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By Dante' Maddox

In case you missed by sleeping under a rock for the last few years DC’s New Frontier story was one of the companies coolest tales.

This special issue revisits the era that New Frontier was based in with new old stories. This book is broken into three stories, all of which are very interesting studies of particular characters. The first story is a great battle between Superman and Batman.

This is a more realistic take on Superheroes in the middle of McCarthyism and the cold war. Because of that the climate of the story is a serious one. Superman and Wonder Woman both work within the constraints of the government while characters like Batman are considered dangerous vigilantes. What’s really cool is that Batman, despite working primarily in Gotham, is considered a national threat. Superman is sent by the White House to bring Batman in.

The battle between Batman and Superman is a bit reminiscent of their fight in Frank Miller’s classic Return of the Dark Knight in the sense that Batman uses Kryptonite to even the playing field. The action is intense and the fight is good. The battle is eventually broken up by Wonder Woman who makes both men see reason. This version of Batman is more like the modern day version which makes a lot more sense than the more campy version from that era. Even Robin works better than usual in this story.

The next story features Robin and The Kid Flash saving the life of the President. This story works as a kind of retelling of how the Teen Titans came together despite the fact that only two of the Titans are featured. David Bullocks artwork is great with lots of dynamic poses and over the top action shots.

It was also really cool to see both Robin and Kid Flash working in their civilian duds undercover, it made them seem more like real crime fighters than just flashy heroes. Seeing these heroes in such a lit really increases my appreciation for them as characters, even Robin. The best aspect of this story is that it depicts the start of Dick Grayson and Wally West’s friendship which is still strong to this day.

The last story is a bit more comical and it features Wonder Woman and The Black Canary. Remember that WWII was the time of Rosie the Riveter, and the rise of the feminist movement. A lot happened for women in a relatively short amount of time and it’s great to see this comic address those changes.  

Look out for cameo’s by a young Hugh Hefner and a certain caped crusader who gets caught at one of Heph’s gentlemen’s clubs. All I can say about the third story is that its hysterical, and filled with lots of symbolism. Make sure to get a copy of the New Frontier Special before they are all gone, you won’t be disappointed.

 

Crave Online Rating: 8 out of 10