War Heroes is Victorious

The second issue of Marvel’s War Heroes is out and—no surprise—drags you even deeper into the political conspiracy-bloated mind of writer Mark Millar. For fans of realpolitik comics like Brian K. Vaughan’s Ex Machina or Warren Ellis’ Black Summer or No Hero, War Heroes is red meat. The basic premise is that America is at war against Iraq and its agents of terrorism, who have set off nuclear bombs on U.S. soil. The U.S. government responds by developing pills that endow soldiers with superpowers for 24 hours, like flying, some invulnerability, pyrokinesis, super strength, speed, etc. In the second issue, we follow the training of some of the new recruits, including the book’s main protagonist, who is the younger brother of a much-decorated super-soldier. Without giving away the issue ending, all is not exactly what it seems. This second installment nicely fleshes out the plot concepts introduced in the first issue and sets up the remainder of this six-issue mini-series. Because of its irresistible storyline, it’s rumored that a movie deal is in the works. As with his other book, Ex Machina, artist Tony Harris achieves just the right tone of gritty realism mixed with the fantastic; it’s all very believable. If you like your comics deep fried political, check this one out while you can still find the first issue.—RFM

5/5 stars