DC The New Frontier

When I announced on Twitter that I would be reading this DC New Frontier about a week ago (as of when I wrote this), Artist Robert Ahmad's response was 'About God Damn Time!'

My response to him was 'All good things come to those who wait.'

Never have truer words been spoken!!

DC: The New Frontier is (almost) the last of my Birthday/Christmas bundle (with the exception of New 52 Action Comics volume 3) and it ended up as the finale of all these comics for a couple of reasons. Firstly, and primarily, its size (500 plus pages) was something that made me decide that I wanted to leave until the end and after I had written all the regular-sized trades I had in my to read pile.



DC: The New Frontier.

However, the deciding factor was my trepidation about reading it. DC: The New Frontier is one of those books which always appears on every must read list I've ever seen or heard about and that, if for no other reason, was why I wanted it. However, I had watched the animated adaptation and wasn't all that impressed by it and, as a result, feared whether I would actually enjoy reading this. After all, 500 plus pages is a lot of book to force myself to read if I don't enjoy it.

Thankfully, as I closed the back cover to this behemoth of a comic, I'm glad to say that this was a fear which was totally unfounded!!

Taking place from the end of the Second World War and through the Korean War and McCarthyism, DC: The New Frontier follows DC's greatest silver age as they live through the silver age. A time of paranoia, communist witch hunts, and space races, we see the origins of some of our favourite heroes as they struggle to be the heroes we know in this past environment. Meanwhile, as these characters come into their own, they find themselves on a collision course of a terrible evil with which they may not survive.

So, my mandatory synopsis/selling spiel done, let's get down to what's really important; my thoughts and general ramblings.

In short, I F*&%$*£ loved this book!!! While the fear of what I was going to think existed from the moment I opened that front cover, as soon as I saw that first panel I was hooked. DC: The New Frontier is such an immensely beautiful, compelling and immersive book that I'm not sure I've ever been hooked by a comic as much as this one in the nearly twenty year reading history I have.



I consider this the 'Armageddon' shot.

There is so much I enjoyed about this title which make me laugh a little because I have found myself struggling to remember how it started (but I have skimmed back over it as I write this). This ultimately is the title's greatest achievement; it's content. The New Frontier is dense and I don't mean hard to read or stupid but jam packed from beginning to end. I loved how much Darwyn Cooke (who I'm going to name, despite everyone knowing he wrote this, because I now owe him that much) fit into this series.

This title really has two, maybe three, primary protagonists; Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, but even though this is their story ultimately, the number of characters included in here is earth shattering. But what's the amazing part about all this isn't the number of characters that were included but the fact that each and every one of them feels filled out and spot on perfectly depicted in character and appearance (albeit with a more Golden Age tilt). As I read through this, I felt like I recognised and understood every character; From the Losers to Rick Flagg, the Challengers to King Faraday, not one of them seemed shoe-horned in or surplus and included just for fun or as an Easter egg.



The title's panel layout. Always three panels going the width
of the page, or a variation that there of.

Of course, the characters aren't all that drew me in. The story is a mixed bad for me as the big bad, save the day aspect was really cool and helped end the story beautifully. However, for me, the part of this story I loved was the day to day living of these heroes through Cooke's realistic depiction of 50's America. I really enjoyed reading as the superheroes we all know and love and have grown up with were confronted with the real life struggles of the era as the power-fearing government forced them to be controlled in various ways (I.e. Registration, retirement, incarceration etc.) As I read it, and stopped to reflect, it occurred to me how relevant the New Frontier's narrative is to our current day world, with so much fear mongering and discrimination by those in power and the struggle by those willing to stand against it to make a difference.

Sorry, more politics than I care to bring to this door.

That's not to say the big bad, save the day aspect was bad or boring, because it wasn't. The title's giant action sequence, coupled with the characterisation and the 'McCarthyism' really helped make this book feel epic. Now, I've bandied that word around a bit in the last few months as I've been reading some notable event comics such as Avengers Forever and Justice League: No Justice. However, with DC: The New Frontier, I have to admit that I'm confident that 'Epic' has never been more appropriately placed than right here.



Amongst the special features, I
REALLY love this cover!!!

The art meanwhile....well, what do I say about the art? Much like the rest of the book, I absolutely adored the art, which has this tremendous art deco look which really makes it feel like the story is matching the era it is set in. Everything, from the characters classic looks to the architecture and beyond, just fits this series so tremendously and I now have a hard time believing anyone else could better it. However, what I really love about this is the panel layout, which sees almost every page broken down into three panels (or at least uniform thirds of the page for larger panel counts). This not only added to the stylisation in my eyes but also, I think, helped with the pacing and the flow of the comic as I found myself easily following the story because of it. As a result, it felt like I just flew through my reading of it as I burned through 50 pages every 20 minutes (A 30 page comic usually takes me 15 to read), although this may have been down to the fact I enjoyed it so much as opposed to the layout of the pages.

Now, I could probably go on and on about this, but I'm running out lunch time. So, in the end, it's fair to say that I didn't just enjoy this but loved it immensely!! I've often been told that DC: The New Frontier was this tremendous piece of fiction, up there with Shakespeare or other hyperbole, but I also assumed this to be hype. No comic is that good, is it? Well, I now consider myself well and truly schooled. The GN is, without a doubt, the star of my collection (and it's jumped some good stuff to get there) and I plan to read this incredibly regularly if time and my family allow it.

I'll finish up now by saying that, yesterday, I had a tweet from Andy W. Clift, who said about DC: The New Frontier that 'It's a true testament to the master that was Darwyn Cooke. That book will last for generations.'

I never thought that would be true of anything I've read, but with this, Andy nailed it on the head.