Broken Frontier

A doomed passenger plane carrying one hundred and forty-eight people goes down in the Atlantic Ocean. Only one man survives. Is it a miracle or something more?

Atlantic Flight 654 into Kennedy International goes down in the freezing waters of the ocean after one of the engines explodes. There is suspicion of terrorist involvement, and the powers that be are discussing what to do next when they receive word that one of the passengers, Nicholas Dane, has managed to survive despite being under water for over sixteen hours. Though it appears to be a miracle, one high-level official suspects otherwise—that Mr. Dane knows exactly what happened to Flight 654. Meanwhile, as Nicholas recovers in a hospital bed, he begins to exhibit certain talents that his fellow, more unfortunate passengers displayed. At first it’s origami; then come the dreams that stir him awake at night; and finally when an attempt is made on his life he discovers his exceptional fighting skills (a heavyweight champion contender was on board) just in time to escape.

Golden and Sniegoski cut to the chase with this introduction to the story without divulging too much about the mysteries surrounding Dane’s abilities or the shadowy group trying to terminate him. The reader may be left scratching his/her head due to the frenetic pacing, but it only helps to identify with the lead character who is even more lost as to what would lead to the events unfolding around him. By the end, both readers and Dane get a much needed break, but unlike Dane, we’re still left wanting more.

Azaceta works for all aspects of what turns out to be a pretty dark tale. His inks are particularly heavy and he often commits the pre-school taboo of "going outside the lines," but he uses space well and every panel’s actions are clear. Riley’s color scheme is likewise set to the gloomier side of the spectrum and it all adds up to a foreshadowing of sorts that would indicate Talent may go even darker.

This may be one of the strongest openings of any series I’ve read in some time. It’s economically written, which is great considering the extra dollar cover price for 22-page Boom Studios books. It has appropriately moody artwork that succeeds in being just as economic as the script. And best of all, it leaves the reader wanting answers just as bad as the confused protagonist does.