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Special Forces #1-4
Special Forces Volume 1
The Comic Book that Ended the Iraq War Zone, the unwitting pawn of a corrupt recruiter, is a mentally disabled soldier. Felony is a three-time loser who enlisted to avoid life in prison. When the rest of their unit is massacred in Baghdad, these brave American teenagers are democracy's last hope against the villainy of the notorious terrorist known as The Desert Wolf Collects Special Forces #1-4.
200 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2007
1 person is currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Kyle Baker
275 books88 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Kyle John Baker is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series Plastic Man.
Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his work in the comics field.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Kyle John Baker is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series Plastic Man.
Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his work in the comics field.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 29, 2015
This review originally appeared on my blog, Shared Universe Reviews.
I quite like Kyle Baker as a comics creator. I haven’t read his entire output, but I’ve enjoyed and often loved everything I’ve be able to get my hands on. His art is difficult to describe in part because he’s proved to be rather versatile. The first comic I’ve ever read by Baker was I Die at Midnight, an original graphic novel for Vertigo Comics. It’s an excellent little comic and I encourage anybody who sees it to snatch it up since it’s long been out of print. Enough about my history with Baker, let’s talk about Special Forces!
The story is very simple. There is a military man, Sarge, who upon his return from a tour in Iraq was supposed to recruit a unit of soldiers to send overseas. If he failed to do so, he would be forced to go back for a second tour. Two other military men (Military Police?) pay Sarge a visit, ready to take him away from his family and send him on his second tour since he didn’t find enough recruits. They decide to give him a second chance and in one day, he fills his quota – but he did so with criminals, homeless, degenerates and the mentally ill. On the last day before they’re sent off to Iraq, one of the recruits commits suicide and Sarge is forced to replace him. The rest of the story is about their mission to find and terminate the man known as Desert Storm, one of Al-Queada’s fiercest warriors.
Let me be clear, the Special Forces of the title are Sarge’s recruits. They’re special in the way school yard bullies call other kids special. These “special forces” are the expendable fringe of society sent halfway across the globe in order to wage war and, perhaps, die for a country that doesn’t care for them. They’re not special in the sense of an elite squad of soldiers. Then again, they kind of are. Zone and Felony are, despite and perhaps because of their limitations back stateside, super soldiers à la John McClane. The causes for their unnatural bravery and dedication to their job are explained in the first issue and continuously mocked throughout the duration of the comic. Zone, you see, is autistic and Felony is a young offender. Both of them were high school students before their recruitment.
Special Forces is a satire of the Iraq War by Baker. I’m not a fan of war politics which is a bad thing when reading this book, but it’s also a good thing because Baker also pokes fun at Hollywood action and war films and it’s through those lenses that I read this comic. Reading the comic through that filter, I found the satirical aspects of Special Forces to be more enjoyable than if the satires in the comic been strictly political. There is an over the top glorification of war in the style of the most ludicrous and sensational Hollywood movies. Characters are wearing tattered clothing that reveals just enough to tantalize the reader but defy all laws of physics. Baker mixes sex and violence in a high octane comic book cocktail that is sure to grab the attention of the most “special forces” of comic book reader.
Felony’s clothing in particular is the remnant of what used to be a military uniform. There are but tattered bits of material left, just enough to cover parts of her breasts. What was once her pants are now the shortest of short shorts you’ve ever seen and in case the reader was wondering, Baker lets us know that Felony either wears a thong or goes commando. It’s my opinion that had she been wearing a thong, Baker would have made her flaunt it in the most ridiculous of acrobatic postures to ever been found in a war zone. Baker takes full advantage of Felony accoutrement to bend and contort her in the most tantalizing positions, simultaneously satirizing magazine advertisements and super heroine comic book postures. In some scenes we saw far more of Felony’s breasts and ass than we saw her face, and that’s just how we like it . . . isn’t it? Baker force feeds us what we want which seems to be over the top violence and near nudity. Even Zone loose his shirt by the end of the story just like many action heroes did in the 80s. Felony is a wartime supermodel and Zone is a prime example of machismo.
The best way to enjoy this book though is to admire the art. Kyle Baker is an impressive artist. Over the last decade or so he’s been experimenting quite heavily with computer generated art and computer modifications done to more traditional. There have been some mixed results but, somewhat surprisingly, he’s been able to retain his defining style and storytelling skills. He experiments with computerized art in Special Forces and again, it’s with mixed results but it’s all very interesting and, at the very least, admirable, even if I much rather see his more traditional style of art.
