Reviewer: John Babos
Story Title: Herdsman (from the interior) or Who is he? (from the cover)
Written by: Bob Harras
Penciled by: Marcos Martin
Inked by: Alvaro Lopez
Colored by: J. Rodriguez Studio
Lettered by: Clem Robins
Associate Editor: Nachie Castro
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics
DC’s Solicitation
The intriguing new series written by Bob Harras (Avengers) with art by Marcos Martin and Alvaro Lopez (BATGIRL: YEAR ONE) continues!
There’s no rest for the weary as Breach struggles to adjust to his transformation, the loss of everyone he loved, and the incredible number of years that have passed him by. But his awakening last issue has not gone unnoticed. A mysterious breach in time/space opens in the plains of Africa, and someone – or something – is coming for him!
The Review
First Things First
With the price of comic books so high nowadays and with so many solid monthly offerings I was initially reluctant to pick up Breach. It wasn’t a comment on the advance word of the book, but more of a dollar and cents issue.
Two things happened that changed my mind about sampling Breach.
The first was the excellent Breach #1 review by fellow Nexus contributor Mathan Erhardt. I was moved to sample issue #1 and I was pleasantly surprised. It read like no other book on the shelves today and felt like a throwback to my boyhood reading days when everything I read felt “new”. Its difficult after almost 20 years of reading and collecting comics to get that feeling. The story and art rekindled a flame in me that had been dormant for some time.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love many of the books on my pull list for different reasons. The reason I enjoy JSA, for example, is the exact opposite reason why I like Breach. The whole raison d’etre of JSA is that it isn’t new – its a book about legacy rooted in the Golden Age with blossoming branches firmly in the Modern Age.
I like reading Manhunter for similar reasons. Its a new take on an established franchise or more accurately a nom de guerre.
The second fateful intervention was DC’s announcement that it was canceling Bloodhound a book that I had been reading and enjoying from its inception. While this news was most certainly unwelcome, it would (eventually) present a hole in my monthly reading that I needed to fill.
So, while the ‘Hound winds down, I also started picking up Breach.
Story
The action and drama in this issue if off the Richter scale. We actually don’t learn much more beyond what we already know about our titular “hero” (?). What we do learn more about is the world around Breach.
An Invasion (not to be confused with DC’s 1980’s mini-series) of some sort is on the horizon and Breach may be the only one that can stave it off. Its traditionally sci-fi fare, but its Harras’s execution and focus on the humanity around Breach that gives it a fresh new flare. The impending doom isn’t the sole focus of the book. Breach’s self-exploration and those around him is.
Breach’s supposed opposite number is introduced in this issue. Every hero must have a nemesis and Breach’s comes directly from a dimensional breach in Africa that transforms a tribal Herdsman into something truly bizarre and alien. “He” (?) provides an interesting contrast to Breach as they both are seemingly alien-human hybrids that have choked the humanity (DNA-wise) from their form.
I imagine Harras’s ongoing tale of Breach’s self-discovery will reveal that humanity is more than strands of DNA, its about our emotional intelligence and how we treat ourselves and others. Again, not a new concept, but Harras certainly delivers it in a new way. This established truth from my boyhood reading is introduced to a new generation of readers so consumed by the grim and gritty of comics (making a sad and popular return to comics as mislabeled “realism”).
The world of Breach maybe very much gray, but its leaning to the hopeful white as opposed to the black despair on Bob Harras’s painter’s palette.
A big plus with this book is its multiculturalism. I haven’t seen a book with so diverse a cast in years if ever. Breach’s backdrop very much mirrors our beautifully heterogeneous world.
I just hope that Breach with its hopeful, yet intriguing, take on humanity and its very multicultural world finds an audience that will sustain it for years to come.
Breach may well be the best new book of 2005 so far!
Art
The pencils of Marcos Martin and inks of Alvaro Lopez combine to infuse the world of Breach with energy, humanity, and guilty-innocence that help advance Harras’ inviting and simply-complex tale. The art feels raw and very much visually delivers the light gray world of breach.
Its a stylized art collaboration that evokes a range of influences from Mike Mignola (Hellboy) to Darwyn Cooke (DC: New Frontier).
Breach’s nemesis the Herdsman is depicted in such a exaggerated way that the inevitable comparison to our titular hero is more jarring. They appear to have been (re)born in a similar way, but where Breach frantically grasps to hold onto his humanity, the Herdsman shed it quite easily and deliberately DNA, emotional intelligence and all.
The depiction by Martin and Campos of how the Herdsman moves and interacts with the world adds an element of intrigue and horror to the tale that advances the emotional engagement of the reader that Harras has expertly laid out in the plot. Everything leads to the battle between Breach and his opposite number and the art is vital to pulling the readers in. It succeeds.
The softer hues used by colorist J. Rodriguez Studio contrast well the gray world of Breach. The colors are rich and capture the various moods of Harras’ plot. The daylight confrontation between the country folk in middle America and the Herdsman is more impactful with the brighter colors used around the very dark bizarre villain.
Its a gorgeous book.
