10 Reasons Why 'The New Frontier' Will Always Be DC's Greatest Graphic Novel

7. It Unashamedly Embraces DC's History

The New Frontier exudes history through every panel, and not just that of the United States either. Honestly, the amount of classic DC characters, locations, and vehicles featured within is nigh-gargantuan. Indeed, the level of respect and adoration Cooke showed for this universe is beyond amazing, at times becoming completely infectious to the reader. You genuinely can't help but get absorbed into the world The New Frontier occupies, and it's believable every step of the way - comprised of a memorable cast of characters that would make even the most jam-packed of Justice League tales green with envy.

It's near impossible to count just how many of DC's denizens make an appearance in Cooke's masterpiece, but you can guarantee that if they were at all prominent during the company's early days, they're bound to be in there somewhere. There's an epic prologue featuring The Losers (a hodgepodge of DC wartime favourites who somewhat resembled the famed Dirty Dozen), The Blackhawks partake in the book's explosive finale against an impending existential threat, and Adam Strange even makes an appearance at different times throughout. There's an absolute bonanza of characters involved in the main story, and that isn't even counting the multiple cameos made during the novel's closing moments.

Even a decade on from its initial release, The New Frontier remains a breath of fresh air in an industry climate that is so often reluctant to embrace the more joyous aspects of comic book creativity, remaining in a recurring deadlock of pseudo-reboots, mandatory yearly 'events', and restrictive character rosters. Cooke bucked all these trends with his throwback to the medium's glory days (and was even critiqued for doing so upon the tale's original release), but time has shown that it was the right thing to do. After all, you don't win multiple Eisner, Shuster, and Harvey awards for nothing.