It was fascinating to see how Baker progressively included the computerized art in the comic. The first issue is uses the 3D effects sparingly. Soon, most of the backgrounds are photographs taken by Baker himself, or from another source, and modified on a computer. By the last issue nearly everything, characters included, are drawn on using a computer and they the effect is eerie. Insane characters doing impossible things yet they look so real. It’s a strange hyper reality that contrasts the preposterous events taking place.
This comic is absolutely ludicrous but I did enjoy it. It’s pure pop art. Baker’s use of bright, clashing and often sometimes garish colours turns the whole thing into a parody of itself. Some pagers look like Andy Warhol wannabe paintings and it fits the tone of the comic perfectly. This is the same Baker that unleashed his ridiculous side on Deadpool Max. Unfortunately, the subject matter doesn’t really fit with the Kyle Baker I know but I really appreciate the effort and it’s still a better comic than the latest issue of Green Lantern or something else in that vein. This is my least favourite Kyle Baker comic to date and it’s still worthy of some praise. It also helps a bit that in the end, despite Baker’s sharp satire, there is some appreciate for what the US military does or, at the very least, what some of the people on the lower echelons.
I quite like Kyle Baker as a comics creator. I haven’t read his entire output, but I’ve enjoyed and often loved everything I’ve be able to get my hands on. His art is difficult to describe in part because he’s proved to be rather versatile. The first comic I’ve ever read by Baker was I Die at Midnight, an original graphic novel for Vertigo Comics. It’s an excellent little comic and I encourage anybody who sees it to snatch it up since it’s long been out of print. Enough about my history with Baker, let’s talk about Special Forces!
The story is very simple. There is a military man, Sarge, who upon his return from a tour in Iraq was supposed to recruit a unit of soldiers to send overseas. If he failed to do so, he would be forced to go back for a second tour. Two other military men (Military Police?) pay Sarge a visit, ready to take him away from his family and send him on his second tour since he didn’t find enough recruits. They decide to give him a second chance and in one day, he fills his quota – but he did so with criminals, homeless, degenerates and the mentally ill. On the last day before they’re sent off to Iraq, one of the recruits commits suicide and Sarge is forced to replace him. The rest of the story is about their mission to find and terminate the man known as Desert Storm, one of Al-Queada’s fiercest warriors.
Let me be clear, the Special Forces of the title are Sarge’s recruits. They’re special in the way school yard bullies call other kids special. These “special forces” are the expendable fringe of society sent halfway across the globe in order to wage war and, perhaps, die for a country that doesn’t care for them. They’re not special in the sense of an elite squad of soldiers. Then again, they kind of are. Zone and Felony are, despite and perhaps because of their limitations back stateside, super soldiers à la John McClane. The causes for their unnatural bravery and dedication to their job are explained in the first issue and continuously mocked throughout the duration of the comic. Zone, you see, is autistic and Felony is a young offender. Both of them were high school students before their recruitment.
Special Forces is a satire of the Iraq War by Baker. I’m not a fan of war politics which is a bad thing when reading this book, but it’s also a good thing because Baker also pokes fun at Hollywood action and war films and it’s through those lenses that I read this comic. Reading the comic through that filter, I found the satirical aspects of Special Forces to be more enjoyable than if the satires in the comic been strictly political. There is an over the top glorification of war in the style of the most ludicrous and sensational Hollywood movies. Characters are wearing tattered clothing that reveals just enough to tantalize the reader but defy all laws of physics. Baker mixes sex and violence in a high octane comic book cocktail that is sure to grab the attention of the most “special forces” of comic book reader.
Felony’s clothing in particular is the remnant of what used to be a military uniform. There are but tattered bits of material left, just enough to cover parts of her breasts. What was once her pants are now the shortest of short shorts you’ve ever seen and in case the reader was wondering, Baker lets us know that Felony either wears a thong or goes commando. It’s my opinion that had she been wearing a thong, Baker would have made her flaunt it in the most ridiculous of acrobatic postures to ever been found in a war zone. Baker takes full advantage of Felony accoutrement to bend and contort her in the most tantalizing positions, simultaneously satirizing magazine advertisements and super heroine comic book postures. In some scenes we saw far more of Felony’s breasts and ass than we saw her face, and that’s just how we like it . . . isn’t it? Baker force feeds us what we want which seems to be over the top violence and near nudity. Even Zone loose his shirt by the end of the story just like many action heroes did in the 80s. Felony is a wartime supermodel and Zone is a prime example of machismo.
The best way to enjoy this book though is to admire the art. Kyle Baker is an impressive artist. Over the last decade or so he’s been experimenting quite heavily with computer generated art and computer modifications done to more traditional. There have been some mixed results but, somewhat surprisingly, he’s been able to retain his defining style and storytelling skills. He experiments with computerized art in Special Forces and again, it’s with mixed results but it’s all very interesting and, at the very least, admirable, even if I much rather see his more traditional style of art.
It was fascinating to see how Baker progressively included the computerized art in the comic. The first issue is uses the 3D effects sparingly. Soon, most of the backgrounds are photographs taken by Baker himself, or from another source, and modified on a computer. By the last issue nearly everything, characters included, are drawn on using a computer and they the effect is eerie. Insane characters doing impossible things yet they look so real. It’s a strange hyper reality that contrasts the preposterous events taking place.
This comic is absolutely ludicrous but I did enjoy it. It’s pure pop art. Baker’s use of bright, clashing and often sometimes garish colours turns the whole thing into a parody of itself. Some pagers look like Andy Warhol wannabe paintings and it fits the tone of the comic perfectly. This is the same Baker that unleashed his ridiculous side on Deadpool Max. Unfortunately, the subject matter doesn’t really fit with the Kyle Baker I know but I really appreciate the effort and it’s still a better comic than the latest issue of Green Lantern or something else in that vein. This is my least favourite Kyle Baker comic to date and it’s still worthy of some praise. It also helps a bit that in the end, despite Baker’s sharp satire, there is some appreciate for what the US military does or, at the very least, what some of the people on the lower echelons.
June 2, 2021
This is among the funniest war stories I've ever read. Somehow they combined a hard-as-nails main character, a bucketful of violence, quality humor, true camaraderie and a nice, healthy trivialization of warfare, torture and mutilation. Oh, and some bondage. What's not to love?
The debut is dynamic AF - first panel, a character dies with a head shot, then the female shows us her hot ass in her ripped, definitely-not-regulation uniform while getting thrown clear of an explosion. She narrates this balls to the wall Iraq war story and is the best fit for it. She is more cool under pressure than the men in her unit. And she looks like a porn star. Gratuitously, you might say, but I feel it adds a 'je ne sais quoi' to the story. And by that I mean TnA. Soon she finds herself the only survivor of her unit. Or so she thinks - Zone, the autistic, disciplined kid is still standing and is determined to continue the mission to capture a man named Desert Wolf.
The debut is dynamic AF - first panel, a character dies with a head shot, then the female shows us her hot ass in her ripped, definitely-not-regulation uniform while getting thrown clear of an explosion. She narrates this balls to the wall Iraq war story and is the best fit for it. She is more cool under pressure than the men in her unit. And she looks like a porn star. Gratuitously, you might say, but I feel it adds a 'je ne sais quoi' to the story. And by that I mean TnA. Soon she finds herself the only survivor of her unit. Or so she thinks - Zone, the autistic, disciplined kid is still standing and is determined to continue the mission to capture a man named Desert Wolf.
February 23, 2020
Zone, the unwitting pawn of a corrupt recruiter, is a mentally disabled soldier. Felony is a three-time loser who enlisted to avoid life in prison. When the rest of their unit is massacred in Baghdad, these brave American teenagers are democracy's last hope against the villainy of the notorious terrorist known as The Desert Wolf!Like most of Baker's work it is fast paced, insightful, and at times hysterical
April 3, 2018
Not Baker's best work. Lots of explosions, some fairly entertaining descriptions of the difference between U.S. soldiers and private military forces (better pay, benefits and equipment for the private ones!), and minimal character. Even the art seemed rushed and haphazard. I knew I should've spent that money on Nat Turner instead!
July 20, 2014
Reseña de Andrés Accorsi para su blog:
http://365comicsxyear.blogspot.com.ar...
