Review: Frost - Rogue State #1
After reading The Activity for so long, I’m kind of spoiled on realistic military stories. That said, Frost is generally realistic, but comes from a very different fiction than the aforementioned Image title. Frost is kind of like the ultimate soldier, but there is a sadness in his eyes that is present in every scene. He was turned into a killing machine, but he may very well prove to have a heart of gold.
To sum up the zero issue, Frost was sent to retrieve a defecting Al-Qaeda agent that has information about the location of a WMD. He ended up having to shoot the man when they were spotted talking prior to his extraction. Frost ends up having to kill a lot of men following them and carries the injured, bleeding man that he shot… across the desert.
We pick up in this issue with Frost coming to his check point a full day ahead of schedule. The U.S. soldiers get them back to their base where Frost is chewed out by his handler. Frost isn’t military, but more of a black ops merc. His current handler Donovan is a dick and chews him out for shooting their contact. Frost tells him off and leaves, but Donovan follows after trying to get under his skin. It works and Frost decks Donovan fracturing his jaw. Donovan asks the General to stop him, but having just been told off by him seconds before he just watches Frost leave.
We get a quick couple of flashbacks about Frost’s life and again you begin to see his sadness that is behind his eyes and has been there since he was a child. In the present, Frost is given new orders and told to ignore Donovan’s directions. Frost goes to interrogate the man he shot and saved, but when he gets there he finds the medical staff over the man who’s just been attacked. Frost takes off after the assailant to get some answers.
The story definitely has a bit of a Bourne Identity vibe to it, but rather a soldier that’s gone off the reservation we’re seeing him doing work. It’s interesting to see it in a modern setting and in one that’s become very familiar to world in the past decade. I actually enjoyed the story and liked Frost. Sure he’s kind of the typically super killer badass, but he doesn’t walk around thinking he can take on the world with a couple of pistols. He’s just good at what he does because he’s been training to kill since he was four. I liked that aspect of his character and the two time lines worked very well to establish both the character and world.
The art is very good and detailed. The settings were realistic and the weaponry looked real as well. The line work is very tight with crisp lines and not a lot of excessive details. It’s so solid that I don’t have much say about it unfortunately.
This book is very different from a lot of Monkey Brain’s titles, but it’s good because it diversifies the titles they’re offering. Granted this is more of an action title than anything else, but if you’re looking for a realistic set story with some plot exaggerations then it’s definitely worth checking out. I know I’ll be back for more as I hope that they continue to sprinkle Frost’s past into each issue.
Score: 3/5
Writers: Brandon Jerwa & Eric Trautmann
Artist: Giovanni Timpano
Publisher: Monkey Brain Comics
Price: $.99
Release Date: 4/10/13
