I originally posted this review on my GoodReads page, and figured I'd put it here too.


This is powerful, powerful graphic storytelling. The Unknown Soldier goes back to the 40s, originally, then was revived again in the 60s by DC Comics. It was the story of a soldier with his face hidden by bandages, fighting the good fight in WWII. Fast forward to 2009 and Joshua Dysart has taken this theme, reworked it, and made it one of the most compelling trades I've read.

The idea here is the Unknown Soldier is now a doctor who has returned to Uganda, where he was born, to try and work for peace. Situations rapidly deteriorate, as situations tend to do in Africa, and he becomes the modern version of the Unknown Soldier. We also see flashes that maybe he isn't entirely what he thinks he is, ala something like the Bourne stories/movies, as his ability to fight, and kill, is something more than what might come natural to a man of his supposed background.

What I love about this story is how Dysart has taken something he is passionate about -- modern Africa -- and worked raising awareness of its problems into the story he is telling, and doing it without sounding preachy. There aren't good guys vs. bad guys -- it is just a whole lot of bad, and the people who suffer the most are the ones who least deserve to.

I sometimes squirm over all the violence in these "mature" lines from comics publishers -- DC's Vertigo line, Marvel's MAX line, and indie publishers like Avatar, for example -- because some of it seems like violence simply for the sake of violence (see, these days in comics they can get away with ultra-violence and still have the books on the racks next to "regular" comics, but sex is still pretty heavily regulated, a situation I find really freakin' stupid). But the horrors Dysart portrays here are REAL, they are things that happen every day; he knows, because he has traveled extensively in the areas he is writing about, and has documented these trips via his website.

I was blown away. Kudos to Joshua Dysart for finding a way to blend social commentary -- and activism -- in a mainstream comics medium.

Oh, and the art by Alberto Ponticelli is perfect for this. Outstanding collection all the way around.