Out of Bounds #1 – The Independent Comics Dispatch

4.18/5.0 StarsRating if the Book Were a Movie: R

Creative Team:

Writer: Christofer EmgardArtist: Tomas AiraLetters: Mauro MantellaCover: Tomas AiraEditor: Dave MarshallPublisher: Dark Horse Comics

Ratings:

Story: 4.2 StarsArtwork: 4.3 StarsCover Artwork: 4.4 StarsDialogue: 4.1 StarsMechanics: 4.0 StarsEditing: 4.1 Stars

About the Book:

“Beyond the Pale” takes us back to the Vietnam War. Hetta Sawyer is a combat correspondent that has observed Firebase Tartarus has an unusual statistic. The base has the least amount of soldiers killed in action out of any in the country. It also has a very high number of soldiers that have gone missing in action. A prominent number of those men are African American. Hetta’s had herself assigned to Tartarus in hopes of discovering what truly happened. Will anyone believe her when the truth comes out?

Reader’s Notes:

“Beyond the Pale” found its way into the stacks when I was at my local comic book store. The caption on the cover, “Welcome to the suck. Check your soul at the door.”, reminded me of something my colleague Stubs always said.

I was very excited to learn that “Beyond the Pale” is a piece about the conflict in Vietnam. First of all, I love historical fiction. Secondly, both of my grandfathers served in Vietnam. Neither of them would ever talk about their time over there. Stories are the only way I can get a picture of what they experienced.

From the stories I have read and movies I have seen the conflict was terrifying for almost everyone that went out into the field. It was guerilla warfare and as a whole, our troops were not prepared for those conditions. They were fighting enemies that seemed to have the ability to appear and disappear like a spirit. Like the creatures Ms. Sawyer is having visions of.

I like that Emgard isn’t pulling punches when giving the reader a feel for the political climate Hetta is facing. Desegregation was less than a decade old when these soldiers went missing. The brass is not anywhere near as concerned as it should be about the disappearances of people of color from their units. One or two missing could be considered desertion. When that figure approaches double digits there is a problem.

I am very fond of this cover. Aira found a way to do an homage to the cover of “The Killing Joke” and make it darker. It catches people’s attention and makes them wonder what the story is about.

Aira didn’t stop the great work after the cover. The reader is pulled deeper into the story with each panel on the interior pages. More than fifty years later the reader can feel the humidity.

“Beyond the Pale” isn’t for the faint hearted. It is a war story, which means you can expect panels to have some gore in them. To the creative team’s credit, the gore isn’t gratuitous. It helps demonstrate just how quickly things could go sideways in this conflict.

As a geek on a budget I’m sold on “Beyond the Pale”. This is a fascinating story that allows the reader to get a feel for the conditions our soldiers faced while giving us a terrific cast of characters. I am very eager to see where the story takes us.