See You in the Funny Papers!

Editor's note: The following is the final installment of this week's Red Bull Rising mini-series, "Comic Book Re: Insurgency." For more insights and information about telling war stories using graphic-novel techniques, see also Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV.

Comic books matter. So do cartoons.

For more than 100 years—ending only after budget cuts and layoffs in 2008—the Des Moines (Iowa) Register ran an editorial cartoon on its front page. After budget cuts and layoffs, Brian Duffy was the last of a line that included Pulitzer Prize-winners Ding Darling and Frank Miller. Duffy still plies his trade on television, in the local free weekly paper, and online.

I was sorry to see that tradition die in the Register. To outsiders, it seemed as quirky as deep-fried butter on a stick at the Iowa State Fair. To those of us who live here, it was as natural as a landscape planted out in corn and soybeans, as far as the eye can see. Which is to say, of course, that it wasn't natural at all. But it was homegrown, part of the landscape. Nobody could take it away from us, until they did.

Budget cuts and technology can really take the fun out of things sometimes.

I've written previously about how Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury has been something of a personal talisman. Through his daily comic strip, Trudeau delivers some of the most insightful, accessible observations of military and veteran life in mass media today. He also supports mil-blogging as a craft. For the record, Trudeau won a Pulitzer in 1975. I hadn't realized Pulitzers would become something of a theme here.

There's a long line of cartoon soldiers that precede those Doonesbury characters, including Private Snafu, Sad Sack, Beetle Bailey, and Willie and Joe. The latter cartoon was drawn by Bill Mauldin, a citizen-soldier-cartoonist with Oklahoma's 45th Infantry "Thunderbird" Division, and winner of two Pulitzers himself.

Of more recent vintage, there's also "Delta Bravo Sierra", "Bob on the FOB", and "PVT Murphy" (the latter, sadly, no longer in production).

For my money and daily eyeball time, however, I visit most regularly a group of space mercenaries, a rudely drawn slideshow circus, and a stick-figure superhero who fights for life, liberty, and pursuit of doctrine. Because they're "free," I try to occasionally send them money by purchasing their merchandise, and by supporting their charities and causes.

As I have before, I'll include science-fiction writer Howard Tayler's "Schlock Mercenary" in this military-cartoon company. There's a reason that his "Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries" is posted on many a TOC wall. You can read his stuff and buy his books here.

Power Point Ranger has recently made some 600 of his scathing and snarky slides available on CD-ROM for just $12, including shipping and handling. Like they say: "Suitable for framing." By which, I mean "sneaking into your buddy's next briefing slide deck."

Finally, from the secret lair, poker den, and humidor-arsenal of Doctrine Man!!, the latest piece of inspired swag is a Blue Falcon sticker. Think of it as a "kick me" sign for that special someone around the staff tent.

Comic books matter. So do cartoons. Send them money when you can.

Otherwise, you might one day wake up to a blank page in your newspaper, or a broken URL on your computer. To mis-quote Sherpatude No. 26: "Humor is a combat multiplier. Except when it isn't ... there."

*****

As a final note in wrapping up this week's Red Bull Rising focus on comic books and cartoons, theorist Scott McCloud, author of such books as "Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art" and "Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels", is speaking in Red Bull country tonight in Northfield, Minn.

He's helping Carleton College kick off its “Visual Learning: Transforming the Liberal Arts” conference, which will "bring together leaders from 42 esteemed institutions around the nation—academics representing a variety of disciplines, as well as graduate students, museum curators, photographers, photojournalists, graphic artists, film-makers, technologists, and musicians."

Click here for details.

A Post-Mortem on Two Comic Book Series

Editor's note: The following is Part IV of this week's Red Bull Rising mini-series "Comic Book Re: Insurgency." For more insights and information about telling war stories using graphic-novel techniques, see also Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part V.

After a incomplete study of DC Comics' 21st century "Men of War" and "G.I. Combat" updates—each of which was cancelled after runs of less than 12 monthly issues—I'm prepared to make a few "lessons learned" diagnoses.

