The Collection - DC: The New Frontier
Silver Age reimagining
Welcome to The New Frontier from DC Comics - a newer addition to my collection.
Welcome to the DC Universe in 1950s America -- a land of promise and paranoia, of glittering cities and segregated slums, of dizzying scientific progress and simmering Cold War conflict. A land without the Justice League--Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Or so it seems.
by Darwyn Cooke (Author)
Jumping straight into the action during the closing days of World War II, there are no superheroes to be seen. That isn't too easy that this story is by no means less fantastic!
This story features an elite army unit - The Losers - and they are on a rescue mission. It's not a happy story, but it sweetens the tone well with some battles and sacrifices. I also enjoyed the art, with some excellent battle scenes and fantastic visuals.
From here, we discover what is happening to the heroes that we know. The Red Scare has come for the costumed heroes, and combined with the comic story twerking here, we also get some on-point news reporting blurring the lines. This sets up the current status quo after the war.
Jumping forward, we get to the end of another war. In this case, it's the Korean War, and Hal Jordan (whom we met briefly at a younger age in an earlier chapter) has done all he can during the war not to kill anyone directly. It's an admirable
effort, but the war is still going to have its way - even after the ceasefire had been announced. The framing of this and the introduction of a keen reporter and stowaway photographer make this a gripping story. The ending really hangs home what Hal is thinking, too.
Chapter four brings us more heroes. The Wonder Woman and Superman dynamic here is still played out with differing opinions over the Indo-China war. It generally hammers the opinion of the war; there are no right answers. I loved the brief interlude of Barry Allen here, with a fast-paced single pager. Bookending the story is the Martian Man Hunter, with the origin of his arrival on Earth, and then a classic story that adds more of the mysterious Bat-Man. I loved the narration here, with our knowledge filling in the blanks.
I loved the following story. With many heroes in their civilian identity, there are some excellent interactions. The Flash gets done fine to shine here. The commentary was great fun, and I enjoyed the reactions of the onlookers. Captain Cold's style was exciting, and I liked his plan. Too bad The Flash got to town!
Hal Jordan's story continues, and the link between how he is now and how Korea affected him is well told.
Hal Jordan's story continues, and it's mixed up well with the Suicide Squad (Task Force X). We also get an interesting return to the island from the first chapter. It's short but moves things along and adds to the overall story.
Steel is also introduced here, with some very dark telling of an origin with some racial undertones cooked in. It’s not a happy story, but it does do well to drive the narrative of the story.
A clever look at The Challengers Of The Unknown in newsreel style. The way it introduced them is very good, and adding 'John Jones into the mix (especially his reaction to the Martian movie) was especially good. Then, in Gotham, the Bat-Man makes an appearance, and I like that he's figured some things out.
We get an interesting cameo with Wonder Woman and Superman here, and the reaction to what has happened is well done.
Hal Jordan discovers what is really happening with a good secret history being told, as well as the next steps.
Finishing the chapter, Jones continues his investigation with new vigour. The storytelling style and art were excellent, and I liked the links to now.
Finally, The Flash runs into a problem...
That problem makes an interesting twist initially, and I love how it pans out. The police reaction was interesting, too...
The dual stories of the impending threat and the government’s plan to go to Mars continue as we continue. There are some classic references to characters here, too. The segue with Superman and Wonder Woman works well and may galvanise Superman into a new course soon.
As we continue, things start to link together, with John trying to get back home by hitting a lift, the stupendous rescue of Flagg, and the avoidance of the destruction of Earth. I liked how it was told; this part had some real action-science adventures. And then Hal Jordan discovers his destiny.
Following on from this, I think we move fast. There are heroic moments from all involved and some excellent sequences as we move towards the new frontier. The epilogue takes us beyond and to new beginnings for all. Finally, there are some excellent additions, including additional stories -with the story behind the fight behind the Batman and Superman confrontation! In addition to this, there are annotations, sketches and covers.
It's an amazing read. It has a combination of some excellent art and colouring, with some clever use of lettering, too. This comic is a joy to look at.
Cunningly, this series crosses some of the Silver Age styles but also deals with some tough subjects of racism and the ‘Red Scare’, among other things.
Get the new hardback version at Forbidden Planet: