Broken Frontier

The Programme offers an intriguing look at a military experiment gone wrong in this exciting new series from WildStorm.

I have always been a big fan of Peter Milligan’s writing ever since this prolific creator began his tenure as a top scribe for Vertigo. Over time Pete has proven to be the versatile talent of numerous limited series and one-shots, and it’s no surprise that he would pen an intriguing tale for WildStorm.

The Programme is his latest attempt to work in the tired and old plot of scientific/military meddling which begins in World War Two. Much of the tale then flips to the present where we witness a near cataclysmic nuclear disaster in the war torn sands of the Middle East, and this is coupled with the arrival of fading folk rock star Max Kean. What all these events lead up to is anyone’s guess, but there is obviously a powerful force dubbed "The Talibstan Terror" which seemingly links all these all events together.

I have always liked the dynamics which Milligan infuses within all his pieces of writing. He’s usually enthusiastic about his characters and it obviously shows here with his portrayal of Max Kean. A guy like this, eternally down on his luck, is pure Milligan and it will be interesting to see how this character fits into the overall scheme of things. My only small beef about this issue is how the scenes depicted here flip flop continuously to allow for the setting to come across as a bit confusing. I know it’s only a small complaint, but it’s something that did detract somewhat from the effectiveness of the story.

The artist chosen to dramatize this opening issue is CP Smith. I liked the style which Smith employed to bring this series to life, and it worked extremely well from page to page. Smith’s unique approach allowed him to apply a graphic touch that contrasted stark shadows to a colorful palette on many of the panels, so it surely made for a very dramatic effect. Upon first glance I was trying to figure out what artist his style closely resembled and I guess the closest comparison I could make would be John Van Fleet. His work is that good and I am eager to see how well this style will fare over the course of the series.

Normally when I see Milligan’s named attached to a project I instantly think it destined to be a thought provoking tale. In this case, The Programme is a bit vague starting out, but I trust Milligan’s vision. He’s a proven talent with the ability to craft intriguing characters and coupling that with perplexing scenarios. There’s nothing short of that going on here, and it will be interesting to see the extent of this vision in future issues. I say bring on The Programme and let’s see what spirals out from it.