I'll admit it... I wasn't exactly looking forward to reading this comic book. Bob Harras is best known in the industry as an editor -- specifically as the chief editor at Marvel during one of the publisher's least innovative periods. Maybe that's not a reputation that he earned, but in many ways, perception is reality. Well, should you decide to read Breach #1, prepare to have your perceptions changed radically. Harras offers up a fascinating story that opens with the ending. The shifting time settings make for an unconventional comic book script, and real-world political references and some strong, down-to-earth characterization make it easy to relate to some of the characters in this extreme super-hero origin story.
In 11 months, one man's fantastic, strange and horrific journey comes to an end, a journey that began in 1983 at a secret U.S. government facility hidden deep below a desert in the middle of nowhere. Military liaisons work with scientists who are trying to breach the barrier between our universe and parallel dimensions, desperately racing against similar efforts made by Soviet counterparts in the Cold War. Something goes horribly wrong, but those who would see it as an accident are unaware of sabotage by one of their own. The incident turns one man into a traitor... and another man into something powerful, dangerous and not entirely human.
I'm a bit torn when it comes to the art for this book. I love Martin's design for the main character as depcited in the opening splash page, and the gruesome, flesh-rending effects later in the book really bring out the horror of the events incredibly well. His simple style also reinforces the all-American nature of the two main characters. The real-world elements, though, seem to call for a more detailed, realistic style. Martin's likenesses of Rumsfeld and other political figures leave a bit to be desired, and the backgrounds are sometimes lacking. The colors really pop when they bring the superhuman character's power and sleek alien form to life.
On the surface, this is a farily typical super-hero origin... even cliched. But Harras's script really makes the characters come to life. In part, the dialogue brings credibility and a down-to-earth quality to the characters, but the political backdrop -- the Cold War, the U.S. relationship with Iraq in the 1980s -- give the reader a frame of reference as well.
I love how the story jumps around in time. The achronological plotting really adds to the suspense and the maturity of the plot. Harras opens in December 2005, takes us back to 1983 and 1987, and ends the issue with a great cliffhanger in the present. He reveals a little of where he's headed with this series, and it doesn't detract from the drama of the story at all. In fact, it adds to it. The main character in Breach strikes me as a bit of a riff on Alan Moore's Doc Manhattan from Watchmen, and it's interesting to see a series that focuses exclusively on one such character. 8/10
