Broken Frontier

A small town disappears behind an impenetrable barrier and the Shadowpact may be the only hope for the citizens. Can this ragged group survive their first mission?

With the surprising success of the Day of Vengeance miniseries, writer Bill Willingham has been given an ongoing series to explore the magical side of the DC Universe with Shadowpact. Can he continue to work his own magic with these mostly forgotten characters?

The town of Riverrock, Wyoming is taken over and sealed off by a group of evil mystics who have plans involving a rather powerful spell. Unfortunately for the citizens of the town, that spell involves a large number of human sacrifices as well. Summoned to the scene by the Phantom Stranger, the Shadowpact is sent through the barrier to free the city. One year later, though, the barrier still stands with no sign of the Shadowpact!

There is a little bit of reintroduction to the characters last seen in Day of Vengeance and we see that many of them have changed or are in the process of changing. Nightshade, for example, displays a rather interesting new ability and Jim Rook, A.K.A. Nightmaster has had his youth restored thanks to his magic sword.

Starting from this first issue, readers will already see that writer Bill Willingham is not about to follow the conventions of traditional superhero comics. This story is heavy on mood, atmosphere, and character moments rather than on the bang and flash of action or magic. This is not to say that there are not magical moments but what Willingham is crafting is more a story of mystical suspense.

The hook here, aside from the characters, is in Willingham’s talent with dialogue. All of the characters converse in an easy, realistic way, which tells the reader as much, if not more, about the character than some pronouncement or narrative box. If any proof were needed, the speech by the villainous Strega is probably one of the best evil speeches I have read in a long time. It is practical, honest, truthful, unscrupulous and sympathetic – all of which make it perfectly bone chilling.

This was my first exposure to Willingham’s art and, while it is very different from that of Justiniano’s work on Day of Vengeance, it is quite welcome. Although faintly cartoony, there is also a great level of detail and sophistication in Willingham’s style. In fact, I often was put in mind of some of the illustrations that used to appear in old, children’s books of fairy tales, which is perfect for a series that features a demon, sorceresses, a knight with a magic sword, and a talking animal.

Shadowpact is something unexpected and slightly different in a mainstream comic book and for that alone it deserves a long run. In the wake of Day of Vengeance and Infinite Crisis, magic has become much darker and more dangerous. Join the Shadowpact on their magical mystery tour as they try to tame the forces of wild magic!