Army @ Love #6 - Vertigo

Well, it's sad, but . . this is the final issue of this incarnation of Army @ Love. And . . we really don't know if there's going to be another. Last issue the reality-wave was hitting the Earth at regular intervals. Frick and Sylvia, being wiccans, knew that the only way to stop it was to revive Big-Finger. So they use Magoon's almost dead body, all the human tissue and 'what-not' from Stelaphane's collection, and then a jungle-room orgy to power the spell. It works and Big-Finger is brought back to life. As it turns out, for this little fracas, the first to revive Big-Finger is also the first to win. That's why the tapes were sent out full of subliminals to hypnotize all the major players into inaction. However, Loman shows up and does the first good thing he's ever done with his life. His lack of interest in TV makes him immune to the programs power and seeing everybody else in thier trance-like state he wakes them up and gets the ball rolling. Afterall, you can't save the world if everybody is sleeping through it. Anyways, long story short, Big-Finger is reincarnated, all the other realities are wiped out, and this world becomes peaceful again because everybody came so close to the end. The war is over. Allie goes back to Batsukh, the father of her baby. Royden goes into the mountains with Frick and Sylvia. Flabbergast and Switzer go off to be alone . . where-ever their going . . and probably f#$%ing all the way. And Stelaphane and Healey go back to what they do best . . marketing. They're trying to sell the world a new internet, and best friend . . . Big Fingy. Loman, even though he's now a hero and celebrity, is the only one having a problem reintegrating into the new reality. He's feeling lost, and alone. So he puts on one of the memory patches and goes off to live in the garbage pits with his friends and fellow saboteurs. Hey, it's a fun book to read. It's full of ironic humor and bias. But I never said it made a lot of sense. It's a product of the mind of Rick Veitch after-all. What more would you expect?

Army @ Love: the Art of War #5 - Vertigo

I think this book is fantastic. Rich Veitch is exploring every option he can with this book, and he pushes every stereotype to the it's limits. Since the first incarnation of this book, we've heard about temporal imaging. Supposedly it's a way for the future to send a message back from the future. Apparently the Army was looking in to it hoping that it'll give them an advantage if they can warn their troops about stuff ahead of time. Stelaphane got a message that he thinks is from the future, last issue. However, the reality of it is even more bizarre than we expected. Here's how the message explains things to them, "As you know, the military operates a quantum encryption system as part of Big Finger. It's an unbreakable code that protects our classified information and provides a keen technological edge over our competitors. Quantum physics defines our actual universe as existing in a near infinite sea of potential universes. The system stores information by placing a complete copy of the actual universe inside these pocket dimensions. Each copy runs along merrily, with all it's pseudo-denizens believing that theirs is the actual universe. But of course quantum physics specifies only one reality. The rest are just a mix of possibilities and stored data. If you are viewing this, it means that your reality is not real at all. It's just one of bazillions of copies we made over the years. Which wouldn't be a problem except . . . we relied on the system a little too much. Who'd have thought the near infinite number of possible universes would turn out not to be enough to hold all our classified information? So it's time to clear up our act a little bit. To that end a purging program has been introduced into all copies of Big Finger . . encoded as malware in both Little Speedboat and Gimme Gimme. Which I thought was a nice touch." So they're all standing around inside of Stelaphanes vehicle watching this video over and over again. It turns out they're all being hypnotized. But we don't find out to what end. Between the wiccan charm lady and the she-beast that's transformed by sexual energy, they're going to try to extract the information they need to sort through all of this. The problem is . . . Magoon is the only one that has it. And he's dead. Like I said, just when you can't think of this book getting any more 'out there' . . . the next issue comes out and it outdoes itself completely. I love this book . . if for nothing else, the way that it's explores these outlandish ideas and is always pushing the envelope. Rick Veitch is a genius.

