Infinite Frontier #1: “That Damn Multiverse is Nothing But Trouble!”

There’s in all probability quite a bit of dissection and dissertation that could be written about Infinite Frontier. After all, since the installation of an omniverse as the official leveling-up of DC’s never-not-convoluted continuity, the company’s attitude seems to be a bit laissez-faire: “Don’t worry that this may not make sense, or that all the pieces don’t completely line up. Don’t stress. Have fun.” And in that spirit, despite what could easily turn into a thesis-length essay on the ins and outs of this new world order, it’s probably easiest to just start with a simple statement of fact: Infinite Frontier is a fun comic.

There’s quite a bit to unpack in this first issue: Roy Harper’s sudden… wardrobe change; Barry Allen’s ominous and unsettling discovery and the return of a bellwether foe; Thomas Wayne’s untimely return (dude has a lot to answer for); Jade’s explosive disappearance; Alan Scott and Obsidian coming to understand one another anew after Alan’s recent coming-out announcement. There’s so much happening, and granted, this is but the first issue of the miniseries – but the narrative does feel like it’s lost to a certain degree underneath all the various subplots. They’re not disinteresting – far from it – but none of them are granted quite enough page time to feel properly fleshed out. But since it’s the first issue of the series, there’s plenty of runway left to go, so not to worry – but, that said, there is a little bit of an incomplete feeling insofar as IF #1 is concerned as a total box reading experience, due to the sheer number of dangling plot threads.

Artists Xermanico and Romulo Fajardo, Jr., deftly deploy an incredibly wide array of skills throughout this issue, gifting it with a scope and breadth worthy of its subject matter. The DCU is a wonderfully wide tapestry of all sorts of characters, where it makes perfect sense for Captain Carrot to be palling around with President Superman while defending a thing called an omniverse from whatever hifalutin’ thing may be lurking in the corners to threaten it (not-spoiler: he’s on the cover). And although this issue may have something of a slow-burn feel to it, Williamson, Xermanico, Fajardo, and letterer Tom Napolitano clearly have a tight-knit plan in place – and oh, that last page…. Well. Big things are happening, indeed. If you haven’t been paying attention, it’s a fantastic time to be a DC fan – and Infinite Frontier #1 is a perfect place to jump on if you’ve been away. Come on in – the water’s fine.