Give Peace A Chance
Frankie B. Washington’s series gives readers a lot for their money

Peace # 0-2
Created, written and drawn by
Frankie B. Washington
Cover by Crystal Correia
FWB Press
Cover Price $3.00; Available Now

Frankie B. Washington is man with big ideas.

In the first three issues of his epic comic series Peace, Washington destroys and creates a new universe, introduces the gods who run the universe, and re-imagines Boston as a futuristic city-state full of gang conflicts.

And that’s just the beginning.

For those who complain (as I often do) that readers just don’t get much for their money these days from comic books — rejoice! The three issues of Peace I read are so dense with plot and story, that I read all of them five times before even starting to review them and I was still finding new stuff with each re-reading.

The “0” issue begins with three cosmic entities, Om (the greatfather), Ura (the greatmother), and Mu (the “abstract entity” who is their off-spring). No sooner are these entities introduced when a bunch of even newer gods pop up. Ura creates primal Earth and Mu creates a pantheon of gods on Earth, each beginning with the letter “M” (Mertoth, Mystal, Madillo, Moxoma, etc.) This pantheon are known as “the Wildgods” despite the fact some of them have some fairly tame names such as “Mull,” “Mush,” and “Mang Mang.”

We are told the Wildgods flourish for 1,000 years and then Mu gives the Wildgods “the power to create their own destiny (or “free will”) so three of the wildgods go exploring. We learn there is a “great boundary”: a cosmic void that keeps the universes apart.

Later, as his universe dies, the Wildgod, Menoah, transmits his story into a recording unit called “Gloz” that ends up in OUR universe in Massachusetts. This tale makes its way to comic book creator Frankie B. Washington who decides to tell the story in comic book form (which is about the best way to tell ANY story). The “0” issues ends with Frankie sitting down to a drawing board to express the story Gloz has imparted.

Issue #1 starts with a new perspective. The focus shifts to the year 2192, where Boston is a city-state and the world is celebrating “Liberation Day” after defeating invaders called “Gomas.” Boston gangs are involved in a scavenger hunt. Instead of gods, we are dealing primarily with mutants, Boston political corruption, and futuristic sociology. Each page introduces a new concept — Norms and Cymers, a pnueumonix wing pack, Vanrock and Corum X. The concepts fly fast and furious at the reader. A character is introduced and the scene moves quickly to the next character.

In issue #2 the Wildgod, Menoah, shows up again. There are police actions, investigations, and a being called Odin-Son arrives and declares himself a god.

The biggest problem with all this is that Washington makes the error many first-time comic creators make — he tries to stuff too many big concepts into every issue. The reader scarcely has time to get interested in a character before the next great character arrives. Washington is a pretty good artist and some of his individual panels are amazing, but the sheer amount of information on each page can be overwhelming.

The page layouts can also be a little confusing with the final two-page spread of issue #2 using arrows to direct the reader to observe the action in a counter-clockwise spiral.

If the reader puts some effort into it, Peace can be an a rewarding comic. It is a very personal comic experience and you can tell Washington is discussing concepts about peace and society and justice that are very important to him.
But be warned — once you start an issue of Peace, it is going to take some time to absorb it all.

Available at comiXpress.