Army @ Love #6 - Vertigo

I really like this book. But as I've said before, it doesn't lend itself well to being recapped because . . . well . . . Rick Veitch has a lot going on here. There's a bunch of separate story-lines, but they're all connected somehow. And there's not really a central character. If I had to pick one, I'd have to say either the war itself, or the Motivation & Morale unit. There's Switzer, the housewife who actually helped create the Hot Zone club. Or her at home thang, Loman who's wife Allie has been snatched by Secretary Stelaphane. His main job is to get sponsors for all the stuff in the war, so the govt. doesn't have to pay for it. He's joined this issue, by Woyner who is actually Colonel Healey's right hand man . . er . . woman . . in the MoMo unit. Healey created it and runs it. Then we have Flabbergast, who with Switzer, co-created the Hot Zone club. But now he's on monitor duty in some toxic dumb because when they went back to the states for a fund-raiser, he's a magician, somebody put a wiccan spell on him and now he's head over heals for Switzer. So much so, that he can't seem to focus on anything else. Meanwhile Allie's been dumped in Mongrolia and picked up by some sheep herder to be his next wife. She's taken to his home where he already has 3 or 4 other american wives. It seems this is a favorite dump spot when someone wants to get rid of their wives. Or someone else's. Let's see . . what else? Oh yeah, Healey is in trouble because he has a Bagh woman on the side, Jenan, whom he gave his old cell phone to. Actually it was her kids. They liked the ring tone. Anyways, it still had some of his old contacts on it, so they sold it to the North Koreenians. Which is why he's in trouble. Security risks. Then we have Pamona Peebles. She's tied in to the war financially. So much so, that she's opened a used car lot in Bagh. Of course the cars are pieces of crap. They're used one's from Edgefield, where a lot of our characters are from actually, which she has shipped over and sells for top dollar. But she's a viper. Three wounded Bagh's come in, who bought a car the day before, and she's worried about how they're going to pay her. The father tells her, " . . . the car actually saved our lives when it stalled up the street from where the bomber detonated himself. " To pay her off, he offers his son Issa to her for a year as a servant. She's more than excited. And since he wants to be a minister, I think she sees it as a challenge to test his resolve and virtue. Like I said, lots of different story-lines. And yes they're all connected. But some . . just fringly. But they're all integral parts of the story. And I think it's a fantastic story. This issue's cover quote is from Variety Magazine, " . . . full of the kind of wild ideas that comics used to do all the time . . . Grade: A-"