Each title featured one serialized story and one standalone story in each issue. The writers of "Men of War" sought to update the World War II character of Sgt. Rock by recruiting his nephew into a modern-day suicide squad. Despite the clandestine nature of its missions, the squad was still clearly in the military. Modern-day uniforms and real-world weapons. Not a ray gun or killer robot in sight.

That's not to say that strange things were not afoot. Sgt. Rock and his team would occasionally encounter mysterious people on the battlefield. They might have been friendlies, allies, or potential targets. Also, one of the members may have had superpowers. The figuring it all out was the fun part. Or, it would've been, had the series not been cancelled.

Much of the writing was notably internal monologue. In other words, readers were inside Sgt. Rock's head. In real-time. This is an important technique in war comics. Otherwise, war-comic characters would have to spout running commentaries on their intentions and actions. Imagine: "I'm firing my weapon!" or "I'm shooting at you!" It just sounds a little silly, when the rest of your action seems based in reality.

Whether or not the new Sgt. Rock existed in the same storied universe as Superman, Batman, and the like is uncertain. The inclusion of superhuman or mystical entities actually could've worked. Television programs such as "Heroes" (2006-2010) and "Alphas" (2011-present) have successfully built on this question: What would happen if select "normal" humans started exhibiting strange powers?

Put that in the context of a small military unit, such as a U.S. Army squad, and I'm already popping the popcorn.

Still, "Men at War" apparently generated little heat on comics store racks.

Its replacement title, "G.I. Combat," also sought to reinvent, resurrect, or rejuvenate some long-established DC properties, including "The War that Time Forgot" and "The Unknown Solider."

The former storyline involved a group of U.S. soldiers who parachute into an electrical storm on the Korean Peninsula, only to find themselves in a land zoning hot with Great Lizard madness. Dinosaurs make for a lot of sizzle, but little steak. Once you've seen one knife fight with a Tyrannosaurus Rex, or a machine-gun ambush of stampeding Brontosauruses, you've pretty much seen everything. There's also not a lot of ink or pages left over for character development.

I kept looking for some old guy to say: "Welcome, to Jurassic FOB!"

Having remembered the character from my comic-book collecting adolescence, I really wanted to like "The Unknown Soldier." The narrative follows the attempts of a soldier without identity, facially disfigured and psychologically shaky, to wreak havoc and revenge on his country's enemies. The 2012 title updated the character's ability to disguise himself using realistic but temporary mask technology, and gave him super strength, endurance, stamina, night vision, and healing ability. The Unknown Soldier, in other words, is Captain America, Wolverine, and Darkman, all wrapped up in the same bandages. Toss in some Mission: Impossible and Bourne-again memory loss for good measure.

Then, it got downright unrealistic.

In one mission, he is issued a Barrett .50-cal. sniper rifle with "silencer, computer software, and time-bomb rounds." In another, he digitally downloads the memories of a high-level terrorist. At one point, someone back at the TOC wants to push the self-destruct button on the "nuke" that has apparently been medically placed upon The Unknown Soldier's person.

The bottom line: Even if "Men of War" was perhaps too subtle for its own good—there is, after all, a fine line between building a slow reveal, and losing the reader to shiny objects—perhaps The Unknown Soldier was a bit too over-the-top.

I'm secretly glad that "Men of War" and "G.I. Combat" are finite. My recent research expedition into the local comic book shop triggered my old collector's obsessive-compulsive need to own every issue of something. Having a few holes in the stacks will give me something for which to search in passing, but not make the relationship among my resurgent hobby, my local retailer, and my wallet an open-ended and potentially abusive one.

That said, I picked up two issues of the new "Think Tank" series from Top Cow. It started out as a 4-issue limited series, but the company has announced that it will expand to 12 issues. The story involves a snarky young weapons designer who decides that he's tired of indirectly killing people. Imagine Tony Stark without the Iron Man suit, with a good dose of Dr. Gregory House, Doctor Who, or maybe the Benedict Cumberbatch version of Sherlock Holmes. There are drones and thought-readers and smart munitions. For people who like their mil-fiction with a little science, or their mil-science with a little fiction, this one is worth a trip to the comics store.

That, however, is another story, for another day.

Tomorrow: Our final (?) discussion of writers and artists who are successfully telling war stories through their own super projects. Stay tuned, True Believers!

