Broken Frontier

Ever get caught up in a book? When a library patron gets sucked into a book of monsters, it’s up to the intrepid librarian Rex Libris to save her!

Readers will probably find few comics on the shelves today as quirky as James Turner’s Rex Libris. With a library whose region includes other planets and dimensions and circulating materials that runs from Voltaire to magical books of monsters, it takes a special kind of librarian... one who is as fast with a gun as he is with the Dewey Decimal System.

With another book safely returned to the library and repaired from planetary wear and tear, Rex is ready for a simple reshelving job. An unsuspecting library patron, however, has gotten a hold of a particularly nasty book on mythical monsters. When one of the monsters decides to alter the meaning of the phrase "get into a good book," it is up to Rex to rescue her. Of course saving the girl means having to fight his way through an army of zombies and crypto-zoological nightmares. Will our intrepid hero save the girl? More to the point, what kind of library fines will this little adventure incur?

Writer and artist James Turner sets the literary world on its ear with a white collar, librarian hero with a blue-collar attitude and accent. Rex’s adventure here has more than a bit of a Hellboy vibe but funnels it into more of a spoof. There are also some horror movie conventions which are turned upside down for some good natured ribbing. Add to this a few obscure literary references and some dry, deadpan humor and you have the makings of a comic that reads like little else. Turner sets out to bring the fun and funny with just a little adventure thrown in to spice things up.

Rex Libris is also a comic that looks like little else on the market. Turner uses a blocky, style that puts one in mind of early computer animation and character design. This unique look lends the book a surreal feel which fits perfectly with the surreal stories and off-beat humor.

Rex Libris #6 is a pretty good jumping on point for readers new the adventures of the world’s strangest librarian. If you have a taste for the unusual and fun then this title is one for you. After all, the extraordinary is the ordinary for a day in the life of Rex Libris.