Graveyard of Empires #4

Written by Mark Sable
Art by Paul Azaceta

It's been a long while since we last saw an issue of Graveyard of Empires, but the 'zombies in Afghanistan' series has finally reached its conclusion, and it's a decent comic, even if it suffers from being maybe a little too ambitious.

To recap the series, a group of soldiers at an isolated forward operating base in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border are shown as coming under regular fire from insurgents and Taliban operatives.  They discover that a local doctor is installing suicide bombs right inside peoples' torsos.  While dealing with all of that, zombies attack, forcing the soldiers to work with the insurgents.  Over a few issues, most of the cast gets killed off, and we learn that a disreputable American military contractor (because are there any other kind?) have something to do with all of this.

This issue opens with a few scenes of Afghani resistance over the centuries, as various invaders and outsiders are shown taking control of a mountain fortress, which is now the base of operations for those contractors.  They have something to do with this whole zombie thing, and the few surviving characters are either being held captive by them, or are fleeing the area.  It's not long before a big fight happens, bringing the book to its close.

In the back matter, writer Mark Sable mentions how this was originally going to be a three-issue series that kept growing.  I think it may have worked even better as a five or six issue comic, as Sable's early attempts at character building (which made the first two issues excellent reads) get tossed out the window towards the end, and the pacing feels pretty rushed.  By setting this story in such an interesting location, and making reference to its long history of resistance to foreign invasion, Sable has opened a door that shouldn't just be opened a crack.  I would have liked to have seen a little more meat in this book in the last two issues.

Paul Azaceta's art is always great, but I did have some problems keeping track of who the different characters were.  I know it can be difficult to draw various characters in identical clothing so that they are distinct, but it did take away from my enjoyment of the story a little here.  Still, this is an interesting series, and I'd rather read something that is trying something new and shooting a little short of the mark than yet another retread of something I've been reading since I was twelve years old.

Graveyards of Empire #2

Written by Mark Sable
Art by Paul Azaceta

I like zombie comics (when they are well written).  I love war comics.  So, putting the two together obviously grabbed my attention, just as it has in '68, the Vietnam War zombie comic also being published by Image right now.  And as much as I'm enjoying that title, I think this one is far superior to it.

I have a few reasons for saying this.  To begin with, I've been following Paul Azaceta's career since he drew Mark Sable's Grounded a few years ago, and I feel that these two work particularly well together.  The main reason why I'm enjoying this book so much though, has to do with its portrayal of American involvement in Afghanistan.  There are a number of flashbacks in this book that show an older, widowed farmer and his family having to deal with successive waves of Taliban, American army, and American military contractors, all trying to influence his actions.

The Taliban force him to grow opium, and threaten his children.  The Americans try to buy him off while an Afghan police officer threatens his son.  Later, the military contractors burn his crops, leaving him destitute, and in danger of Taliban reprisal.  It's clear that, once again, it's impossible to win 'hearts and minds' without understanding the local conditions.  I love that no one is bothering the members of Karzai's tribe who are also growing poppies in the next field.

In the present, the American FOB is under attack from a group of Afghan zombies.  They repel the attack, but are soon faced with a larger group approaching, with the locals stuck between them.  Sable handles the distrust between these groups, and the on-going cultural misunderstandings beautifully, adding tension and intrigue to a story that could easily just be a repeat of genre tropes.  It's good stuff.

Graveyard of Empires #1

Written by Mark Sable
Art by Paul Azaceta

I made the decision to order this comic based on three things.  Mark Sable and Paul Azaceta's Grounded was a very enjoyable take on the young superhero; the solicitation in Previews said something about it being a war comic (I don't read solicitations when I know I like a creative team); and finally, that cover is awesome.  The point being that I didn't really know what this book was going to be, and so the surprise at the end of this issue was something I didn't see coming until just moments before it happened.  That's something I always appreciate in comics, even when the big event is also the premise of another Image series right now...

Still, this is a good comic.  It is set in Afghanistan, although I'm not sure exactly where or during which phase of America's involvement in that country since 9/11.  There is a small base that is in a precarious position - the soldiers' CO is using heroin, and locals attack with mortars and small arms fire constantly, not to mention that there are a lot of suicide bombers about.  The soldiers are unhappy, and tend to fall into the usual categories of soldiers that we see in books like this (one is a noob, another is ready to kill anyone, etc.).

A new lieutenant shows up, and promises to make changes, tightening security, but also looking to engage the locals through the payment of restitution, the offering of medical aid, and a desire for a shura - a sit down meeting with local elders.  When his new policies immediately result in the death of a few of his soldiers, the others aren't too happy about it.  Then some stuff I'm not going to talk about happens, and it becomes clear where this series is headed.

Sable clearly has a strong sense of how things work in the military, and in Afghanistan.  Everything here fits with the articles and books I've read about this conflict, and I always admire authenticity (until that thing happens).  Azaceta's art has evolved quite a bit.  Previously, I saw him as being squarely in the Mike Mignola school of art, but this issue has more of a Daredevil-era David Mazzuchelli feel to it (high praise indeed).  I'm definitely sticking through the rest of this four-issue mini-series.