Broken Frontier

He’s two millennia old, but the first librarian of the 21st century. He’s Rex Libris, library cop. Evildoers with overdue books beware.

It’s not just the Patriot Act that’s made it harder to be a librarian. Demon samurai researching ways to tear our dimension to shreds without library cards are a treat to civilization, too. But it’s all in a day’s work for a Glock-toting library cop who’s as well-trained in counter-terrorism as he is in book restoration. Rex Libris is his name, and "I, Librarian" is his story. Watch him smite demon samurai and afterwards rebuff the mysterious Mr. Blumenkohl, head of W.R.A.I.T.H. (Worldwide Revenge, Aggression, Intimidation, Terror, and Hubris) when he offers Rex a position in his organization. Join in the fun as Rex puts the hammer down on lovers smooching on library benches when they should be learning. Pump your fist when Rex gets his memoir "I, Librarian" adapted as a comic that will promote the weighty task of librarians everywhere and make his indie publisher buckets of cash. But feel the pathos as Rex makes time with the ladies though he pines for his original love, Hypatia, lost Librarian of Alexandria. Finally, grip the pages and hang on to the edge of your seat as Rex gets his most arduous assignment yet from his boss, Thoth, library administrator and Egyptian god who created language.

A few months back, Rex Libris creator James Turner released an impressive graphic called NIL: A Land Beyond Belief. (http://www.jtillustration.com/nil/) In Rex Libris, he follows up with the same brand of eccentric and erudite humor. Not a comic to be consumed quickly, Rex Libris will take as long as five from Marvel to read and is best enjoyed settling in with a preferred beverage, and, if the reader smokes, about half a pack. And there’s a bit of postmodern metatextuality to wrap one’s head around—Rex Libris being the comic adaptation of I, Librarian, Rex’s fictional memoir which also provides the story title.

But once this is understood, the read itself is enormously fun on a number of levels. First, there’s Rex himself. Picture the Bookman character from one of the best "Seinfeld" episodes ever with the bulk and fight banter of Hellboy, then add Harvey Keitel’s swagger and thick black frames with even thicker lenses. On paper he seems a conundrum, but Turner fleshes him out as someone doing what he’s meant to do with verve and gusto. And yet, the humor of Rex’s character comes from his being either one step ahead or one step behind the world around him. Next, there’s the premise. Rex Libris fighting the good fight and hunting down overdue books as far off as other planets is entertaining on its own, but the future prospects of Rex’s story taking place inside other well-known works of literature in the manner of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next novels has a wealth of narrative and humorous possibilities. Third, Rex’s boss Thoth is simply a hoot. Then there’s the running conversation at the bottom of every page meant to be experienced like the commentary track on a DVD. I don’t recommend reading both the commentary and main story together, as that would take away the fun of each. Rather, read the comic, then go back and read the commentary. Both can be enjoyed on their own. Lastly, there’s Turner himself. Every nook and cranny of every page is crammed with an imagination unfettered by the sometimes rigid conventions of comics.

And Turner’s distinctive digital art style never fails to please. In fact, he does more with software than many artists can with pencils. Depth, perspective, a sense of movement, as well as emotion—except for color, this relative newcomer to comics puts everything that engages the eyes on the page. Turner’s images mesh well with the vast amount of text in the book—no small feat considering the sheer volume of words—and he uses the lack of color to his advantage in panel construction. Dark shades and blacks anchor the panels, while white and grays add foreground accents and background detail.

Rex Libris #1 is definitely something different, and definitely worth a look.