Broken Frontier

When we last left our small plastic heroes (in the zero issue of this series), a panic had descended upon Andy’s room. Andy had a present—in August!—that turned out to be a second Buzz Lightyear action figure. Said doppelganger quickly overpowered “our” Buzz and got him returned to the toy store in the new Buzz’s place. Now Woody, Rex, Hamm, Potato Head, and the gang must begin a daring rescue mission, discreetly “borrow” Andy’s mother’s car, avoid suspicious traffic cops, and locate the real Buzz before it’s too late.

While I question the practice of starting a story in a zero issue, there’s no denying that BOOM! has an excellent handle on the Toy Story license. Writer Jesse Blaze Snider perfectly captures the style, tone, and heart of the original movies in this issue, reminding us why we love these characters. The dialogue and humor are spot-on, ranging from the existential toy dread of being returned, to possible possession by Zandovian mind worms. One can easily hear the actors’ voices while reading this story. Snider also nicely expands the roles of several supporting characters, including strongman toy Rocky Gibraltar and Star Command Cadet Boomer (from the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command animated series, a clever way of incorporating that side of the franchise).

The only minor flaw in the issue is that the scenario itself feels very familiar. A duplicate Buzz and a toy store rescue were both elements of Toy Story 2 and one can’t help but feel that the characters have been through this already. As every other aspect of the book is pitch-perfect, it can be assumed that the series will make up for this when it starts moving in new directions.

Artist Nathan Watson has a tall order to fill, as Toy Story fans are used to the rich and highly rendered computer graphics of the movies. Nonetheless, he does a passable job lending cartoonish charm and skillful, if slightly loose, line work to the book. Watson captures the characters’ likenesses and humorously exaggerated expressions well. The highlight of the issue however is his design work for Buzz’s various alternate costumes and accessories.

BOOM!’s Toy Story series seems off to a good start and will easily entertain both the kids and the older fans of the Pixar films. And it’s not just the mind worms making me to say that, honest!