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Absolute DC: The New Frontier

(DC: The New Frontier #1-2)

Darwyn Cooke (Writer, Artist),

Dave Stewart (Colourist)

Jared K. Fletcher (Letterer)

Paul Levitz (Introduction)

4.41 · Rating details · 4,903 ratings · 228 reviews

Writer/illustrator Darwyn Cooke's critically acclaimed masterpiece DC: The New Frontier is celebrated in this oversized Absolute edition featuring new story pages, detailed annotations, alternate sequences and an extensive gallery of sketches, pinups, action figure art and much more!
In the 1950s, Cold War paranoia outlawed the Mystery Men of the Golden Age. Stalwarts ...more

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Hardcover, 464 pages

Published October 4th 2006 by DC Comics

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May 25, 2018 Sean Gibson rated it it was amazing

Look, I’m a nigh-40-year-old man who reads superhero comics. (How nigh, you ask? T-minus 7 months and counting, so please get your grim reaper cakes and hilarious “over the hill” cards (with a picture of a hill) ready now.) I also have a shirt that says “Dungeon Master” that I proudly wear (even if my wife refuses to be seen in public with me when I do). So, I get that I’m particularly awesome, and that my opinion on a book like this has to be taken with a fanboy grain of salt.

But, I’ve been Look, I’m a nigh-40-year-old man who reads superhero comics. (How nigh, you ask? T-minus 7 months and counting, so please get your grim reaper cakes and hilarious “over the hill” cards (with a picture of a hill) ready now.) I also have a shirt that says “Dungeon Master” that I proudly wear (even if my wife refuses to be seen in public with me when I do). So, I get that I’m particularly awesome, and that my opinion on a book like this has to be taken with a fanboy grain of salt.

But, I’ve been reading superhero comics for 30 years now, and one of the main reasons I keep reading them, despite the absurdity of massive crossover events that constantly reboot continuity and set fire to every single writer’s attempt to do anything in the way of characterization (looking at you, Marvel, even though I love you, for inflicting this, this, and this upon us), is to have that same feeling I had when I read my very first superhero comic (that would be the first issue of the Dark Phoenix Saga, incidentally): that there exists in the world a group of goodly people who will bravely battle the forces of evil no matter the odds, and they’ll do it not because they’re fearless, but because they are dedicated to defending those unable to defend themselves and will do so at any cost. And, ideally, they’ll do it with some clever banter and with visual panache.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a comic that hit that sweet spot like The New Frontier. Cinematic in scope (not surprising, given Cooke’s background as an animator), pitch perfect in tone, and clever in its reinterpretation of classic DC mythos, this masterclass in sequential storytelling is everything you want in a superhero comic: deep characterization, plot twists and turns, kinetic action, and heroes that are simultaneously down to earth and larger than life. I used to hold up JLA: Year One as the gold standard for DC origin stories; I think The New Frontier is the new gold standard.

The world can seem very dark these days, and we need all the points of light we can get. This is one of those points of light. If you’re a comic fan, or even if you’re not, do yourself a favor and add this to your reading list. You’ll thank me. Or maybe ask to borrow my Dungeon Master t-shirt. Or give you lessons in how to be awesome. Or maybe teach you how to shimmy, because nothing says “for a good time” like these A-minus cups slinging from side to side. I’m happy to do all of the above. ...more

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May 16, 2016 Dan Schwent rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016, 2016-comics

An alien menace threatens the earth in the late 1950's and it'll take every hero humanity has to stop it.

Confession time: While I'd heard of The New Frontier, I didn't pick it up until after Darwyn Cooke's death. Now that I've read it, I wish I'd picked it up sooner.

The New Frontier is the story of the transition of the DC universe from the Justice Society era through the 1950s to the formation of the Justice League. Pretty much every DC character from pre-1960 is in it. Unlike how things An alien menace threatens the earth in the late 1950's and it'll take every hero humanity has to stop it.

Confession time: While I'd heard of The New Frontier, I didn't pick it up until after Darwyn Cooke's death. Now that I've read it, I wish I'd picked it up sooner.

The New Frontier is the story of the transition of the DC universe from the Justice Society era through the 1950s to the formation of the Justice League. Pretty much every DC character from pre-1960 is in it. Unlike how things originally went down, The New Frontier links characters from DC's war comics, their supernatural comics, and their super hero comics.

I knew this was going to be something different when the first few pages had The Losers fighting dinosaurs. The story is pretty much a love letter to the DC comics of the late 1950s. In addition to old favorites like the Justice League, some without their powers for most of the book, Darwyn Cooke dug up King Faraday, Slam Bradley, the Challengers of the Unknown, Adam Strange, and many others.

Rick Flag and Task Force X, aka The Suicide Squad, played a prominent part in safeguarding America once the Justice League went into retirement. I loved seeing a pre-Green Lantern Hal Jordan paling around with Rick Flagg and Ace Morgan. The early days of J'Onn J'Onnz, aka the Martian Manhunter, were really cool as well.

I thought it was great that Darwyn Cooke didn't focus on the icons like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, instead giving a lot of time to Hal Jordan and the Challengers of the Unknown. The Flash and Green Arrow could have had more to do but Cooke only had so much room to tell his tale.

While the story was great, I loved the art. Cooke's retro style did a good job of evoking the 1950s period it was depicting. It was Silver Age with a modern touch and quite something to behold. I'll definitely be tracking down more of his work.

I could gush about this book all day. Instead of talking about Kingdom Come with reverence, this is the DC book people should be holding on a pedestal. 4.5 out of 5 stars. ...more

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Sep 22, 2016 Matthew Quann rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels-comics-with-reviews

DC: The New Frontier was a comic that has long been on my to-read list, but for some reason always slipped out of my stack when I came around to the counter at the comic shop. The lads at the counter were surprised I hadn't read it, and with good reason. The late Darwin Cooke's miniseries is lauded as a modern retelling of the Gold to Silver Age transition that is filled to the brim with nostalgic punch. For a comic junkie like myself, it finally seemed like it was time to take the series down ...more

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Oct 24, 2017 Jim rated it liked it

I expected something a bit different. Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t care much about what I was reading. At least 60% of this is about Hal Jordan and some other characters ( like Colonel Flag ) that I don’t know and after this I don’t care to know. The biggest problem was that after I got to the middle, I forced myself to go through the entire thing. I simply got tired and didn’t care whatsoever about what is going to happen.

Not everything is bad though, there are some nice moments and the art ...more

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May 10, 2018 Ma'Belle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: superheroes, dc, comics-graphic-novels

For some reason, I have *never* heard anyone talk about this epic graphic novel-style DC story by Darwyn Cooke (who died two years ago this week). Not on any lists, referenced as inspiration, nothing. I randomly found the adapted feature length animated version of it in my library's catalog while searching for DC Lego DVDs. I checked it out on a whim and was blown away by the quality. I would put it up there with Batman: Under the Hood in my Top DCAU movies list. Finding the book itself proved For some reason, I have *never* heard anyone talk about this epic graphic novel-style DC story by Darwyn Cooke (who died two years ago this week). Not on any lists, referenced as inspiration, nothing. I randomly found the adapted feature length animated version of it in my library's catalog while searching for DC Lego DVDs. I checked it out on a whim and was blown away by the quality. I would put it up there with Batman: Under the Hood in my Top DCAU movies list. Finding the book itself proved to be more challenging, likely because of the luxurious printing and binding style, which means libraries have to pay more for it. After waiting for it to be shipped from some random library in rural Oklahoma that happens to own the largest Deluxe HC edition, the first thing I noticed was the extremely high quality paper and inks used. It feels good to turn the physical pages, and the way the light hits the colors from various angles strikes me as being much better than that used in most comic book trades and graphic novels.

The story itself is essentially a JLA origin story, which has been done countless times. The New Frontier is strikingly different, and ended up being one of the most riveting, best-told comic books I've read, especially within the DC universe.

Most striking is that the core JLA members serve more as supporting characters rather than being in the spotlight the whole time. In the annotations and afterword, Cooke explains that as a kid, he was never into superhero comics, but loved the war, Western, and mystery comic books. This explains why the majority of the story focuses on various obscure DC military figures who fought in the Korean War (which itself is often referred to as The Forgotten War, and is technically still going to this day, but agreements were finally made last month to work towards a resolution to the conflict).

The first 30 pages act as a prologue featuring The Losers, which Cooke explains was DC's lowest-selling, least-memorable wartime comic. There's a mist-covered, mysteriously hidden island in the center of the ocean that some G.I.s crash landed on while delivering a high-ranking former Nazi scientist to the Allies. Now a rescue team has been sent in, but they quickly get picked off by motherfucking DINOSAURS! In the afterword, Darwyn Cooke points out that it was intentional to make the first real hero in The New Frontier a Native American. I wondered about that, but find myself wishing there were much more inclusion of Native characters in superhero stories - *especially* every time we see Superman make a grand speech about fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American Way, and the "freedom for every man and woman to pursue their destiny." Like, come on, Supes, you don't know about the history of colonialism and genocide in America?!

I predicted that the Nazi scientist himself would be key in the plot, but that's not the case. The historical fiction elements are crucial in establishing the mood and progressing the story through various conflicts. A line from Yeats's most famous poem (The Second Coming), a children's author based on Dr. Seuss, and the mass paranoia and Red-jacketing during the McCarthy era are significant pieces in the story. Fear of communist influence in the U.S. has prompted a no-masks-allowed law akin to Marvel's Superhero Registration Act (aka The Sakovia Accords). The JSA (Justice Society of America, which predates the Justice League of America) has avoided having their identities revealed by disbanding. The only superheroes that are registered and sent out on government-sanctioned missions are Superman and Wonder Woman.

