Army @ Love #5 - Vertigo

I really like this book. Like I said last issue though, it doesn't really lend itself to rhetorical evaluation. Besides . . . I don't want to give away the story. You should get out there and read it. I mean . . it's written by Rick Veitch. So you know it's going to be full of a lot of wry humor, and sexual innuendo. That's just the nature of his stories. It's being published by Vertigo, so you know they aren't holding anything back. And it deals with the war. What war? Hell . . . any war. It could be the Gulf War. It could be the Afghan war. It could be a war that hasn't even started yet. Basically, we all know, no matter what else happens during war time, good or bad, it's good for the economy. Not necessarily good for govt. debt. But still, it's good for the economy. So what if we took the govt. debt out of it. I mean, if it's a war for oil, the oil companies and auto makers are going to profit the most from it. If it's a war for land, construction companies, mortgage brokers, and developers are going to profit the most. So, if big business can sponsor NASCAR, the NFL, NBA, and the NHL, why can't they sponsor something that will bring more viewers to their screens than anything? Theoretically, why couldn't GM, Ford and Toyota sponsor the ARMY, while Coca-Cola, Nestle and Proctor & Gamble sponsors the NAVY? They'd probably get more support, better equipment, and the war would be run like a business rather than like we're shooting craps. Then after you get all the sponsors together, you broadcast the war like an MTV reality special. You could probably put together a whole network and fill it with shows about the war. Documentaries, reality shows, game shows, daytime drama, night-time drama . . . hell the list is endless. Then like in the book, you get a Motivation & Morale division in place . . . and again the list is endless. Concerts, comedy specials, or even inter-service or inter-country sporting events. Heck you could even have war-porn shows. Or at least web-sites with hidden cameras. Anyways, that's the approach Rick takes to a war that basically has just trudged along for 10 or 15 years or so. There's bad stuff happening in the countries where we're fighting, and you know what, there's bad stuff happening at home also. Anyways, wrap your mind around all of that, and you kind of have an idea about what this book is like. Very entertaining. And a very smart story.