To be quite honest I don’t know why this article doesn’t exist yet. Darwyn Cooke is one of my favorite writer/artists and The New Frontier changed the way I looked at DC. For the longest time, I had been a die hard Marvel fanboy. I’d watch DC movies and cartoons and I’d casually followed DC continuity, but I didn’t really take the time of day to sit and read it as much as I do now. It wasn’t until a friend of mine introduced me to Green Lantern that I began to follow more of DC, and it wasn’t until The New Frontier that I really began to appreciate the DC universe for what it was.
Darwyn Cooke’s DC – The New Frontier is, in it’s essence, an origin story of the modern DCU, even though the story takes place on Earth-21 rather than New Earth or Earth-1. Conceived as a way to merge the Golden and Silver Ages, the story takes place in pre-Crisis DC at the beginning of Hal Jordan’s career as Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter’s arrival on Earth in the 1950s. World War II is over, and the Cold War has begun. Superman is having a hard time dealing with humanity and other heroes, Wonder Woman is fighting overseas for female liberation, and Batman is in a quiet and dark hole from everyone else, brooding and solving mysteries. The only other hero at the time is The Flash, and he finds himself being persecuted by the law just as much as any of the villains he defeats. It’s a dark time for superheroes. However, a dark force looms in the distance threatening to destroy all of humanity, known only as The Source. Will our heroes be able to pull together enough to defeat this new enemy? Or will their trepidations and disorganization bring about the end of all life as we know it?
Darwyn Cooke is truly an inspiring author. His understanding of timing and relevance is uncanny. This book, despite it’s more mature themes geared toward a modern audience, would have just as much of a home in the 1950’s as it does now. Cooke writes as if he were somewhat of a pulp author and his artistic style matches that of a 1950’s pulp comic. His penciling and inking are what really does this for me because no matter how good the writing is, I could stare at his work all day. It’s just the appropriate amount of cartoon-y to play off as any classic issue of our favorite hero comics. As I write now, I’m looking at a picture of Cooke’s Green Lantern and just marveling at his use of shading and colors. New Frontier shows exactly what one can accomplish when they put their mind to an appropriate amount of tribute. Grant Morrison often shows his penchant for old comics (as shown by the Black Casebook), but Darwyn Cooke really takes the cake in this department. All of his time lines are close to perfect in regards to the appearances of heroes, and despite a few discretion’s that are easily forgivable, he manages to put together quite an uncanny team together at the end of the book that really does serve as a great gap between the Golden and Silver Age of comics. While we would later learn that the differences in Golden and Silver Age heroes would have to do with Multiverses, it’s nice to see an incredibly plausible example of how the two universes could exist as one in a singular continuity free of time manipulation and retcons.
So if I could impart one bit of knowledge in this short article, it would be that you need to buy this now if you haven’t already done so. It belongs in any DC fan’s library, and if you aren’t a fan of DC I’d say this is a great place to start in regards to all the popular heroes. DC Animated made a feature film adaptation of this book called Justice League: A New Frontier, and it’s just as good as the book. It utilizes the same artistic style and it’s almost like watching a motion comic. They cut out some scenes and tone the story down a bit, but overall it is still a great watch, and by far the best animated film offered by DC. So grab the book, grab the movie, grab a friend and enjoy it all together. This is pure and simply one of Darwyn Cooke’s finest books, and I wish his library was more easily accessible because he really is a great writer. This will most certainly hold anyone over for the time being, though. Get it now.
