Justice League: The New Frontier Special #1 – Review

By Darwin Cooke (art & story), J. Bone (art), David Bullock (pencils), Micahel Cho (inks), Dave Stewart (colors)

Coinciding (a week later), with the release of New Frontier on DVD is this special one-shot by Darwin Cooke. Like his previous mini-series, this book perfectly encapsulates the time and imagination of the early Silver Age. The issue is a 48 page behemoth, divided into three self-contained stories, plus a small section at the end devoted to the art of the New Frontier animated movie.

The first story is the centerpiece. It deals with Superman’s loyalty to what the President of the United States refers to as “the greater good”. The President considers Batman a threat to the country, stating that a vigilante kept unchecked, no matter how righteous his intentions, is still unlawful. He tasks Superman and Wonder Woman to bring Batman in, thinking that once Batman is out of the way, other similar vigilantes will turn themselves in.

Diana instantly opts out. She knows that Batman would rather die than give up his convictions and she gives a stern warning to Clark about this. But when the President calls upon Clark, giving him a direct order to bring Batman in, he complies and heads to Gotham City. Batman, already ahead of the game, has prepared an elaborate trap to capture and en-prison Superman. Once the game is afoot, Superman falls into this trap, hook, line, and sinker.

My initial reaction to this was a lot of eye-rolling. How many times have we seen this story? How many times have writers hammered into our brains that Batman will always outwit Superman? For once, I’d like to see Superman beat the crap out of Batman. Well, as it turns out, Superman finally catches on that he’s being baited and refuses to let Batman win.

Superman eventually gets his hands around Batman’s throat, but Wonder Woman shows up to stop the fight. Realizing that they have to work together and form a bond of trust, Bruce Wayne extends the first olive branch to Clark, revealing his secret identity! I can’t begin to tell you what a brilliant moment of humility this is on Bruce’s part. What plays out from here on marks the beginning of the “trinity”. This  story is so cinematic in being drawn and narrated so well, I could actually see it playing out as a movie. Good stuff.

The next two stories are written by Darwin Cooke and drawn by other artists. One story is about a solo Robin and how he first meets Kid Flash. It’s a teenage tale about kids trying to prove they can be just as good as adults. It also serves as a precursor of sorts to the Teen Titans, which is unexpected and a nice touch. The final story has Wonder Woman being repulsed by the chauvinistic nature of men and doing something about it. Going undercover with Dinah, she infiltrates a “men’s club” and initiates a series of hi-jinx that don’t go as planned.  This story (and art) is easily the weakest of the three, but Dinah’s sarcasm does a nice job off-setting Wonder Woman’s snottiness.

If you loved New Frontier, picking up this follow-up is a no-brainer and worthy edition to your collection. For everyone else, I realize $4.99 is a bit on the high side, but for a one-shot like this, it’s worth the price. Check it out! (Grade: B+)

– J. Montes

Justice League: New Frontier – DVD Review

Based on Darwin Cooke’s amazing New Frontier mini-series, this 75 minute flick follows the story of a malevolent creature called, “The Centre”, who’s poised on mankind’s destruction. Taking place in the 1950s, this movie acts very much as a precursor to the Silver Age of comic book heroes. Because of this, a lot of the heroes are shaped by the world events taking place at the time (the Korean War, the red scare, etc). Even the characters, themselves, have that Silver Age look and feel: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman all sport their early outfits. It’s retro, but oh so fitting.

New Frontier doesn’t do much explaining to people unfamiliar with the DC Universe. However, it does give them enough taste of the main characters’ origins and powers to understand what’s going on. Of course, if you’re a comic book fan, the movie’s nuances and Easter Eggs will be a big treat. One character in particular, J’onn J’onzz (the Martian Manhunter), is given a lot of screen time and is sure to be a favorite amongst audiences. And it’s about time J’onn got some on-screen loving! Other lesser known characters like Adam Strange and Ray Palmer make appearances as well.

The first half of the movie introduces the cast and switches from scene to scene a bit too much at times making it hard for those unfamiliar to keep up. Other than that, the movie’s a perfect origin story for the Justice League and treats its characters with a lot of respect. I also like how violence and language were not toned down for the sake of selling a few more DVDs to youngsters. This is, for all intents, a love letter to fans of DCs characters and we should all embrace it. If Warner were ever to do a live action Justice League movie, this is the perfect model of how to do it right.

Justice League: New Frontier is due out on DVD February 26 and  Blu-Ray / HDDVD on March 18th. (Grade: A-)

– J.Montes