Broken Frontier

"No genres, no heroes, no villains– we promise."

It’s a defiant promise to make, but Rick Remender did, way back in the first issue of Sea of Red. That makes it a hell of a tough prospect to describe the book. It’s got vampires, pirates (many vampire pirates), movie executives, a samurai, violence and a whole lot of bad behavior. Sea of Red is a gruesome mix that rips apart all previous notions of pulp and leaves something bloody and raw in its stead.

This latest issue takes place a thousand years before the first issue. It’s an introduction to a culture of vampires, a reintroduction to Blackthroat and his companion, the Samurai Omura, as they depart on a quest to find a most blasphemous treasure. Their path is beset by inhuman obstacles while adversaries follow in close pursuit.

Continuing his take-over of the Image Comics line is Rick Remender. Remender, with co-plotting by partner-in-crime Kieron Dwyer, handle the task of redefining the book’s seemingly wicked pirates quite nobly. Plumbing the murkiest depths of a new and epic history, Remender reveals more facets of two characters who in other hands might merely have been trite clichés. While it would be easy to wonder where this story was headed after the first four issues, it’s evident that Remender and Dwyer have a map, and that it’s huge. Without reading the previous issues, this story stands alone just fine, but with a little context, the entire story may open up aspects of these characters that turn our previous conceptions upside down.

Joining the crew as the book’s new regular artist is Paul Harmon, who’d formerly been known for his acclaimed Image release, Mora. Harmon takes the reigns from departing artist Salgood Sam, leaving to create a title of his own, called Revolver. Since the story in this issue is a departure from the established serial, it’s a bit hard to say how different Harmon’s take on the characters and the story is from Sam’s. Suffice it to say that even in moments of stillness, Harmon is able to imbue his figures and their world with a palpable violence. Harmon’s work is less cartoonish than Sam’s, lending tension to those quiet, dark seconds of calm before the storm.

Sea of Red has been one of the most unique books of the new Image line. It leaps the boundaries of all previous genre fiction, creating a new kind of pulp epic.