The two JLA characters that get the most page time and personal insight are Hal Jordan (obvi because he's an Air Force Top Gun type) and John Jones, which was the first human-passing alias taken on by Martian Manhunter, and is humorously inspired by detective shows on television. I've never been a big Green Lantern fan, but the character arc for Jordan becoming the first human to wield a power ring is fantastic. J'onn J'onzz has for many years been an underplayed character and, in my opinion, is fascinating, powerful, and thoughtful enough to warrant a much higher level of attention in both comics and adaptations into other media, so I was greatly pleased with his role in the book.

I'm not going to describe the plot anymore, but I highly recommend getting this book. It's an epic one, coming in at around 400 pages, with an additional hundred pages of bonus content worth going through. But as superhero stories written in chapters like this, New Frontier is much more readable than, say, Watchmen.

Speaking of Watchmen, the controversial Before Watchmen comics a few years back was one of the last major projects Darwyn Cooke was involved in before passing away. I have little interest in reading those, but now I'm eager to seek out more of the DCAU films and shows he wrote. ...more

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Jan 06, 2016 Tristan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

“If we’re talking about mainstream comics, I think there have been a lot of real tactical errors made in this century. I can’t really read superhero comics anymore because they’re not about superheroes. They’ve become so dark and violent and sexualized. I think it’s a real wrong turn. I don’t know how a company like Warner Bros. or Disney is able to rationalize characters raping and murdering and taking drugs and swearing and carrying on the way they do, and those same characters are on sheet ...more

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Oct 18, 2015 Anthony rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I read this a few years ago, but it was digitally on my iPad. I was happy to see a new printing of the series in the deluxe format. It reads so much better in print. When I read it on my iPad, parts of it seemed to drag a little, but in print it flows much better. I think it's cause at times it can be a little dense with everything that's going on. But it is a good book that has a great take on the 50s/60s era. There's also some cool back matter, but this might have appeared in earlier editions ...more

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Jul 10, 2015 Earnest rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: dc-comics

The New Frontier presents a refreshing and modern take on the superhero origin story. Darwyn Cooke foregoes the obvious route of updating the old stories by having them take place in the contemporary. The superheroes live in the World War Two and Cold War era, around the same time of the Golden Age of comics and when superheroes started appearing in comics. When thinking of modern interpretations, it has the connotations of somehow becoming darker, grittier (the lasting influence of Alan Moore). ...more

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May 16, 2016 Eric rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: comics, science-fiction, my-books, historical-fiction, politics, adventure, favorite-comics, superheroes, fantasy, drama

4 3/4 stars

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Feb 18, 2015 Shane Perry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I had originally read this a few years ago as well as watching the animated film, but this new hardcover collection was too good to pass up. Darwyn Cooke does an excellent job of pulling everything from the various nooks and crannies of DC's Silver Age into an origin story that perfectly captures both the period and the superheroes involved. But the real star of this collection is Cooke's art. This just may be my favorite art for any comic I have ever read. The supplemental material in this ...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Rocco Versaci rated it it was amazing

Cooke is one of my favorite comic book artists; he's got a gorgeous retro style that perfectly captures the time period depicted in this book--the 1940s & 1950s. The story covers the "changing of the guard" as heroes of the JSA made way for those of the JLA. In this sweeping adventure, however, we see them all pull together to stop a force that threatens to destroy the world (well, what else would they join forces for?). Cooke's writing is every bit as sharp as his line.

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Jul 23, 2015 Jared Gillins rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, comics, fantasy

The next time DC tries to decide what new direction to head in, they should remember how awesome New Frontier was and ask Darwyn Cooke for some advice.

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Jun 09, 2016 Bruno Carriço rated it liked it · review of another edition

Perhaps i don't know enough about Golden and Silver Age characters to really care about this... most of the time i felt lost trying to understand who was who. Really like Cooke's drawings but some characters (to me) looked almost the same.
Non related but related, was this the book that inspired Batman Vs Superman? Seems that some of the plot lines are similar, and it looks like Justice League new movie will also borrow from this.

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Feb 24, 2015 Nicolas Bateman rated it it was amazing

Cooke's masterpiece is, simply put, one of the best comics I have ever read... A transcendent study of 1950's America and the relevance of its heroes.

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Sep 20, 2016 Matt Smith rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: comics, superheroes, favorites, read-in-2016, dc

The first time I read DC: The New Frontier, Vol. 1 and DC: The New Frontier, Vol. 2 I was in college and it was because everyone I was listening to at the time said that it was world-changing, one of the best comics ever written, certainly the best contemporary DC story. And I read it. I thought it was really pretty, but it didn't do what I wanted or expected it to do. I thought it was overhyped. I shelved it for basically ever, never recommended it to anyone (I would always point them to ...more

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Mar 07, 2015 Diz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels

This is an amazing book! It is a nice chunky hardcover filled with some of the best comic art I've ever seen. The basic idea of the story is that World War II has ended, and with the exception of Superman and Wonder Woman, who work with the government, and Batman, who works undercover, the golden age heroes are forced to retire. Unfortunately, new forces of evil are gathering which will require a new age of heroes to begin. This is the story of the rise of the silver age. This book does a good ...more

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Mar 18, 2015 Blindzider rated it liked it

Shelves: comics

3.5 stars

This was a reread and I actually read the two TPBs together.

