Broken Frontier

I didn’t know what to expect when I first picked up Strange Science Fantasy #1, but in hindsight, it should have been pretty obvious.  It was a strange read, with lots of fantastic elements, though “science” may be a bit of stretch. This opening issue focuses on the protagonist, The Head Light, a bizarre manufactured humanoid being that shoots laser beams through his head from his soul.  SSF #1 definitely offers a new and different comics experience.  Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen.

I have never seen a story told in this way.  It’s not exactly like an illustrated story, where there is lots of writing with occasional illustrations, but it is also not like a typical sequential art book, where the story progresses from panel to panel.  It seems to be a combination of both.  The panels themselves seem like snapshots from dramatic scenes of an epic story, while the words accompanying them only describe the events in very broad terms.  While there is the vague sense of a story, there doesn’t actually seem to be any action.  Instead, the author creates a general outline describing the character’s origin and behaviors. 

The art in this book has a very old-school feel to it, mostly because of the coloring style and the ben-day dots in every panel, so I’m not sure if this particular style is something that used to be done a while ago.  I’m used to scenes and dialogue, and this story really has none.  This is interesting, but it makes it hard for the reader to invest anything in the story.  While the events being described are interesting (like the mechanical animal forces teaming up with the gearheads against the army), the specifics are lacking.  The author does make the effort to use flowery language, but this only serves to make the story less concrete, and thus even less engaging.  In fact, one could even argue that the writing gets in the way of the art.

The major selling point of this book is the art.  Every panel of Scott Morse’s art jumps out at you from the page.  He is great at designing interesting layouts that give the readers the sense that they’re actually in the story.  His style is rough but pretty, dynamic and full of life.  Morse is incredible at depicting action within a single frame, which is good, because there aren’t many pages where events continue from one panel to the next. 

This book is a fun way to experiment with different kinds of storytelling.  The story itself is a little annoying, and feels like it gets in the way of the art, which is amazing.  But I would recommend this title to anyone who is a fan of dazzling and dynamic art, and wants some exposure to ludicrous characters and plots.