Broken Frontier

Every once in a while, a creative team with absolutely incredible chemistry comes along. Damon Hurd and Rick Smith are one such team.

Envy Saint-Claire is a temp worker. Every day, she does someone else’s job. Today, Envy is faced with her strangest and most challenging job yet. To make matters worse, as soon as Envy enters the building, her new co-workers play an extremely intricate practical joke on her. Or do they?

Hurd has gained a good deal of recognition in the small press from his previous works, all of which have centered on personal, heartfelt experiences. Here, he tackles an entirely new genre, proving his significant talent to any remaining doubters. Hurd spends a good deal of time setting up the eerie atmosphere into which Envy enters. It is time well spent, as this story oozes with the feeling that something is amiss. His script also twists and turns unexpectedly on almost every page. The final two pages, in particular, will undoubtedly leave readers reeling from shock.

Much in the way that the script will surprise the reader, so will the very nature of this book. Temporary strays from the realistic, slice-of-life comics so common in the small press today, and becomes a mixture of slice-of-life, satire and even mystery. This book will not leave anyone in a fit of laughter, but Hurd certainly proves humor is a tool that he can employ. Along with the humor that comes with satire, so too comes social commentary. Hurd shows readers his beliefs on the so-called "modern woman" and nine-to-fives, among other things.

Rick Smith brings the second half of the wonderful synergy in this book. He is as much responsible for the aforementioned atmosphere as Hurd. His character designs, for example, work excellently. Envy exudes with a desire for self-reliance, while the designs of the other characters suit their quirks nicely, as well. Smith’s style is very heavily stylized, but it is also very clean and tells the story perfectly.

Many small press readers eagerly anticipated this self-published book, as Hurd and Smith are giants in the independent comic world. Their uniting was every bit as good as expected, and Temporary is quite certainly one of the best first issues that I have ever read. If you like alternative genre comics, this book is truly a must-buy.

-Eliot Johnson