Broken Frontier

In a world of magic and mystery a swordsman faces a portent of the end of the world. Is he the one to prevent it?

In this day and age, it is exceedingly rare to see a one-man creative team on a mainstream published title. Peter Bergting has set a big task for himself with The Portent and the question is: is he up to the job?

In a world with many similarities to our own, ancient and powerful spirits, beings both dead and beyond death, lived alongside mortal men. That time is passing and now the two sides appear to be arraying for war. A group of seers, called the Coven, have seen visions of the end of their world and also of the young man who might stop it – a talented but cynical swordsman named Milo. He may not believe in visions, signs, and portents but that does not mean that they do not believe in Milo...

In this first issue, the reader is introduced to the core conflict of this story but we do not, however, learn much about the protagonist. This is, perhaps, a bit of the issue’s weakness as I found myself wanting to know a little more about Milo and why he found himself traveling. On the other hand, I was still drawn into the story enough to want to know more about Milo and his background. To be honest, quest style stories with "chosen one" heroes all follow a similar pattern and certain conventions and The Portent does bow to many of those conventions. Even some of the characters’ dialogue is fairly routine but there are wonderful, lyrical moments in the narration that really shine. In addition, Bergting has carefully crafted the entire world in The Portent – mixing Asian artistic and mythological elements with European ones. In reading this comic words, art, and colors combine to create a world similar to our own and at the same time different. There is such a strong sense of place created here that at no point does the reader question where or what this world is, we accept merely that it is – even as its inhabitants do. There is something compelling in this.

There is also a quality to Bergting’s art that also vaguely reminded me of that of early Mike Mignola. The trappings of the spirit realm and mythology he uses for the tale compliment his dark, faintly gothic art. When he chooses to let loose, however, he proves his art can reach a scale bordering on the epic.

Bergting’s name is not one I am familiar with but to call me impressed with this comic is an understatement. Certainly, there is still a little spark that could be added to the dialogue but for any creator to be able to completely craft and control their story from script to art to color is not an easy task in and of itself. To do so and create a tale that wraps you up and completely transports you to another place is simply impressive. Peter Berting has set a path here that portends great things.