Despite its extended length, Barrier rips along at a pace, but never neglects the core characters who will carry us forward. Apart from being a compelling and beautifully crafted read, the 54-page debut issue comes at the bargain price of whatever you feel like paying for it. Of course, it goes without saying that if you want to keep seeing quality comics like this, a couple of dollars from every reader wouldn't go astray. Read Full Review

The writing is what you might expect from Vaughan whichis just brilliant, this time with some support from Martin. Much like they did in The Private Eye, Martin and Vicente once again bringing gorgeous illustrations and colors that just make you want to hold this in your hands (hint hint). Overall Barrier #1 was an amazing first issue by this Eisner award-winning team that promises to bring more drama and more weirdness over the next four issues. Read Full Review

Vaughan and Martin lean heavily into the tense race relations along the USA-Mexico boarder, presenting both sides of the argument through a number of slice-of-life imagery. The duo wonderfully develop the two leads over the course of the 50+ pages before their lives intersect (in a surprising manner) in the final pages. Read Full Review

In a world where mainstream comics get beyond long-term teases and constant reminders in order to keep the buying public revved up and excited, it's refreshing to have something largely hype-free drop without fanfare and immediately find its way onto your pull list. Admittedly, lowkey digital releases might not be quite as successful for creators without BKV and Martin's track record ("Saga", "Y: The Last Man" "The Amazing Spider-Man", "Daredevil", I could go on") but it's still great to see comic book writers making strides both in narrative and distribution. Being willing to try something new is what makes both this book and this creative team so exciting, and considering it's available right now, for free, you really have no excuse not to close this review and go and read it. Read Full Review

Vaughn and Martin has created an amazing online comic once again, one that has a heck of a cliffhanger that will turn the whole story upside down. Barrier will continue online at http://panelsyndicate.com/. Read Full Review

Barrier #1 is a tale that mixes violence, border politics, illegal immigration, and something totally unexpected. Aside from being beautifully made, the 54-page debut issue comes with a bargain price (pay-what-you-want). Although a few dollars would go a long way for the creators. This comic is hard to pass up. Read Full Review

Basically, it's an okay story with great art and a cliffhanger that will bring you back for more. And you can pay what you want for it so it's hard to argue with that. Read Full Review

The art and style were top-notch and I love Brian K. Vaughan from previously reading Private Eye. Really good issue. I am just wondering if you could speak Spanish and not English, if you could get an entirely different viewpoint by reading the Spanish sections? That would be brilliant since both characters end up with the same fate. I don't speak Spanish sadly so I can't confirm. (This review was 3 years late because Image offered it as their FCBD 2018.)