Unknown Soldier #1

Title: Unknown Soldier
Issue: #1 (Free Convention Edition)
Date: December 2008
Publisher: Vertigo (DC Comics)
Writer: Joshua Dysart
Art: Alberto Ponticelli
Colorist: Oscar Celestini
Letterer: Clem Robins
Cover: Igor Kordey, Richard Corben
Editor: Pornsak Pichetshote

Vertigo reinvents the classic Robert Kanigher/Joe Kubert war-comic character. The setting is Uganda, in the midst of civil war in 2002. Dr. Moses Lwanga, who fled Uganda with his family as a young boy now returns to his home country as a successful physician. But the pacifist doctor is haunted by dreams of violence and a voice that whispers the secrets of dealing death into his mind.

As expected from a Vertigo book with a "Suggested For Mature Readers" label, this is an extremely violent book. Much of that violence takes place in dream/hallucination sequences, which provides all the more chances for artist Ponticelli to apply the blood with a paintbrush.

I liked the character of Moses Lwanga, but I have a feeling that I am going to like him less as a skilled killing machine, since it was his pacifism that was one of his most appealing traits. Of course, the point of all of this is to show the inner conflict between violent and nonviolent solutions. This first issue left me skeptical, but hopeful.

There was a lot of good writing, especially on Lwanga's relationship with his wife, and the introduction of the complex Ugandan political situation was handled smoothly.

Dysart's essay at the end of the book was just as interesting as the story, and definitely worth a read. Vertigo has not shied away from addressing some very controversial issues with this book, and I admire their willingness to take them on.

Rating: 6.5/10