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Kindlon and Ferrari’s Frontiersman #1 introduces an aging hero wrestling with his responsibilities and his reputation in this stunning first issue.
After working together on AfterShock Comics’ Patience! Conviction! Revenge!, writer Patrick Kindlon and artist Marco Ferrari have reunited to co-create Frontiersman, a comic series about superheroes and the climate crisis. Published by Image Comics, Frontiersman is scheduled to hit comic stands on Sept. 22. Frontiersman #1 is a thoughtful, gorgeously drawn meditation on the state of the world that is as entertaining as it is poignant.
Frontiersman #1 revolves around the titular hero, who has retired from his crime-fighting career to live a reclusive life of peace and quiet in the woods. Aside from having to defeat the occasional evil robot that stumbles onto his home after years of hunting him, the Frontiersman seems content to spend his days reading and chatting on the phone with his friend Claire. But when a young activist comes to his home and asks for help protecting the redwood forest from developers, the hero ponders the possibility of coming out of retirement.
It is tempting to compare Frontiersman #1 to comics like Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s Watchmen or Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s Black Hammer in that it is an exploration of a superhero universe told from the perspective of pseudo-retired heroes. But despite some surface-level similarities, Kindlon’s decision to center his story around an aging hero is more than just the recycling of a well-loved trope. The older Frontiersman is used to contrast a degree of despair regarding climate change with more optimistic attitudes of earlier environmentalist movements. The young student who approaches Frontiersman is optimistic in spite of the cynicism that surrounds him, but many of Frontiersman’s old friends have become bitter after years of saving the world from all manner of threats and see the new environmentalist movement as little more than a fad. Kindlon explores this tension without patronizing or vilifying either attitude in a remarkably empathetic way.
The emotionally complicated nature of the comic’s themes makes it feel remarkably grounded in the reality of 2021. Ferrari’s art adds a fantastical quality to the story that makes Kindlon’s nuanced discourse surprisingly palatable. The flashbacks to the hero’s heyday are particularly expressive, complete with numerous exciting character designs that imply an additional layer of depth and history to the world. Ferrari contrasts the bombastic nature of the flashbacks with a quiet and graceful depiction of the forest Frontiersman calls home. Dense stands of trees and peaceful clearings are lovingly rendered in a way that celebrates the beauty of the natural world and reinforces the story’s theme.
Patrick Kindlon and Marco Ferrari work together to build a world that feels at once familiar and fantastic. The dialogue surrounding the environment and other social issues is as intriguing as the history of the superheroes whose epic adventures are alluded to throughout the issue. Frontiersman #1 succeeds as both an entertaining superhero comic and a salient conversation about current events — an impressive balance that highlights the flexibility and power of the comics medium. Readers in search of old-fashioned caped crusader fun and emotionally rich narratives don’t need to look any further than Frontiersman #1.
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