Broken Frontier

After bouncing around anthologies for the past few years, renowned illustrator Doug Fraser makes his full-length comics debut.

Mort Grim follows a grim reaper on a motorcycle as he travels around a very desolate highway. Of course, where the grim reaper goes, disasters follow. This story is no exception to that rule, as everything from car accidents to demonic hounds accompanies him in this journey. It's a bold, modern take on the grim reaper--certainly like nothing you've seen before. How exactly, also, does a very special waitress fit into this story?

This graphic novella is very much similar to Fraser's work in the Project Superior and Project Telstar anthologies in that it is a bit dense. That is, it may take a few readings of this book to fully comprehend Fraser's story and the meaning behind it. However, once you do, it's a very bold story which will knock you flat on your back. Fraser begins his story with bold action that has to grab the reader's attention. Further, as with any good story featuring the grim reaper or a variation of that character, Fraser does leave you with a very chilling feeling, particularly with the end of the book. Although he only uses a very minimal amount of dialogue, Fraser makes sure that he uses it to its fullest extent when he does. Each and every line packs a huge punch.

As one would expect from a creator like Fraser whose primary background is in illustration, most of the storytelling within this book derives from the art. His art combines a bold, in-your-face feel with a very fluid storytelling style. He does have a mastery of telling stories sequentially.  Mort Grim is very much not a collection of spot illustrations, even as powerful as the individual images are. Fraser's style is a very stylized one, generally making use of thick brush-strokes, but he does vary the stroke thickness to make for a very visually entertaining book. The final touch to this book's visual beauty is the stark yellow and black color scheme of the interiors, emphasizing the story's intensity.

One cannot truly review a book by AdHouse without mentioning the incredible production design. Chris Pitzer has truly outdone himself this time--this book is gorgeous to the sight and touch. The attention grabbing colors and lettering on the front cover are just the beginning. The final touch is a hologram of our motorcycle riding grim reaper within the "O" on the title page.

We've always known that we could count on AdHouse for that excellent design sense, but now it's becoming clear that we can count on the publisher for just as high quality of story--Fraser's eery, dark Mort Grim is both unique and stunning.