Army @ Love: the Art of War #4 - Vertigo

I love the cover of this issue. Really, it's what I love about every issue . . the wry, ironic humor that's littered throughout each story. Like when Rick Veitch, the author, is being held prisoner in Gonlocomo Bay, Cuba, in the beginning of the story . . "Army at Love is just a goddamn story! It's not real! You know that . . right?" Anyways, the whole issue is strewn with this insane tripe. But the way Rick pushes the envelope of conventional story telling every issue . . it's just brilliant. This issue they finally break the code on the temporal message that's been sent to them from the future. "I'd like to thank Polka Cola, official sponsors of this historic communication between eras. They've helped us harness our latest technology so we might share with you some exceptionally good news . . and unfortunately some bad news of a quite unorthodox nature. First off, you'll be delighted to know that, here in the future, the war is considered a complete success. Technological advances and creative marketing have made our little sandbox an indispensable component of world prosperity! 94% of our target demographic wants to enlist and fight so we're making them pay for the privilege! Who'd have thought, eh? Well, I did! And I'll be taking full credit when I run for President next year. Now. About that bad news. You might want to be sitting down for this . . . " We don't actually hear what it is, but Woyner and Lieutenant Frick are so distraught that they can't get up from their seats. "It doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore." I love this book. It's hard to believe that Rick is allowed to make such a political statement without much more censoring from the government or media. But, if they did that . . really, they'd just be proving his point.

Army @ Love: the Art of War #3 - Vertigo

Rick Veitch has created this make believe world here that is simply amazing. And just in case you think he's a man that won't suffer a little for his craft . . he's got himself imprisoned and being interrogated in the beginning of each issue at Gonlocomo Bay. The people working him over are mostly interested in finding out about his Temporal Signaling idea. The thing that I like the most about this book is it's huge, and vast potential. And if anyone can explore that potential, it's Rick. He's brought out some amazing ideas . . both in this series and the last. I mean, who else would create a character that's a movie star who, through magic, was transformed into a Yeti type animal . . the Mother of the Mountain. But the real kick is . . if she wants to be turned back into human, she has to find someone that's willing to make love to her, over and over, until she reverts back. But, he's also created the man willing to do that, Royden. It's funny but as I'm writing this I'm listening to Some Kind of Wonderful by Grand Funk. I'm looking at this scene in the book and this is the perfect song for it. Serendipity . . I guess. Anyways, I love this book. Rick has taken the current state of affairs of the world and expounded on them a little bit and taken them off into a fatastic-al direction that probably will never happen, but . . you never know. Corporate sponsorship during war. Whodathunkit?

Army @ Love: the Art of War #2 - Vertigo

Rick Veitch is really starting out this one with all cylinders running. First of all I love these covers. The take on famous paintings, I think, is awesome. Then he's got the whole kit-and-caboodle of characters going at it. Switzer is wondering where Flabbergast is at. I think she's really missing him. Meanwhile her husband, Loman, is trying to swing his own deals. And is regularly nailing Allie on the side. She's Healey's wife. He's the guy in charge of MOMO. He's turned his aide into a rock-star. Magoon's song is tearing up the charts and is the #1 ring-tone song right now also. Of course it's filled with subliminals, but . . aren't they all anymore? Oh, and did I mention that Healey and Magoon are also having an affair. Meanwhile Loman's sister DeDe is sleeping with the Sergeant, Morse. And Flabbergast's trail-buddy is still banging away at the Mother of Mountain trying to turn her back into the movie star Sylvia. But that's really now what this book is all about. This book is a satirical look at what would happen if the war in Iran lasted for another 10 or 15 years. It's a look at the war once the government couldn't afford to back it anymore and funding was switched over to the private sector . . corporate endorsements. It also shows some ideas of ways that recruiting would be targeted and how they would solve the problem of being in an apparent never ending war. Healey's filming a rock video in the middle of a war zone. When asked about it, he replies . ."Not to worry . . we got the Momomobile tricked out with the latest anti-shrapnel technology. Works by wrapping all incoming explosives in magnetic fields." He's then asked when the boys on the front line are going to get use of the technology. "Problem is your casualty rate is already so low it's tracking negative on recruiting. The 18 to 24 year olds we target require a certain statistical level of danger." And that's the kind of sarcastic wry humor we find throughout this book. I love this book. Yes is a huge soap-opera, but at the same time it's making a politcal statement. Basically it's saying that the war right now is already absurd, so . . let's amp it up and really see where we can go with it. In the beginning we even find out that Rick's being held captive. In these latest books he's been writing about quantum encryption and temporal signaling . . . the government wants to know where he got those ideas from. Irony and satire . . what more could you ask for in a book?

