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Comic Corner: Absolute DC: The New Frontier

Dafna Pleban (Contact)
Published: Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Absolute DC: The New Frontier

By Darwyn Cooke

DC COMICS

Darwyn Cooke, an animator on the classic cartoon “Batman: The Animated Series,” manages to bring back that sort of nostalgia – finely aged and tuned to perfection – that superhero comics today seem to be missing.

Whereas Marvel is currently trying its hardest to paint every bright spot in its universe as dark as possible in the name of realism, and DC is finding that killing off beloved characters brings in more money than celebrating them, Cooke’s “New Frontier” manages to not only be optimistic and hopeful, but unavoidably mature.

Rather than forcing comics to “grow up” by piling on relentless violence and sex, Cooke applies mature and complicated themes to previously two-dimensional characters: Superman and Wonder Woman confront questions of morality and feminism in the middle of the Vietnam War, Green Lantern deals with the horrors of a war mentality at the end of the Korean War, and the Flash struggles with doing the right thing in the face of an increasingly restrictive and paranoid government.

All of this manages to occur without losing that primary-color tinted hope that draws people to superhero comics in the first place.

The story, while complicated and subtle, works perfectly within its frame, and doesn’t sacrifice the very core of the genre in the name of being “mature.”

Luckily, Cooke’s art perfectly complements his writing. Still bearing the marks of his tenure on “Batman: The Animated Series,” Cooke’s forms are incredibly fluid, looking like stills from a 1940s ad copy-inspired animated film

The colors by Cameron Stewart infuse Cooke’s pencils with an almost acid-trip dynamism, filling the panels with lush covers and the fight scenes with psychedelic explosions.

The latest edition, “Absolute DC: The New Frontier,” showcases this incredible story in the pristine “Absolute” format, providing annotations, sketches and new story pages that expand the story organically without feeling needlessly tacked on. At $70, this edition may be only for true comic and Cooke fans, but for those interested in seeing superhero comics done right, it’s an investment well worth making.