This was better the second time for me, the first read being a few years after this originally came out. I can see now the ambition of it: merging multiple characters that have never crossed before, fitting all of them into the early sixties fraught with the red scare. The story marks the time when superheroes existed but there was a backlash until a threat bigger than everyone appears, leading everyone to work together to ...more

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Jun 27, 2019 Wes Benchoff rated it really liked it

A bit slow at first, picks up steam in the second half, some truly beautiful illustrations

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Aug 12, 2015 Wing Kee rated it it was amazing

A tour de force is world building.

I'm too young to remember the Golden Age and Silver Age of comics. When I started reading DC it was already in the Modern Age and I was already bogged down by the weight of 60+ years of canon. I know the history, I know how DC wanted to reinvent their Golden Age heroes for another generation, a reboot as it were, a freeing of their heroes from the constraints of canon. Well here is the accepted retcon of how the Silver Age came to be!

World: Darwyn Cooke's art is A tour de force is world building.

I'm too young to remember the Golden Age and Silver Age of comics. When I started reading DC it was already in the Modern Age and I was already bogged down by the weight of 60+ years of canon. I know the history, I know how DC wanted to reinvent their Golden Age heroes for another generation, a reboot as it were, a freeing of their heroes from the constraints of canon. Well here is the accepted retcon of how the Silver Age came to be!

World: Darwyn Cooke's art is in a class all it's own. The line work, the framing, the designs all are stunningly beautiful. With New Frontier Darwyn had the entire DC canvas to play with and man is the art incredible. But it's not just the art that is amazing, the fact that he needed to world build essentially all of the DCU anew was an amazing feat. To create an origin story for not only the JLA, JSA, Suicide Squad, Blackhawks...the list goes on and on, this is a master class of world building and those who love to read origin stories will be treated to awesomeness.

Story: Huge in scope, flawless in pacing and simply in execution. As I said above, Cooke had the entire pantheon of DC to play with, it may seem like a good thing, but balancing so many characters, creating an origin, and also telling an interesting tale is a tall order, and he does it so effortlessly. It's dense, every panel has details and every story line pays off in the end. This is a magnum opus of comic book storytelling. Generally I find event books to be tiresome, bloated, self-important and at the end of the day dull. Here you will find none of that, Cooke has taken an impossible take of rebooting an entire universe and did it splendidly in 350+ pages. I won't go into details of the story as it needs to be experienced, but man is it ever good.

Characters: Where do I start? Who do I start with? There are so many characters here that it boggles the mind, we got to meet so many and actually got a large chunk of character development to boot. Personalities, voices and dialog as all distinct and each character is memorable. This is simply stunningly good and quite remarkable. I can't stress enough how much I cared for these characters, and seeing their origin was a delight.

This book is simply too good for words. It literally is a New Frontier, and the dawn of a new age in comic books. The final shot is iconic and how Cooke managed to build a world so effortlessly is nothing short of heroic.

Onward to the next book! ...more

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May 18, 2015 Vera rated it it was amazing

Comic book stories of this size that run for as long as this one did (I believe it was a full year) have a tendency to either be juggling too many balls to be completely coherent or they just loose steam about halfway through. Neither is the case here, and the careful weaving of many disparate elements into one glorious final product is simply astounding.

Set primarily in the 1960s, this tells the story of golden age heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman dealing with the turmoil and paranoia of ...more

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Apr 07, 2016 Brian rated it it was amazing

I could have read this book faster. I read the last 100 pages in a sitting. But I chose not to. I would read 10-20 pages at a time, let it sit a few days, before returning again. The art was so stunning that I wanted to linger on every panel, get lost in every cover.

I love the scope of this book, covering years and years, popping in on various characters for a few pages, we see the Martian Manhunter as a cop in Gotham City, we see Green Lantern returning from Korea with his pacifism barely in ...more

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May 20, 2016 Erik rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: comics-superhero-dc

Probably the definitive story of the DC universe. It’s a simple enough story, centered around a threat that brings all the heroes together (with a heavier focus on the origins of Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter). Cooke masterfully balances a giant cast around that central premise. Despite pulling in nearly every major player of DC’s 40s, 50s, and 60s, nothing ever feels forced. The brilliance really lies in how fresh and original he makes it all feel.

Cooke’s clean lines and retro style ...more

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Jul 26, 2016 Richard Guion rated it it was amazing

I re-read the original issues which I bought when they were first published. This mini-series was an awesome tribute to the late 50s era of Dc Comics heroes. Cooke's artwork & storytelling is fantastic, but what takes this to another level is tying together the dawn of the Silver Age heroes with the US emerging from the shadows of McCarthyism. He also kept the timeline of the heroes intact - Batman, Superman, & Wonder Woman were around since WW2 - while the Flash / Green Lantern were ...more

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Oct 08, 2007 Rick rated it it was amazing

Shelves: comics

DC created the Absolute line, slipcased, oversized hardback editions chock full of extras for their more recent "classics". Of the comics published over the last couple of years, perhaps no work is more worthy of this treatment than Darwyn Cooke's DC: The New Frontier. Not only does the collection reprint the entire fabulous mini-series in full color, it includes annotations from the author, original designs, storyboards, and much more. DC originally collected the series in two separate trade ...more

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Jun 24, 2011 David J. rated it it was amazing

Forget that Ryan Reynolds nonsense, this is Hal Jordan! Writer/artist Darwyn Cooke has made an epic retro tale that consists of many classic DC comics characters (Superman, Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman) as well as some great lesser-knowns, putting Jordan right at the heart! Well-paced and beautifully rendered, this Absolute edition is THE only way to experience this story.

