Review: DC: The New Frontier
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
By Matthew Kresal.
In the 1950s, the Golden Age of Comics gave way to the Silver Age. The real world changed and, with attention brought to the comics as a result, some old characters retired or evolved while a new generation of heroes came to the fore, culminating at DC with the creation of the Justice League. Suppose for a moment that there was an alternate history where the Golden and Silver Age characters existed in and interacted with the real world of the 1950s? Something that built to a threat to humanity and the birth of the Silver Age’s greatest team-up?
That premise is DC: The New Frontier in a nutshell, writer and illustrator Darwyn Cooke’s epic 2004-5 six issue limited series collected here in one volume.
New Frontier’s rich mix of comics lore and real events is clear from the very first instalment and lasts to the final pages, opening not with the likes of the DC Trinity but the all-too-mortal men who fought in World War II facing an incredible and seemingly impossible island of dinosaurs before launching into the wider and more familiar DC world (and presenting a neat explanation for why the Golden Age heroes simply didn’t end World War II in a heartbeat). From there, Cooke revisits the origins and adventures of numerous Silver Age heroes such as Barry Allen’s Flash and the Martian Manhunter while also catching up with the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman. Arguably, if there’s a central character here, it’s Hal Jordan whom we meet as a young man in the late 1940s before he becomes a fighter pilot during the Korean War and then starts down the path toward his own destiny. There’s also the likes of Colonel Rick Flagg Sr with Task Force X and the daredevil feats of the Challengers of the Unknown, all too human figures (mostly but not exclusively men) facing the unknown on the cusp of the space age.
All the while, a threat begins to take shape. Seemingly disconnected events, from that impossible island to a cult in Gotham, all serve as harbingers for the mysterious but powerful entity known as the Centre. Having dropped hints about the Centre throughout the first half, the latter half of New Frontier brings it into focus as a threat that brings together heroes, super and otherwise, together in a confrontation off the Florida coast. A confrontation that will see the mighty fall, a new generation rise, and the chance for a better tomorrow (if for one brief shining moment) take shape.
There’s a lot to take in, from plot to characters. Yet Cooke keeps things firmly grounded, both in terms of the cast (though there’s plenty of cameos and moments for knowing fans, but not enough to alienate new readers who, like this reviewer, are more likely to be intrigued than anything else) and in terms of story. While still centered around a pair of major Silver Age milestones (a rule that Cooke set for himself), New Frontier is very much its own kettle of fish, happy to bring in characters who weren’t technically part of the Silver Age (such as Harvey Bullock at the GCPD in a brief cameo) to embrace a wider view of the DC Universe, but staying rooted in that era. A tribute, a packed one at that, and a thrilling read.
The New Frontier isn’t merely an homage to an era that Cooke clearly loved and admired. By inserting his characters into something akin to the real world, he also has them commenting on, interacting with, and even influencing events ranging from the beginning of American involvement in Vietnam (when it was still known as Indochina) to McCarthyism and the early space race with appearances by the likes of Eisenhower and Nixon. From there, the likes of John Henry, who becomes a vigilante in Tennessee after the Klan targets him and his family, Edward R. Murrow’s broadcast about him, and the pursuit of the Flash by government agents, show Cooke, his characters, and the comic engaging with the darker side of the decade. Nor is Cooke afraid to explore the characters and the impact of events upon them, from Hal’s wartime experiences, the seemingly cheery and upbeat Challengers of the Unknown dealing with having survived the plane crash that brought them together, the disillusionment Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter feel at times about their adopted country, and the fate of government agent King Faraday. In doing so, New Frontier grounds the fantastical in reality and emotional consequences without becoming brooding, dark, and grim, losing what was so appealing in the first place about these characters and their world.
This is also reflected in Cooke’s artwork. It’s a style that combines aspects both of the Silver Age comics with other influences (including the Fleischer Superman cartoons of the 1940s) as well as the nineties and early 2000s DC animation style (unsurprisingly, perhaps, since Cooke worked on a number of those shows). It’s a visually appealing style that works well with the mid-century aesthetics and fashions, something important as rockets and aircraft play a major role in the finale and so lend a sense of verisimilitude to the otherwise fantastic. Cooke’s art also allows for a wide color palette from the brightness associated with the Silver Age comics but also the dark blues, purples, and black of noir that Cooke also brings into various scenes. It’s no wonder that New Frontier made the transition to an animated adaptation, it was seemingly designed for it.
The release of that adaptation in 2008 saw Cooke make a brief return to the universe for a one-off promoting it that offered three further tales set around it. The most significant of them, “Fight to the Finish”, presented the Batman versus Superman fight that took place off-page and was hinted at in the main comic. It’s a brief tale but one not only in keeping with the series but also where Cooke as writer and illustrator brought a Silver Age take on the confrontation, paying tribute along the way to Frank Miller’s iconic depiction of such a smackdown in The Dark Knight Returns. Cooke wrote but didn’t illustrate two further tales in the special in the form of “Dragstrip Riot” (which saw Robin and Kid Flash coming across communist saboteurs targeting Air Force One) and “Mother of the Movement” where Wonder Woman and Black Canary infiltrate the Playboy Club in Gotham City and seemingly help to inspire the feminist movement of the 1960s. The latter stories are fairly disposable, though interesting from an alternate history perspective given the interactions with real world figures. Included in the Deluxe Edition of New Frontier alongside a number of Cooke’s sketches, they make for a nice addition to the series as a whole.
All of which leaves New Frontier as an epic of a tale, bringing together a rich alternate history that mixes the Silver Age of DC comics, the real world of the 1950s, and a threat worthy of a great superhero team coming together. One which pays tribute to those eras but in which Cooke doesn’t bask in the easy warmth of nostalgia, acknowledging the less than perfect nature of the past. All while telling one of the best superhero stories you’re ever likely to read.
So what are you waiting for? Look toward the New Frontier.
Matthew Kresal is, among other things, the author of the SLP book Our Man on the Hill and short stories in the anthologies AlloAmericana, The Emerald Isles, and The Scottish Anthology.