'Tilt-Shift' Comic Promises Front-Line Focus

Editor's note: The following is Part III of this week's Red Bull Rising mini-series "Comic Book Re: Insurgency." For more insights and information about telling war stories using graphic-novel techniques, see also Part I, Part II, Part IV, and Part V.

"Introducing yourself as a combat cameraman (COMCAM) to the average soldier can draw many dismissive laughs, tilted heads and raised eyebrows," writes graphic novelist Jose Torres-Cooban, Glen Burnie, Md.

"Between the 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) and the various Special Forces Groups, there are approximately 230 to 250 Soldiers in combat camera slots around the Active Army," he continues. "That is roughly .0004 percent of the Army's personnel strength or one COMCAM per every 2,250 soldiers. Needless to say, we aren’t common and though U.S. Army COMCAMs have been operating on battlefields since the Spanish-American War we are still very foreign to our contemporaries. [...]"

Along with a team of other artist-veterans, Torres-Cooban wants to share with readers the truths and experiences of American soldiers fighting on the front lines. That's why they're launching a 12-issue comic book series titled "Tilt-Shift Vol. 1: The Quiet Profession."

The pitch is a little breathless and bombastic, and maybe sounds a little like an over-adrenalized young soldier who's just heard the crack of first shots overhead. That doesn't make it any less effective, however. Or compelling. Check out this description, for example, taken from the artists' successful Kickstarter campaign to raise $10,000 toward the production of the premiere issue:

"Tilt-Shift" marries police procedural intrigue with hard-hitting modern warfare action in its hyper-real presentation of the work done by Special Operations teams throughout Afghanistan.

More than that, it paints a picture of young Americans rising from their varied upbringings, distinguishing themselves from among their peers and flying to the most desolate ends of the world to quell a violent insurgency that suppresses the freedom of the Afghan people and threatens the security of their families back home.

Breathless, yes. But also pretty attention-getting, too. Right on target.

Readers of the fictionalized narrative will follow embedded U.S. Army combat photographer Spc. Freddie Blythe, while he covers "Team Galahad" in adventures ranging from "fortified mountain strongholds in the North to [..] booby trap-filled bomb factories hidden among the grape orchards of Southern Afghanistan." According to fund-raising materials, the story is written by and based on the experiences of Special Operations combat veterans.

In addition to some real guts and genuine heart, there's some chewy artistic stuff in potential play, too. Take, for example, the explanation of the "Tilt-Shift" title itself:

The term "Tilt-Shift" refers to a type of photographic lens that allows for extremely selective focus. The effects are two-fold. When used on a large landscape, the forced perspective causes the objects photographed to appear as though they were miniatures. When used on shots of a crowd, an individual can be highlighted for dramatic effect. [...]

"Tilt-Shift" forces perspective on the large topic of the Global War on Terror by focusing on those fighting on the front lines. Also, by singling out the role of the combat photographer, the audience is given a guided tour of the modern battlefield through the eyes of a soldier tasked with documenting and cataloging the actions of this small group of elite soldiers.

As with other Kickstarter efforts, prospective donors are enticed to up their pledges with any number of geegaws and giveaways. Depending on how much you give, you might score a hat or a signed print or some cool postcards. Give more than $100, and you can lock in hardcopies and PDF files of all 12 issues. As a bonus, donors at all levels gain access to a bi-weekly newsletter that promises to be full of insights and information.

Because the project is now fully funded, the publishers promise that additional money will go toward production of future issues. The Kickstarter cycle ends this Fri., Sept. 28.

What are you waiting for?!

*****

For a recent Comic Books and Movie Reviews.com interview with writer Torres-Cooban, click here.

For step-by-step snapshots of what it takes to bring a comic book to completion, check out this article, which follows a single page from Torres-Cooban's writing, Josh Hood's illustrations, Mikey Babinski's inks, and Mike Spicer's colors.

A Kickstarter video for the "Tilt-Shift" comic is available for viewing here.

A Facebook page for the "Tilt-Shift" comic can be found here.

Continuing this week: Stories of writers and artists who are successfully telling war stories through their own super projects. Stay tuned, True Believers!