DC: The New Frontier

DC: The New Frontier

Front cover to Absolute DC: The New Frontier. Art by Darwyn Cooke.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
Schedule monthly
Format Limited series
Genre
    Publication date 2004
    Number of issues 6
    Main character(s) Hal Jordan, Martian Manhunter, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Batman, various DC characters
    Creative team
    Creator(s) Darwyn Cooke

    DC: The New Frontier is an Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Award-winning six-issue comic book limited series written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, published by DC Comics in 2004. The series was collected into two trade paperback volumes from 2004–2005, an Absolute Edition in 2006, and a Deluxe Edition in 2015. The story was adapted into an animated movie titled Justice League: The New Frontier and released on February 26, 2008.

    The series was influenced by works such as Kingdom Come, The Golden Age, Watchmen, and The Dark Knight Returns. Much like The Golden Age, New Frontier takes place primarily in the 1950s and depicts the Golden Age superheroes Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman meeting Silver Age characters the Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter. The story bridges the gap from the end of the Golden Age to the beginning of the Silver Age in the DC Universe.

    Plot

    Set during the years 1953-1960, post World War II sentiment and Cold War tension have pushed the Age of the Superhero into decline. However, when a threatening alien presence emerges on earth, a new era of superheroes must join forces with veteran heroes and an unfriendly United States government to battle the nemesis.

    Setting

    The New Frontier is set in 1945, 1948, and 1952-1960. It has Golden Age characters, such as Superman, Wonder woman, and Batman meeting Silver Age characters such as Green Lantern and The Flash. Cameos from the likes of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon, as well as references such as the atomic testing, civil rights movement, and the Soviet Union, are done to give a sense of the era the series is set in. The storyline draws inspiration from the comic books and films of the period, as well as both the novel and film The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. The series attempts a dynamic re-imagining of the era that ushered in the presidency of John F. Kennedy. A major part from one of his speeches is used and the title also invokes John F. Kennedy's use of the term New Frontier.

    Continuity

    The continuity of New Frontier includes elements of both the Golden and Silver Ages. Included are some traditional elements from the DCU applied in the series that aren't Golden or Silver Age-related, such as the cameo appearances of Harvey Bullock and Darkseid, who did not appear until the 1970s.

    Another factor is that many of the characters appeared as they did when they were created, and not retconned to fit the era and story. As Darwyn Cooke explained, "all retcons are irrelevant; the only continuity that matters is the 'prime continuity' established in the first year by the guys who created the strips. I'm following the exact continuity of the original books in the original time they occurred.". For example, Barry Allen becomes The Flash in 1956, the same year as his first appearance in the comics, and Hal Jordan acquires the power ring and becomes Green Lantern in 1959, again the same year that story was published.

    Although Cooke considers New Frontier to take place in pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity, he nevertheless did not employ the period-accurate Earth-One and Earth-Two Multiverse concepts and used a variation of the post-Crisis continuity whereby the Golden and Silver Age heroes both exist in a unified timeline rather than separate realities.

    Subsequently, the New Frontier universe was later identified as one of the 52 Earths in the current DC multiverse, designated as Earth-21.

    Art style

    The art style has several influences: Jack Kirby from the squared fingers, muscles and jaws; the simple clean lines of Golden Age-era comics. The past deco-aesthetics from the Fleischer Superman cartoons to the more modern deco-aesthetics from Batman: The Animated Series, and a number of other shows in the DC animated universe. Cooke had previously worked as an artist for many of the latter. Cooke's style also has similarities to that of Bruce Timm.

    Awards

    Since its release, the series won the Eisner Award for Best Limited Series, Best Coloring, and Best Publication Design. It also won the Harvey Award for Best Artist, Best Colorist, and Best Continuing or Limited Series. In addition, it received the Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist (Writer/Artist). In 2007, when the series was released as an Absolute Edition, the series gained another Eisner and Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album (Reprint) from Eisner, and Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work from Harvey.

    Film adaptation

    Single DVD cover art

    An adaptation was made as a direct-to-video animated film, written by writer Stan Berkowitz, produced by Bruce Timm, with Darwyn Cooke serving as story and visual consultant. Rated PG-13, it was released in the United States on February 26, 2008 on DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, with pay-per-view available the day it was released.

    Collections

    The series has been collected in two softcover collections, one Absolute Edition, and one Deluxe Edition. While the softcover collections reprint the comic as it was when first released, the Absolute Edition includes an extra 13 pages of story.

    Merchandise

    DC Direct produced a line of action figures based on the series, released in July 2006:

    A subsequent box set of Batman, Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman (with a new head) and including a reprint of Justice League: The New Frontier Special was released in April, 2009.

    Follow-ups

    Solo #5 (2005), written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, included a short story titled "Triangulation: A New Frontier Thriller", featuring King Faraday and set in pre-revolutionary Cuba.

    A one-shot titled Justice League: The New Frontier Special was released in May 2008 as a follow-up to the release of the Justice League: The New Frontier DVD. Stories included a Batman vs. Superman story, a post-New Frontier story where Robin teams up with Kid Flash for the first time and a Mad Magazine style story starring Wonder Woman and Black Canary.

    References

    1. ↑ Cooke, Darwyn (2004). DC: The New Frontier: Volume One (2. printing ed.). New York: DC Comics. ISBN 1-4012-0350-7. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
    2. ↑ Cooke, Darwyn (2005). DC: The New Frontier: Volume Two (1. printing ed.). New York: DC Comics. ISBN 1-4012-0461-9. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
    3. ↑ Cooke, Darwyn (2006). DC: The New Frontier (Absolute ed.). New York: DC Comics. ISBN 1-4012-1080-5. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
    4. ↑ Cooke, Darwyn (2015). DC: The New Frontier Deluxe Edition (Deluxe ed.). New York: DC Comics. ISBN 1401248888. Retrieved 26 November 2015.

    External links

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