slowly reveal the coming threat is paying off, providing a suitable level of suspense in a story that could easily become clichéd in less capable hands.

Krul has done a fine job of defining these four main characters to the point that you can see the coming conflicts, strengths, and weaknesses. Not in a bad way, mind you, but more on an anticipatory level. I can’t wait to see some of these personalities come to blows. In taking the time to define the protagonists, the shadowy antagonist has become even more dangerous, especially after his reveal. He appears to be an unassuming man whose motives and tactics clash with the sensibilities and core values of at least two of the four member team. His sadistic and apparently telepathic henchmen pose a considerable threat for the other two team members.

At the end of issue one, Connor (our presumed hero) killed a man in the back alley of a nightclub. The side effects of his clinically induced telepathy result in an inability to turn it off, not to mention some very bad trips with reality. Connor sees a man's intentions to rape and murder a girl, not to mention his previous victims. Connor flips and violently confronts the man in an alley. We pick up issue two with Connor being under observation. The suits, not knowing how to deal with his apparent break with reality, come up with a surprise solution that cements this story as being slightly more original than the norm. It's a testament to Krul's knowledge of the genre's structure as well as the real life history of the projects that inspired the series.

Alex Konat's art has become stronger since the last issue. His handle of storytelling is stronger and the effect which he uses to establish the mind reading is a little clearer. Before, it was a drastic change in color scheme and a little chaotic. In this issue, Konat establishes which mind is being read in a crowd and we have a better handle of which mind reader is doing the poking around.

Krul & Konat are working as a wonderful team, crafting a story that's both based in the real world, and indulging in some real fantastical elements. Not unlike a story like Preacher. The properties can't be any more different, but in the aspect of aesthetic, they are quite similar. Both have lived in and expressive characters that are forced to deal with real emotions. The writers have placed emphasis in building that atmosphere.

Because the characters are successful manifestations, no matter what off-the-wall situation you place them in, be it an Irish vampire or telepathic spies on drugs, the audience will continue to trust in these people being people, despite the extraordinary.

Two issues in and Mindfield is proving to be a fun and energetic ride. It continues to surprise me, not always in its story, but in the emotional connection that Krul and company have been able to cultivate in such a short amount of time. This is a good series, happening on the fringe but packing just as much punch per dollar as many of the major publishers' heavy hitters.

Reach back, pick up the first issue, and give this series a chance. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised.