Comments on: John Seavey's Storytelling Engines: The Unknown Soldier

By: David

David — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:56:05 +0000

Of the various war-related Showcase volumes I've read so far, Unknown Soldier was my favourite precisely because it could hop around and avoid seeming formulaic even if it did follow a formula or twelve. Some of the individual stories are incredible.

I too was very disappointed when they started showing his face.

By: Scavenger

Scavenger — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:18:33 +0000

Ennis...feh..

You want aweseome updated Unknown Soldiering, Priest's 12 issue series is great!

By: John Seavey

John Seavey — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:05:43 +0000

Ennis' series was an interesting take on the character, but like his 'Enemy Ace' series, I find that I can really only enjoy it if I totally disassociate the character I'm reading about from the one that was published during the Silver Age. His version of the Unknown Soldier has none of the quiet nobility of the character in the classic series; he's become just a cog in the military machine, rather than an idealist. Which is, yes, the point, but it's hard to sell me a progression from one to the other, and Ennis doesn't really try.

By: Tom Fitzpatrick

Tom Fitzpatrick — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:26:36 +0000

I seem to remember a 4-issue Vertigo series of the same name by Garth Ennis and Kieran Plunkett (with covers by Tim Bradsheet).

It was a updated post-cold war modern tale, and thought the series was terrific.

By: Jesse Farrell

Jesse Farrell — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:37:09 +0000

"Itâ€™s almost a shame when they finally show his face; as horrible as Gerry Talaoc depicts his injuries, nothing matches the face you imagine to be under the bandages.)"

Yeah... Don't Google "Unknown Soldier face." Bad idea.

Excellent article as ever. I really enjoy this series.