Bueno, alguna vez tenía que pasar… digo, lo de reseñar un comic publicado por Image. Y más de uno dirá “¿Qué carajo hace Kyle Baker en Image? Tiene su propia editorial e inmejorable trato tanto en Marvel como en DC! ¿De qué juega en Image?!”. Es raro, sí, pero acá está. Después de la gloriosa Nat Turner (que financió él mismo, centavo por centavo) le pintó hacer algo para otro público, no el que accede al comic a través de bibliotecas y librerías, no el que compra lo que recomiendan los prestigiosos críticos de medios masivos como el Washington Post, sino para los chicos más jóvenes, que prefieren timbearle sus pesitos a comics con explosiones, mutilaciones y chicas con escasa vestimenta. Que son casualmente los que compran en comiquerías, los que sostienen el formato de comic-book y los que hace casi 20 años le dan de comer a Image, incluso cuando esta editorial les inflige historietas de lesa humanidad como todas esas inmundicias de los ´90 que preferimos no recordar para no enchastrar nuestros monitores con vómito.
Y además son los lógicos receptores de una obra como Special Forces, que habla ni más ni menos de las cagadas y las atrocidades que se mandan las Fuerzas Armadas de los EEUU en su desesperación por reclutar a jóvenes y convertirlos en soldados para ir a pelear a Medio Oriente por la libertad, la democracia y el petróleo. Baker se enteró por los diarios que los milicos mandaron a Irak a un chico autista y a varios chicos imputados en unos cuantos delitos y dijo “Vamo en essssaaaaa..”. Los protagonistas de Special Forces son Zone, un chico con discapacidad mental, y Felony (Delito), una chica con un prontuario peor que el de Patricia Bullrich. Para la página 48 (de 176), ellos son los únicos sobreviventes de una patrulla yanki que avanza por las calles de una ciudad que parece Bagdad. A lo largo del libro, los veremos sobrevivir a toda clase de penurias y ordalías en cumplimiento de su deber de soldados, hasta confrontar con el maligno Desert Wolf en el corazón mismo del kilombo, una refinería de petróleo llena de misiles.
Pero falta un dato, y es que Special Forces es una sátira, escrita en joda, como casi todo lo que escribió Baker en su vida. Todo está exagerado al punto de la ironía más macabra, desde la violencia, hasta las poses imposibles en las que Felony muestra más nerca que cualquier otro soldado en la historia de la Humanidad (con la posible excepción de los espartanos de 300, a los que Miller dibujó casi como strippers), hasta la dedicatoria del final. A los chistes jodidos de discapacitados y de los nenes de ocho años armados hasta los dientes (a los que vemos recibir tiros, piñas y patadas en todo el cuerpo), Baker suma otros más sutiles, que tienen que ver con la forma en que la mega-corporación Halliburton gana las licitaciones para reconstruir las ciudades devastadas y moviliza a “obreros” con una capacitación militar y un armamento infinitamente superior al del propio ejército yanki.
Para ilustrar esta animalada, Baker recurre a su estilo más realista, a años luz de lo que vimos en Plastic Man o Birth of a Nation. Le pone (como buen comic de Image) mucho énfasis a la anatomía humana y en especial femenina, se zarpa con viñetas de gran espectacularidad y violencia explosiva que ocupan una o dos páginas, y a la hora de poner el color, tira toda la carne al asador. Según lo requieran los climas del guión, mete colores planos, pinceladas sutiles de gran belleza plástica, o trucos burdos de photoshop de los que maneja cualquier principiante. Todo vale para maximizar el impacto de lo que el autor nos quiere contar, que además tiene tanto peso como lo que nos ofrece a modo de puntas para pensar y debatir una vez que cerramos el libro, recuperamos el aliento, y vemos qué hacemos con tanta salvajada, tan desmesurada y tan letal. Otro experimento que le sale bárbaro a este monstruo insuperable del comic contemporáneo.
http://365comicsxyear.blogspot.com.ar...
Bueno, alguna vez tenía que pasar… digo, lo de reseñar un comic publicado por Image. Y más de uno dirá “¿Qué carajo hace Kyle Baker en Image? Tiene su propia editorial e inmejorable trato tanto en Marvel como en DC! ¿De qué juega en Image?!”. Es raro, sí, pero acá está. Después de la gloriosa Nat Turner (que financió él mismo, centavo por centavo) le pintó hacer algo para otro público, no el que accede al comic a través de bibliotecas y librerías, no el que compra lo que recomiendan los prestigiosos críticos de medios masivos como el Washington Post, sino para los chicos más jóvenes, que prefieren timbearle sus pesitos a comics con explosiones, mutilaciones y chicas con escasa vestimenta. Que son casualmente los que compran en comiquerías, los que sostienen el formato de comic-book y los que hace casi 20 años le dan de comer a Image, incluso cuando esta editorial les inflige historietas de lesa humanidad como todas esas inmundicias de los ´90 que preferimos no recordar para no enchastrar nuestros monitores con vómito.
