DC: The New Frontier #1-2

DC: The New Frontier #1-2

Originally released in 2004

Written by Darwyn Cooke

Art by Darwyn Cooke

This book is an interesting blend of historical events and comic book history.  Taking place in the 1950s, it more or less places the foundation of the Justice League in its historical context, with the Korean War and the Red Scare playing major parts in the background of the story.  The Justice Society of America helped out during World War 2, but the rise of McCarthyism and fears of communism caused the Justice Society to disband when the alternative was revealing their identities and informing on their friends.  Batman went into the shadows, leaving only Superman and Wonder Woman to operate as government agents, in a parallel to how they were among the few superheroes to continue being published (and to remain popular) between the end of World War 2 and the start of the Silver Age.

So far, the focus has been on Hal Jordan, with Barry Allen and J'onn J'onzz (a.k.a. John Jones) also getting moments in the spotlight.  Hal is haunted by what happened during the Korean War - he went through the whole war not killing anyone, serving as a decoy to draw the enemy's fire and saving lives where he could, but some North Koreans were unaware that the war had ended, and after he's shot down, he's forced to take a life, which haunts him years later.

The book also involves a mission by four soldiers called "The Losers" to rescue Rick Flagg, who has an important piece of microfilm.  Flagg's group crash-landed on an island that's populated by dinosaurs.  So far, this hasn't proved relevant to the plot beyond the start of the first issue, but I felt like I needed to include this page of a man diving into the mouth of a T. Rex while holding two grenades.

Cooke's art and writing do a great job, with the art showing off a wide variety of scenes and giving most of the characters very distinctive appearances.  Likewise, despite this shifting focus between many different characters (including private eye "Slam" Bradley and former JSA member turned boxer Ted "Wildcat" Grant), each one feels like they have their own clear voice.  Despite both of them working for the government, both Superman and Wonder Woman have very different views on things - Wonder Woman might not be willing to kill, but she's willing to give abused Vietnamese women the freedom to get revenge on their abusers, whereas Superman sticks to the letter of the law.

These issues are much longer than normal comics, with one issue being roughly 63 pages long compared to a general average of about 20 pages.  While it seems safe to say that some characters are guaranteed to survive, since this seems to be building up to the formation of the Justice League, I'm not sure if everyone's survival is guaranteed - I could see Ted Grant donning the Wildcat suit and going out in a blaze of glory, for example.

There are signs of what's to come - a cult is trying to sacrifice a child in the name of a group or being called "The Center" before Batman interrupts, and the terrified reaction from the child after Batman saves him seems like it's a turning point in Batman's career where he's going to soften up his image a bit, and likely take in Dick Grayson as his ward.  The blending of real world history and politics with comic book fantasy reminds me a bit of Watchmen, though I'm guessing things won't be as dark.

This seems like a good introductory book for someone looking to get into DC's comics; it seems to work under the assumption that you know who Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and maybe the Flash are, with everyone else being introduced here or serving as cameos.  It's not necessarily suitable for younger audiences, but it works well if people want to find out more about the broader DC universe after watching the movies.  It's taking time to focus on the characters, rather than setting up their eventual team-up, and I think it's an approach that works well.