Broken Frontier

A scientific expedition ends abruptly when a strange electrical storm destroys the main vessel, and the surviving crew floats to an inexplicably creepy island.

When a bizarre sea creature washes ashore in Maui, a scientific excursion to find proof of others like it launches. But just as stomach contents of the beast show a variety of new species may also be on the agenda, a line of electrical clouds lines up in front of the ship and eventually blows it, the research and the majority of the crew to oblivion. The few that do manage to escape on the life raft drift to an uncharted nearby island, rife with some of the very life forms that the mystery beast had in its stomach. All that is evident is that nobody knows where they are, and the natives of this island are none too accommodating to the new guests.

The primary objective of a first issue is to introduce the plot and characters while giving a hint as to the direction the story will take. Cosby and Nelson do a pitch-perfect job of offering just that with this debut. Among the cast is Dr. Keller, the lead researcher who is so into his work that he has little time to be a father to his feisty college-aged daughter, Sarah. Most of the interpersonal tension resides between these two (though Captain Greer doesn’t seem to really care for anyone but himself and he’s not afraid to show it) due to the fact that Sarah passed on a trip to France in favor of spending time with her father. When the ship goes down and the survivors are marked a short boat trip and the accompanying dialogue, often witty and informative, sets the tone for future interactions. And when the crew finally beaches the island, the odd environs add a Twilight Zone level of mystery to it all.

Greg Scott’s art reminds me quite a bit of Michael Gaydos’. It isn’t the cleanest looking book on the market, but it is highly appropriate for the subject matter within. I suspect that as the series goes on and the island and its inhabitants play a larger part, the art will play just as, if not a more, important a role in the tone of the story as the writing.

I was recently trying to describe this book to a friend, and came up with, "it’s a combination of Gilligan’s Island, Lost and King Kong," which is about as good as I can come up with. BOOM! Studios has added yet another promising title their rapidly expanding line. In fact, X Isle may prove to be the best of the bunch, which is no small feat.