Broken Frontier

Jason Martin’s Super Real is a guilty indy indulgence. For those of you (shame on you!) unfamiliar with the book, Super Real tracks the stories of Holly Hood (24 year old waitress and go-go dancer), Michael Dasquea (21 year old aspiring pro body builder and wrestler), Kityana Bliss (19 year old model), Warren Campbell (29 year old struggling club promoter and trance music producer) and Shana Payne (23 year old failed dotcom entrepreneur) as they embark on a journey into super powered stardom. All five of them have signed $1 million contracts to become genetically "enhanced" for a reality TV show.

This issue picks up the morning after the night before when the members of the team were exposed to a series of genetic enhancements that will give them the super abilities they are going to need to survive the show being put together by extreme reality TV programmers, X-TV.

Holly Hood is at the centre of the story at this point in time, and it is largely through her eyes that we see the story play out. Her enhancements have granted her additional adrenaline which at the twist of a strategically placed button, presumably make her tireless, fearless and incredibly strong. Holly’s going to need all that and more to survive.

We are quickly introduced to the powers of the other cast members, most of them quite typical for comics, but all with an interesting twist and then, it’s straight into the action as the team go through their paces against a very angry bovine beast.

This issue delivers the payoff after we have been waiting through #1 and #2 for the action to begin. However, the action is sparingly featured, and we instead remain focused on the team members, and the scary suits and ties from X-TV and the firm behind the genetic enhancements, Geniburton.

This issue is not as outrageously funny as #2, with its digs at President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, but the jokes are consistent, as are the pop culture puns. This issue around, everything from Furbies to cosmetic surgery is sent up, and the book is all the better for these comical elements.

As present as ever is Jason Martin’s unique cartoony art style, mixed with real life images that enhance the "reality" angle of the book. To my mind, this remains Super Real’s greatest achievement, keeping the unreal nature of the story grounded in a very warped reality.

Super Real is a huge indy achievement – the book is all Jason Martin, from the art to the colors to the script to the letters. Super Real is a book that doesn’t take itself too seriously and one that is all tongue firmly in cheek. With its digs at pop and comic book culture, this is a book that should bring out a laugh in all fans.