Y además son los lógicos receptores de una obra como Special Forces, que habla ni más ni menos de las cagadas y las atrocidades que se mandan las Fuerzas Armadas de los EEUU en su desesperación por reclutar a jóvenes y convertirlos en soldados para ir a pelear a Medio Oriente por la libertad, la democracia y el petróleo. Baker se enteró por los diarios que los milicos mandaron a Irak a un chico autista y a varios chicos imputados en unos cuantos delitos y dijo “Vamo en essssaaaaa..”. Los protagonistas de Special Forces son Zone, un chico con discapacidad mental, y Felony (Delito), una chica con un prontuario peor que el de Patricia Bullrich. Para la página 48 (de 176), ellos son los únicos sobreviventes de una patrulla yanki que avanza por las calles de una ciudad que parece Bagdad. A lo largo del libro, los veremos sobrevivir a toda clase de penurias y ordalías en cumplimiento de su deber de soldados, hasta confrontar con el maligno Desert Wolf en el corazón mismo del kilombo, una refinería de petróleo llena de misiles.
Pero falta un dato, y es que Special Forces es una sátira, escrita en joda, como casi todo lo que escribió Baker en su vida. Todo está exagerado al punto de la ironía más macabra, desde la violencia, hasta las poses imposibles en las que Felony muestra más nerca que cualquier otro soldado en la historia de la Humanidad (con la posible excepción de los espartanos de 300, a los que Miller dibujó casi como strippers), hasta la dedicatoria del final. A los chistes jodidos de discapacitados y de los nenes de ocho años armados hasta los dientes (a los que vemos recibir tiros, piñas y patadas en todo el cuerpo), Baker suma otros más sutiles, que tienen que ver con la forma en que la mega-corporación Halliburton gana las licitaciones para reconstruir las ciudades devastadas y moviliza a “obreros” con una capacitación militar y un armamento infinitamente superior al del propio ejército yanki.
Para ilustrar esta animalada, Baker recurre a su estilo más realista, a años luz de lo que vimos en Plastic Man o Birth of a Nation. Le pone (como buen comic de Image) mucho énfasis a la anatomía humana y en especial femenina, se zarpa con viñetas de gran espectacularidad y violencia explosiva que ocupan una o dos páginas, y a la hora de poner el color, tira toda la carne al asador. Según lo requieran los climas del guión, mete colores planos, pinceladas sutiles de gran belleza plástica, o trucos burdos de photoshop de los que maneja cualquier principiante. Todo vale para maximizar el impacto de lo que el autor nos quiere contar, que además tiene tanto peso como lo que nos ofrece a modo de puntas para pensar y debatir una vez que cerramos el libro, recuperamos el aliento, y vemos qué hacemos con tanta salvajada, tan desmesurada y tan letal. Otro experimento que le sale bárbaro a este monstruo insuperable del comic contemporáneo.
February 23, 2010
On one level I loved it, and on another level it kind of freaks me out. Bakers art is really fresh and original and shows him experimenting more. It still contains his dynamic, extreme, comic, and all-out action-packed style. Similar thriller feel to his also brilliant "You Are Here," but also including his political commentary as found in his also excellent "Birth Of A Nation." This is said to be volume 1, I am very curious about volume 2.
August 1, 2011
Solid art but I'm lost with the type treatment. I find it not impossible to follow with the unique text layout, but the typesetting was needlessly confusing.
OK, enough with focusing on the bad! I like Baker's classic Kubert or Mad Magazine style, and the political statements being made align with my abstract feelings about war. Zone and Felony are cool to read about, and brave in the face of danger.
This book turns up the weird. Well played, Kyle Baker, I'll be keeping an eye on you!
OK, enough with focusing on the bad! I like Baker's classic Kubert or Mad Magazine style, and the political statements being made align with my abstract feelings about war. Zone and Felony are cool to read about, and brave in the face of danger.
This book turns up the weird. Well played, Kyle Baker, I'll be keeping an eye on you!
August 15, 2011
A satire of the Iraq War with impossible action movie physics, in which the two heroes are scantily clad the entire time. In a war zone.
I love Kyle Baker. I don't think I'll be able to convince anyone to read this.
I love Kyle Baker. I don't think I'll be able to convince anyone to read this.
October 15, 2015
Impressive art, interesting premise, incoherent plot and action, hiiiiiighly questionable politics masquerading as commentary.
June 9, 2009
Adult
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews