Broken Frontier

One year ago the world ended.  Something to do with all the superheroes finally having a big fight.  Now the Earth is left in tatters and the survivors are just trying to get by.

This book focuses on Gil, a singer, and Evelyn, his girlfriend.  In the beginning, we see them in the process of breaking up.  Evelyn gets on a plane.  Her flight is some kind of focal point for the cataclysm that brings about the end of the world.  She is then approached by a spear offering entity who orders her to save the world.

All of this happens in a jumble of flashbacks and cryptic scenes from the story’s present.  Got all of that? ... Good, could you explain it to me?

There is a sense that this is a mystery that (hopefully) will unravel as it goes.  I’m okay with that.  The real problem with the book is it lacks any focus. 

There is, in the middle of the sequence of our couple breaking up, a newspaper article that explains the fight that the Champions have been the center of.  Absolutely no other information about the metabeings is given, except for a shot of them (possibly) flying up to Heaven.

Mushroom clouds, sappy songs, and unbelievably (no really, even the plane crash in Lost is slightly more believable now) long falls make up the rest of the action.  The remainder of the book is a mess hinting at Gil’s unshakeable devotion to Evelyn, the female lead’s indecisiveness (and possible death?), and an unclear sequence or two with her mom.

Making the book even harder to grasp, there is an eye catching sequence where reality may be shifting as Evelyn is coaxed into her ambiguous duty.  All the while there is a distinct lack of characterization.  It would be possible to be teased by the mystery if there were anything to latch onto and care about.

The art, however, is stunning.  Soma is credited with layouts and they are unique.  Oeming is somewhere between his more familiar designs for Powers and his chunky Mice Templar lines.  Finish it off with expert colors by Staples and even though I have no clue what is going on, it sure is nice to look at.

Rapture is a stylistic delight.  Too bad there seems to be no substance underneath all the dazzle.