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May 22, 2015 Candace Perry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: comics, fiction, comic-book-class, favorites

Absolutely cannot say enough good about it. Even more wonderful than the animated movie. It was an interesting and wonderful take on the characters while still maintaining their integrity of character.

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Oct 04, 2016 Jon Nakapalau rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphic-novels, cultural-studies, favorites

By grounding the DC heroes in a particular time and place (1945-1960) we are able to look at the problems such heroes would have to deal with had they influenced America during this critical 15 year period.

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Apr 07, 2017 Rocio Reed rated it it was amazing

Very good. My only regret was that I started reading this late at night and stayed super late finishing this book, knowing I had to be up at 5am to get ready for work. But it was worth it!

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Feb 05, 2009 Randy Lander rated it it was amazing

Shelves: swanky-hardcovers, graphic-novels, dc-superheroes

$75, and worth every penny. That’s my short review of Absolute DC: The New Frontier, the oversized, hardcover collection of Darwyn Cooke’s superhero magnum opus set in the DC Universe as the ’50s give way to the ’60s and the human adventurers give way to the Silver Age superheroes. Cooke, an animator by trade, made a quiet impression on the comics fans with Batman: Ego, and a slightly bigger one when he joined Ed Brubaker to relaunch and redefine Catwoman. The New Frontier was by far his biggest $75, and worth every penny. That’s my short review of Absolute DC: The New Frontier, the oversized, hardcover collection of Darwyn Cooke’s superhero magnum opus set in the DC Universe as the ’50s give way to the ’60s and the human adventurers give way to the Silver Age superheroes. Cooke, an animator by trade, made a quiet impression on the comics fans with Batman: Ego, and a slightly bigger one when he joined Ed Brubaker to relaunch and redefine Catwoman. The New Frontier was by far his biggest project in comics, though, and it shows off Cooke’s authorial voice, which is as informed by noir films in the ’30s and the Rat Pack vibe of the ’50s as it is the Silver Age comics of DC that he grew up on. The result is like a superhero period piece, evoking the truth of the era in a realistic vein while embracing the more simple heroic nobility that makes these heroes work in the first place.

At first glance, and indeed in my first reading of the book as single issues, this tonal clash was a little jarring. How could Superman be a government stooge ala Dark Knight Returns and Wonder Woman be participating in massacres in Indochina (no matter how justified), and yet Hal Jordan could be an air ace in the Korean War who unrealistically never fired his guns? And the story looked scattered, too, basically Cooke playing in the toy box, writing and drawing all these great obscure DC characters without any thought to an overarching plot. The story starts with the obscure war heroes The Losers on Dinosaur Island, for God’s sake!

Interior page from DC New FrontierBut… when you read the whole book, you see it all come together, and you can see that Cooke knew what he was doing from the outset. OK, Hal’s pacifism in the air is still a bit unrealistic, but when you’re writing a world full of Martians, magic space rings, amazons, mystery men and dinosaurs in the modern age, it’s an unrealistic quality that works. Superman may appear to be nothing more than a guy who gets in line with the government, bending his will to corrupt human leadership, but by the end, we see that Cooke has been planning to play up his inspiring qualities all along, even if part of his role is to fail so that he can more effectively pass the heroic icon torch to the next generation. It may seem self-indulgent to start the story with the Losers and the island, but by the end, it’s clear that Cooke was laying the groundwork for his epic final battle, and we never knew it.

As for the tonal contrast? That actually works, too. As Paul Levitz notes in his introduction, Cooke brings real world issues from the period into the story, and that leads to an inevitable darkening of the tone. For all that the ’50s and ’60s represent some of America’s brightest moments, with the post-War boom and the Civil rights movement, they also represent some of its darkest, with the communist witch-hunts, xenophobia and racism. With that as the backdrop, and the government forcing the heroes to retire, it’s easy to view New Frontier as a dark story. It’s comparable to James Robinson’s The Golden Age or Mark Waid’s Kingdom Come, in that there are elements of real darkness, but the heart that guides the book beats with a true love and understanding of the superhero.

Interior page from DC New FrontierCompare New Frontier to Civil War or Identity Crisis, and you can see that for all the darkness of the world, the heroes still shine brightly as an inspiration, rather than being dragged into the muck with the rest of us. That’s a small but important distinction, as it represents a view of the superhero as nobler than us. Some prefer heroes to be just like us, with all the faults and foibles, but I’d rather that heroes have an innate nobility, and in Cooke’s hands, they do.

Covering all the moments or the characters in New Frontier would both spoil the book entirely and take up pages and pages of material. So instead, I’ll offer up a few highlights, which are hopefully indicative of the work as a whole. Johnny Cloud, the Navajo Ace, taking on a dinosaur with only two hand grenades and a strong will. A young Hal Jordan sneaking onto Edwards Air Force base to meet Chuck Yeager. John Jones, the Martian Manhunter, learning about Earth from TV, deciding to be a good guy, and working alongside Slam Bradley and the Bat-Man. Ted Grant KO’ing an upcoming challenger named Cassius Clay. The Flash creating a snowfall in Las Vegas. A little girl betraying a hero in his darkest hour. The last flight of the Suicide Squad. Every single panel with King Faraday. A battered and bloody Wonder Woman flying her Invisible Jet to get help. And the rise of the Silver Age heroes, alongside adventurers like the Challengers of the Unknown, to battle the greatest threat the Earth has seen. J’onn J’onzz revealing his true power for the first time. And there are dozens more.

Interior page from DC New FrontierCooke’s epic encompasses a cast of dozens, showing the early days of heroism from Barry Allen (The Flash), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) and Martian Manhunter (J’onn J’onzz) but also featuring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Challengers of the Unknown, King Faraday, Green Arrow and Adam Strange. It is a read that will be most rewarding for those who know the DC Universe fairly well, but as with “Easter Egg”-laden stories like Kingdom Come or Marvels, it works even for the relative neophyte because of the sense of wonder that the creator infuses the book with at its core. If you know who all these characters are, you’ll thrill when you realize who the pilot is that is mentoring Hal Jordan, or who John Jones’ partner is, or what’s going on when “Red” Ryan starts getting restless and drives out to the site of his recent air crash. If you don’t, the central story, of heroes trying to rise out of a time of corruption and despair, will still resonate.

Interior page from DC New FrontierThen there’s the art. Cooke has a fresh authorial voice, but he also has an art style that is instantly recognizable and distinctive. It has a lot in common with the Batman Animated style popularized by Bruce Timm (appropriate enough, given Cooke’s background), but it also draws heavily on his early art influences, from Joe Kubert to Jack Kirby to various EC guys. Cooke’s characters have a period look to them, with the normal world and the superheroic world alike filtered through a late ’50s sensibility. The men wear suits and hats, the architecture is early art deco and the most common hairstyle is a bob for women and a flat-top for men. There are some inks on this book by J. Bone, a frequent collaborator of Cooke’s, and the colors are by the amazing Dave Stewart. Both of these guys bring their A-game as well, which means that in just about every respect, this book looks about as good as comics can. Cooke and Stewart together, in particular, draws comparison to legendary artist/colorist team-ups like Frank Miller and Lynn Varley.

In terms of storytelling and structure, Cooke mostly uses a three-panel per page layout that allows for a long, almost widescreen effect and tightly controlled storytelling. However, he breaks this layout for effect several times, and every time he does, it’s all the more effective. There are splash pages, both single and double page, throughout this book, that are just jaw-dropping. The “Right Stuff” moment when the heroes stride out to meet the big villain of the piece is one of the most visually inspiring moments I’ve ever seen in my twenty plus years of reading comics. There’s also a creepy part of the story that combines one part Dr. Seuss with the mind-bending effects of HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu, and Cooke evokes Seuss’s art and style in that sequence to great effect.

Interior page from DC New FrontierThis is an enjoyable read in DC’s two-volume, beautifully-designed trade paperback format. But I can’t recommend the Absolute format highly enough. In addition to the convenience of having the whole story in one place and the stirring effect the artwork has when viewed in this oversized format, the extras are terrific. For starters, every cover, front and back, from the original series, is reprinted in the back. But that really is just for starters.

Probably the gem of these extras are the 12 pages of annotations by Darwyn Cooke, relating his influences and some of the “Easter Eggs” that he put into the work. These are illustrated by images from the classic comics that influenced him, which is but one of the many examples of perfect design on this volume. These annotations offer everything from historical notes on settings, recommendations for books that influenced Cooke like The Right Stuff and Vietnam: A History and little notes about which pages are Cooke’s particular favorites to cute revelations like “Captain Cold is actually… Grant Morrison!” Beyond that, there are 18 pages of full color sketches and design work, an 8-page “behind the scenes” feature in which Cooke lays out his process and shows off thumbnail pages, color guides, rough page layouts and a step-by-step look at his design for the trade paperback cover and 2-page featurettes with action figure design sketches and a look at Cooke’s own promo work for the series, done for the Las Vegas Retailer show.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility for me to call Absolute DC: The New Frontier my favorite graphic novel publication of the year. To quote John F. Kennedy, as Cooke does in the moving final section of his comic, “If you have the means, I highly recommend it.”

Wait… that was Ferris Bueller. Well, I stand behind the sentiment, at any rate. ...more

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Nov 07, 2016 Alejandro Vasquez rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Superhero genre enthusiasts take it for granted that continuities often exist on a floating timeline, which is meant to explain why Superman isn't a wrinkly old man after fighting crime and evil for nearly eighty years. Though writers and companies can use this device to stop time from moving forward, it can't stop stories from doing so, meaning they have to reboot every once in a while to keep things from changing too much. The modern trend of increased realism in our comics also often results Superhero genre enthusiasts take it for granted that continuities often exist on a floating timeline, which is meant to explain why Superman isn't a wrinkly old man after fighting crime and evil for nearly eighty years. Though writers and companies can use this device to stop time from moving forward, it can't stop stories from doing so, meaning they have to reboot every once in a while to keep things from changing too much. The modern trend of increased realism in our comics also often results in creators and audiences mocking and rejecting tropes that made more sense when they were introduced (wearing underwear over tights came from '20s circus strongmen and wrestlers).

In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with trying to bring a character created during World War II to the present - I've seen it work plenty of times. However, there is another approach to these issues that is not done nearly as often. Why aren't there more stories about them set in the age in which they were first introduced? Why can't we use these classic characters to tell stories showcasing our current perspective on the bygone ages in which they were made, like so many pastiche authors do with figures of Victorian fiction? Why don't more people write stories like DC: The New Frontier?

This book, by the late great Darwyn Cooke, stands out from other superhero stories in that it is historical fiction. It places many of DC's characters in the period between 1945 and 1960: the Justice Society of America retires in the face of McCarthyism, Superman and Wonder Woman operate in Indochina under Pres. Eisenhower's orders, and Martian Manhunter closely follows stories of racism. The start of the Silver Age of Comics also falls into this time, and several superheroes even make their in-story debut in the same years as their real-life comic debut: Barry Allen's Flash, Hal Jordan's Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter. These ideas can be found another DC graphic novel, The Golden Age, as well as in Marvel's ... um, Marvels, but otherwise it feels rather underused in comics universes with such rich histories.

The real protagonists appear to be Barry, Hal, and J'onn J'onzz, whose stories and personalities are explored in more depth than anything of which I'm aware. Barry struggles with how people think his vigilante superheroism, illegal in this world, makes him "just as bad as Captain Cold;" Hal, in the best arc, is criticized for his pacifism and recklessness, and doesn't immediately trust the power ring for thinking those same qualities make him worthy; and J'onn, who gets the most interesting and well-written scenes of the three, fears discrimination for his interplanetary origins after observing how poorly humans treat each other and even their heroes. Their struggles are not only relevant for superhero characters as a whole, but relevant for the time period as well.

Though it's thrilling to follow those characters, perhaps the best thing about the story is that dozens of characters get a chance to be the star of their own vignettes, and they all contribute in some way to the story or at least the worldbuilding. It's not just the superheroes either: ordinary humans with extraordinary bravery and skill, like King Faraday, Task Force X, and the Challengers of the Unknown, get to kick all kinds of ass, especially in the first half of the book. Modern superhero comics and even DC's new films tend to focus on how godlike Superman and his kind are, so it's great to see the nonpowered human elevated like this.

I'll admit that there's something odd about the flow, and not all of the characters or vignettes seem connected or even necessary. For example, we get some text-box narration from Ted Grant, AKA Wildcat, who only appears in one chapter to fight Cassius Clay and comment that he wish the first Flash could see the new one in action. There's also some Deus Ex Aquaman in the climax, and Green Arrow shows up in the climactic battle because apparently the DC Universe didn't have enough pilot characters (or characters who can freaking fly). A cast can only be so huge for a limited series before it becomes unwieldy, and the book reaches a point where you know not everyone will be important, including some who initially seem more influential to the plot than they turn out to be. However, while this treatment of characters seems very "unstorylike," it does give the impression that this is a genuinely thriving story universe full of people who may not be critical to this story, but are heroes of their own.

So why put all this effort into bringing back the late '50s? This time gave us the Silver Age of Comics, which are generally regarded as embarrassingly campy here in the Modern Age. But Cooke portrays the era with a glossy sheen in his art. He's not saying that the times were perfect at all, with McCarthyism and the KKK causing as much trouble for the book's heroes as costumed criminals and giant dinosaurs. He's just expressing his admiration for the ideals of the time, encapsulated at the end in quotes from John F. Kennedy's iconic speech that gave the series its name. Cooke takes us back to the Silver Age not just because he likes to show the Flash punching dinosaurs, but because it was a time, in comics and in culture, when people were starting to believe that we could create a beautiful future by working together, fighting injustice where we see it, and advancing in our technology and our humanity. With so many comics at the time questioning how heroic our superheroes really are, Cooke's idolization and optimism were powerful statements.

When Cooke died earlier this year, I only had a vague understanding of what we comic book readers lost. All I knew from him was his work on Before Watchmen: writer for Silk Spectre, writer *and* illustrator for Minutemen. I should have read more from him sooner, because those were the best titles in a rather mixed series, but I guess it's better late than never that I check out what's widely considered to be his seminal work of art. This Deluxe Edition, which contains all six issues plus a new afterword, previously unseen art, extra comics set in the same timeline, and extensive must-read annotations, allows us to admire Cooke's artistry even more.

Random Notes:
- God, I wish I'd read the series came out in 2004. Ten-year-old me would have gone slightly more apeshit over all the goddamn dinosaurs than 22-year-old me did.
- John Henry is a stand-out, not just as an interesting protagonist in the most tragic and topical arc of the book, but also as an almost completely original character. He's slightly based on Steel and created specially so the book could have a subplot about racism.
- Wonder Woman being taller than Superman is canon to me now. I mean, she *is* an Amazon.
- What the shit, this world's version of Dr. Seuss commits suicide!
- Shoot, Cooke even manages to bring in the romance genre, which was extremely popular in the Golden Age of Comics. "I don't start work for two more weeks."
- Fave parts: John Cloud takes on a T. rex, John Jones watches a Martian invasion movie.
- I can't end this review without praising Dave Stewart's dynamite coloring. Just look at the smoke-shrouded scene in which Martian Manhunter fights King Faraday on an active rocket launchpad for an example of his talent. ...more

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About Darwyn Cooke

Darwyn Cooke

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Darwyn Cooke was an Eisner Award winning comic book writer, artist, cartoonist and animator, best known for his work on the comic books Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier and Will Eisner's The Spirit.

In 1985, Cooke published his first comic book work as a professional artist in a short story in New Talent Showcase #19, but economic pressure made him leave the career and he worked in Canada as a Darwyn Cooke was an Eisner Award winning comic book writer, artist, cartoonist and animator, best known for his work on the comic books Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier and Will Eisner's The Spirit.

In 1985, Cooke published his first comic book work as a professional artist in a short story in New Talent Showcase #19, but economic pressure made him leave the career and he worked in Canada as a magazine art director, graphic and product designer for the next 15 years.

In the early 1990s Cooke decided to return to comics, but found little interest for his work at the major publishers. Eventually he was hired by Warner Bros. Animation after replying to an ad placed by animator Bruce Timm.

He went on to work as a storyboard artist for Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, and in 1999 he animated the main title design for Batman Beyond. He then worked as a director for Sony Animation's Men in Black: The Series for a year.

DC Comics then approached Cooke about a project which he had submitted to the publisher years earlier which eventually became Batman: Ego, a graphic novel published in 2000.

The critical success of that project led to Cooke taking on more freelance work, such as X-Force, Wolverine/Doop and Spider-Man's Tangled Web for Marvel Comics and Just Imagine... Stan Lee for DC.

In 2001, Cooke and writer Ed Brubaker teamed up to revamp the Catwoman character. They started with a 4 issue serial "Trail of the Catwoman" in Detective Comics #759-762 in which private detective Slam Bradley attempts to investigate the death of Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman).

The story led into a new Catwoman title in late 2001 by Brubaker and Cooke, in which the character's costume, supporting cast and modus operandi were all redesigned and redeveloped. Cooke would stay on the series, which was met with critical and fan acclaim, up until issue #4. In 2002 he would write and draw a prequel, the Selina's Big Score graphic novel which detailed what had happened to the character directly before her new series.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.

Cooke's next project was the ambitious DC: The New Frontier (2004), a six issue miniseries which sought to tell an epic storyline bridging the gap between the end of the golden and the start of the silver age of comic books in the DC Universe. The story, which was set in the 1950s, featured dozens of super-hero characters and drew inspiration from the comic books and movies of the period as well as from Tom Wolfe's non-fiction account of the start of the US Space Program The Right Stuff. The major DC characters are introduced in "The New Frontier" in the same order that DC originally published them, even down to the correct month and year in the story's timeline. In 2005, Cooke won an Eisner Award for "Best Limited Series", and a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on the series.

Most recently, Cooke contributed to DC's artist-centric anthology project Solo. His issue (#5, June, 2005) featured several different stories in different styles with a framing sequence featuring the Slam Bradley character. In 2006, Solo #5 won an Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue."

In July 2005, it was announced that in 2006 Cooke and writer Jeph Loeb would produce a Batman/Spirit crossover, to be followed shortly afterwards by an ongoing Spirit series written and drawn by Cooke. Batman/The Spirit was ultimately published in November 2006, followed in December by the first issue of Cooke's The Spirit. In June 2007, Cooke and J. Bone won a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Artists" for their work on "Batman/The Spirit", and Cooke won "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on "The Spirit".

In July 2006, it was announced that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics would release a series of direct-to-DVD animated movies based on important DC com ...more

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“Two things become clear to me. The first is that this is a world where good and evil struggle in all levels of existence. I want to be a force for good.

The second thing is that I need to find employment if I want to obtain any more currency.

As I'm sure is the case for many earthlings, I find my answer on the television.

My martian name is J'onn J'onzz. Here on Earth I shall be known as John Jones.

Police detective John Jones. I'll be one of the good guys.” — 0 likes

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