Army @ Love: the Art of War #1 - Vertigo

It's finally back . . this irreverent look at how the world practices and views war . . . one of the smartest books out there. It's only been gone for about 5 months, but it felt like it was longer. Anyways, we're on the second chapter now. It's called the Art of War, and it's brought to us by the same creative staff of Rick Veitch and Gary Erskine. And tell me . . is that not the coolest cover for the first issue? I love it. This one basically picks up where the last on left off. This particular issue gets us back up to speed on what all the characters are doing. It seems that the direction that we're going here is a little thing that was just glanced upon near the end of the first chapter . . . temporal signaling. Basically, Stelaphane has been getting 'tips' or advice from somewhere in the near future. He doesn't know who or when, but he keeps getting these videos that he believes is someone trying to effect the war with prior knowledge. I like this book so much because, basically, anything goes. There's no preconceived notions here . . . heck, this is new ground for everybody. So Rick has the freedom of coming up with any number of ideas. And he's got some doozies in here. I'm glad this book is back in my stack every month, again. I enjoy reading something that's this creative.

Army @ Love #12 - Vertigo

I don't know how he did it, but Rick Veitch wraps up almost every story-line he had going in this issue. He did leave a little opening in the Colonel Healey story-line. And since Secretary Stephalane is really in charge of the whole MOMO initiative, his story still has some mileage also. Most of Rick's story-lines stretched through these whole 12 issues. It really was like one big giant soap-opera. Except . . you know . . set up in some mid-east country . . in a fake war . . in the not to distant future. You could spread the irony in this book like butter. Rick doesn't spare any facet of the war making machine. Unfortunately, this makes the end of this chapter. I assume they scheduled 12 issues, hoping that it would go over. But, if not, then they had an out. My guess though . . . it went over bigger than they ever dreamed. It's scheduled to begin the next chapter some time this summer. It really was a fantastic book. And it appears to have caught on in the mass media. This month's cover has an endorsement from The Washington Post. I'm sure it'll be out in TPB soon. If you haven't read it, you should pick up the TPB and peruse a vibrant piece of political irony. I really don't know what else to say, other than . . . it was fantastic.

Army @ Love #11 - Vertigo

This book is great. It pokes fun at so many of today's conventions . . I'm surprised it isn't banned. That's a joke! But, seriously . . . .
There's a lot of stuff going on in this title. Imagine the Young and the Restless, or Days of Our Lives . . . but with the Mid-East as the location. And the Military as the family business. From what I understand, this is going to be Rick Veitch's first chapter in this title. Next issue is supposed to be the final title of that chapter. But I can't imagine this not coming back. Even if the story, or the artwork isn't for everyone . . . everyone has to admit that the broad leaps it takes in the next generation of warfare . . are hilarious. And . . reasonably possible. For real! "Most of the new stuff is nuke-powered these day. Runs forever. Civilians aren't supposed to know though." Plus there's so many story-lines running through this book, that there's no way they're going to be able to wrap it up with only one more issue. Rick Veitch has always taken a different look at the world. Or . . the same look as we all do, but with the possibilities and motivations skewed just a bit. And if the world looks back . . . he usually just spits in their eye. I almost feel like he's saying, "If you don't like it . . . then don't give me so much crap to work with." Obviously this will be out in a TPB pretty soon. Probably 2 volumes, 1 thru 6, and 7 thru 12. If you haven't read it yet, you really should try to get ahold of it and think about the messages that are coming across here. It's definitely a book for our times.

Army @ Love #10 - Vertigo

What a topical book. If you've never read this book, and you want to know what kind of cynicism it displays . . . all you have to do is look at that golfer on the cover. I mean really look at him. Look at his legs. And the background. That's what this book is all about. It exposes and pokes fun at a variety of taboo. Things that we don't feel that we can talk about. Or are afraid to. We have siblings cheating and misleading each other. We have couples, with understandings, involved in extra-marital activities. We have military leaders worrying more about their sponsorships more than the men they're supposed to be leading. And we have kids involved in war. This one guy is looking for his wife, and he's got the help of these 2 soldiers. After going a distance, they decide to stop for the night. He asks them, "What's with you young guys and the military? I mean, what's the attraction?" To which they respond, "They figured out how to package the ultimate high, man. You Gen-X-Y-Z-ers and your geezer parents were the ones who left all these global catastrophes. F@#$ed up wars. F@#$ed up economy. F@#$ed up environment. All of it left for us to fix. We're stuck with the job of cleaning up your dirty diddees, at least let us have a good time doing it." And that . . . that is the feeling you get from this whole book. Basically we have this soap opera, in the future, with all these radical ideas, boundaries erased and set in the background of an overseas war. Sound familiar? It's only a stretch from what's going on in the world day-to-day. Fantastic work by Rick Veitch and Gary Erskine. I'm not sure if it's out in TPB yet, but it's definitely worth getting ahold of and perusing.

Army @ Love #9 - DC

I really do like this book. I do! It's topical, satirical . . . and . . . it makes you think. You think about what could be. You think about what would happen if nations started looking at war as a vehicle for finance and profit, rather than the atrocity that it is. You think about what would happen if a war were sponsored by big business, rather than a governmental budget. What would happen to the systems of checks and balances? What if war were marketed . . like a video game, or a lifestyle . . . and recruitment was handled like a sports draft? Like this story, if there became a new branch of defense called Motivation & Morale . . . whose sole purpose was recruitment, retention and changing the way the soldiers, and the world, felt about the war and it's ramifications . . . what would that do to government plans like . . . oh, I don't know . . . exit strategies maybe? I mean, look at the cover. It's an obvious take on the Abbey Road cover, but more than that . . in the world that is created in this book . . . I think it's almost akin to an advertising campaign. And to me, that's why this book is so hard to review. I really do think it's brilliant. And it's full of very distinctive characters who are going through a myriad soap-opera of story lines. However, the most important part of this book is the story-line. And the ideas that it represents. Which is also the scariest part of this book . . the story-line and the ideas that it represents. Because in all honesty . . . we're really only a hair's breath away from this reality. I'm not a big horror movie person. And it's not the blood and guts. If it's a drama, that just happens to have some gore in it for story motivation, I'm fine. But the slasher movies? The movies filled with gore, just for the sake of gore? I don't ever have to see one of those, if it's my choice. And the reason is, the ideas it represents. It bothers me that someone could think of the ideas in those movies, and put them to script and screen. And it bothers me that there may be people out there, on the brink of destruction, that maybe hadn't thought about those ideas . . yet! Well . . . I almost feel that way about this book. But, on the same token, it's like a car wreck that you just can't look away from. It disgusts you, but at the same time peaks your curiosity. I know that this story is so far out there, that it's almost inconceivable. But, it's the almost part that worries me. But, at the same time, if a book can prompt this much synaptic activity in my head . . . then it must be doing it's job. And after all, that's what these stories are here for.

Army @ Love #8 - Vertigo

I think I've gotten a little more of a handle on this series. It seems that the one continuous theme here is the 4 basic addictions that every man and woman go through. They consist of, in no particular order, money, sex, adrenaline and power. Through all the plots and subplots of this book, those are the main themes that, pretty much, pop up in all of the characters. And it seems, in the case of this story where all the addictions are readily available, that any one can feed the need for the others. So once you start on that trip, really, you're stuck on that trip. I mean, we've got the story of the grunts, with Flabbergast, Switzer and Royden. Plus a few others here or there as they're needed. Their main theme seems to be sex and adrenaline. Then we have the blue collar characters. Which include the officers Healey, Woyner, and the rest of their entourage. Their theme appears to be money and power. And sometimes sex. But sex, for them, is mostly a tool to help with the money and power. Then we have the deity type entities. The commander in chiefs, such as Stelaphane, Pamona, and Dee Dee Geist, sometimes. They already have the power. They use mostly the sex and adrenaline as tools to get more money or power. And then of course they're all interconnected through various story-lines. And really that's just a basic breakdown. There's other characters that play a role in this, but they seem to be more transitional. They're involved where they're needed, and tend to float between goals. Mostly they're following their own. But sometimes the union with another, can help to advance theirs. Complicated. Right? Yes and no. Like I've said before, there's a lot of characters in this book. And what seems like a lot of plot lines. But more often than not, they're all intertwined and dependent upon each other. But then, as the writer, to take all of this on and intertwine the whole thing with rye humor, sarcasm and irony, just shows how brilliant Rick Veitch really is. Plus on top of that, he's doing the art. The guys a work-a-holic. You can't say he's not committed though. Whoever's not reading this book, is probably afraid of it. They're afraid of the parallels to current world conditions. But really, it's just a sarcastic look at the motivation of ourselves, our bosses and our leaders. Set in a theme that we can all relate to, because it's current. Yes it's edgy. But, that's what makes it so much fun. If you haven't tried it, you really should. It really is that good.

Army @ Love #7 - Vertigo

I love this book. I really do. I just don't know how to explain it. The writing is fantastic. The art work, while not flashy, is perfect for this series. Both are done by Rick Veitch. He's a very talented, hard working guy. He writes a fantastic war story. It's filled with irony and contempt and just plain facetiousness. I love it. As and example, this squad gets some intel that there's going to be some terrorist activity at this circus. After doing some recon, they discover that it's coming from the Elephant tent. "Genghis Kong and his Pachyderm Harem of Harlots" Hilarious! Anyways they don't know what to do. Since Elephants are an endangered species, they don't want to fire their guns, or use grenades, for fear of hurting the animals. So here they are, some of the Army's best minds, and they can't think of a positive way to get to these terrorists. But, then one of the grunts mothers come to the scene. Her son is slightly retarded, so she wants to make sure he's being treated the same as the rest of the troupe. She happens upon the situation and says that she'll take care of it. She leaves and returns with a box. It looks like it may be a bomb or something. She puts it in the tent and opens it. What is it? A box full of mice. The elephant stampede, killing all the terrorists, but survive the experience. And she tells the Captain that she wants her son put in for a metal for bravery. But you see what I mean. How can I explain that irony without just telling you the details of the story? It's hard. But that's the way the whole book is. It's a fantastic piece of political commentary. Worth every penny.

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-"

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.

Army @ Love #4 - Vertigo

I really like this book. I really do. But . . . the storyline doesn't lend itself to explanation. Not very well at least. I do like the story, but I just find myself having a hard time explaining what's going on after I read it. I'm a huge fan of Rick Veitch's. I think his stories are incredible. They're always cutting edge stuff. Stories that makes you think about something that may be happening in our lives today . . . but in a different way. This is really kind of a "What if?" type story. What if . . we tried to make the moral of the war better. What if . . . the war were sponsored by . . . well . . . sponsors . . rather than the govt. paying for everything. What if . . . we could think of the war in terms of a reality MTV show. What if . . . instead of a war, it just felt like a big party to all the people stationed over there. And like the Mile High Club, in the war they have a Hot Zone Club. So, what they've done is hired an ad-exec to be in charge of Motivation & Morale. And they're calling the division . . MOMO. And his job actually is big business. If they keep the recruits happy, it keeps the families happy. Because when they call home every day, they aren't bitching and complaining. If they keep the families happy, it keeps the special interest groups happy. If they aren't as worried about their kids, then they aren't as vocal about the results. And if they keep the sponsors happy, then they get more ordinance and they keep the govt. happy. And we all know a happy govt. leads to a better economy. So in essence, by letting the recruit use his cell in the field, it keeps him happy, and makes for a better economy. Anyways, that's the premise. And now that we're in to the 4th issue, we're starting to get more familiar with some of the characters here. Overall, I really like the feel of the book. I also think that's it's cool that it has reviews . . . usually from magazines you wouldn't think of associating with comics. The one on the cover of this book is from the Washington Post. "A fresh, overheated satirical stew . . . Grade A-"

Army @ Love #3 - Vertigo

This one really got me stuck. Don't get me wrong. I really liked the book. I just have no clue what to write about it. I mean, we're getting to know the people of the Motivation and Morale unit. And we're seeing what the effects are that they're having on the enlisted men. And women. And we're seeing that the whole thing is going to come down like a house of cards, because, "What happens on the island, stays on the island!". But, that isn't what's happening. One of the soldiers goes home for a benefit. He's a magician. And it just so happens that the girl that he's in the "Hot Zone Club" with, lives in the same town. Well she goes home to see her husband. But the night that she comes home, as they're getting ready to get it on, his boss calls and wants him to make a payment to somebody that's at the benefit. So, being the nosey woman that she is, she follows him to see just what the nature of his business is. At the time she gets there, the magician is doing a disappearing act, and needs a volunteer from the audience. He chooses the wife. While they're in the box, they start to have sex, but they run out of time. So, for the illusion, the magician tells her that they have to switch clothes. This, plus the amount of time they spent in the box, has her husband highly suspicious. And he happens to have connections with some congressman, or senator or something. He's going to make waves, and the whole thing's going to come tumbling down. These people apparently know nothing about discretion. But I guess when your job puts you in a hot desert, shooting and blowing up people, you're not to worried about subtlety. Anyways, I like the twist that Rick is putting on this whole war thing. Something he ought to at least bring a little attention to, though, is the number of people that reenlist because either they miss the rush, or, once back in the real world, they don't feel as important or needed. Plus, with this whole Motivation & Morale thing, it might not be as fun back in the real world. I mean seriously. How many people, in their normal lives, gets to, or has the time to, go on a retreat once or twice a month? Maybe he already has plans for that, but it's just a thought. Overall, though, I think it's a very cerebral book.

Army @ Love #2 - Vertigo

This is a pretty cool book, really. My only problem is that it's issue #2 and I'm still trying to get in to it. But it's written and drawn by Rick Veitch, so you know it's going to be awesome. I'll let Colonel Healey, the main character, explain it to you, "My civilian job was figuring out why consumers choose the products they do. Specifically young adults. See, the military's problem was it had gone looking for recruits in the same old manner it always had. But today's kids are just too savvy to fall for that kind of propagandized idealism. So I conceived and formed the Motivation and Morale initiative. With the goal of rebuilding the all-volunteer army by stealth-targeting today's young consumer . . . and hitting them where they live. You might ask how I motivate a modern American kid to give up his life of privilege, submit to the military and go to a foreign land to kill people? And the answer is I offer them something they can't get on-line or in the movies. Something we call "Peak life experience." I knew from selling cola that I could easily hook kids on sugar. It turns out that the steady diet of movies and video games in their total media environment had addicted them to small amounts of adrenaline. And combat is an adrenaline junkie's dream. The master stroke was blending that realization with the secret sauce. There had always been sexual tension in the military, but by putting women in to combat. We made it a key selling point. Women were the biggest underutilized segment in the whole demographic. Tapping into it instantly doubled the size of our potential market for new recruits. More important it shaped the whole package into a very simple message: danger! sex! power! drugs! high tech! And these kids hear it loud and clear." And that sums up what this book is about. Colonel Healey is the head of Motivation and Morale and they've brought all kinds of new ideas to the combat zone. Cell phones, retreats, something the recruits call the "Hot Zone Club", kind of like the mile high club, and other things to. Which is why the MOMO division is the most popular in the Army. I'm telling you, only Rick could think this stuff up. And with him at the helm you just know that this book is going to be edgy, controversial and the subject of much debate. And in the meantime we'll all be along for the ride.

Army @ Love #1 - Vertigo

I don't really have a handle on the characters of this book yet. But, the gist of the storyline is that we're about 5 years in the future of the war. The armed forces are worried about the drive and moral of the new recruits. So they've developed a Motivation & Morale division. They do lots of things you wouldn't normally expect. They allow people to carry their cell-phones with them. Even in to combat. They form retreats, where different divisions get together for a couple of days, and basically anything goes. For the next retreat, they've booked the author of, How to have sex like a porn star to do a workshop. And the recruits have come up with their own party call the Hot Zone Club. Kind of like the Mile High Club, except . . . you know . . . in the hot zone. Now the only thing that Motivation & Morale has to worry about, is news of their initiatives getting back to the families at home. The career service men are having a hard time with some of their ideas. So they're afraid that if people back home heard about it, that their already low "Q" rating would be even more compromised. So of course things start to go bad. Colonel Healey, one of the heads of MOMO, has a meeting with the Secretary. The Secretary is concerned because 6 minutes of video, from the last retreat, have made it on line. And basically it show a huge orgy scene. And in case there's any confusion, most of the participants are still partially in their fatigues. So this issue ends with the Colonel and the Secretary sweating out what their going to do about it. I liked the first issue. A lot! I can't wait to see where it goes from here. Rick Veitch writes and draws it. So you know it's going to be pushing the envelope at all times. I can't wait to see the results.