Broken Frontier

Danny is surrounded by a crazy group of friends. Crazy and desperate and they are all about to embark on an adventure.

David Lapham is probably best known for his critically acclaimed independent series Stray Bullets. Now he is let loose in Vertigo’s playground with an all-new series featuring all-new characters… and let loose is right. Is it actually possible to create a comic book that reads like a raw, punk rock band? Lapham might just have done it.

Danny Noonan is just another faceless young man trying to make ends meet in New York City. The one thing he has going for him is the girl he loves – Sadie Dawkins. Only problem is something happened to Sadie and she ended up with a bullet in her brain. Now, not only is she an adrenalin junkie with no self control and no emotional filters, the bullet in her head is her death waiting to happen. Surrounding Sadie and Danny are a group of quirky but flawed and desperate individuals and one of them says he has a plan to make them all rich – a treasure hunt. Getting rich will be the least of it provided they all survive. You see, Sadie believes one of the group betrayed her leading to her getting shot and she’s vowed to kill the person once she finds out. And then there is Sadie’s blindingly wealthy but addled father who is searching to drag her home and Danny? Well, Danny lies about a lot of things but just who is he lying to and for what reason? And by the way, did I mention Sadie just might really be bulletproof now?

I’m not sure exactly when the "quirky, urban dramady" became a genre but somewhere along the line it did. As insane as Young Liars sounds it is not the first comic on the stands to revolve around a strange group of emotionally and sometimes physically damaged people; occasionally throwing in some paranormal sprinkles along the way. Yet, despite some of the been-there-done that feeling of the characters this title really does rise above. Lapham packs the issue with energy. There are subtle little punk music references scattered throughout and truly the comic has the edgy, raw energy of a punk band still young enough to not be afraid to take chances. The characters also come alive connecting quickly with the readers. It is also an interesting hook, making Danny one of the obvious liars of the group. He is our primary narrator and yet we are also allowed to see the lies he tells and question why he is telling them.

Lapham handles the artistic duties for this title as well and brings just as much energy to the page as his words do. His style is clean and clear and his figures have a nice feeling of human motion. His nightclub scenes are especially good as they really capture a crowded, down-at-the-heel nightclub but without ever making the panels too busy or overfilled.

Download some songs by The Clash or The Ramones to your iPod and strap yourself in before opening the cover. Young Liars is a raw, high-impact story that, as the title warns, moves at a thousand miles as hour.