The current political climate in the United States is a disconcerting one, as the establishment tries to whip up the American people into a fervor of terrorism-fueled paranoia, anti-Arab sentiment and a gung-ho mindset for war. I haven't been this nervous about international relations since the day after, well, the airing of The Day After, a 1980s TV movie about nuclear (not nuke-yuh-lar) war. Americans are divided between anti-war sentiment and a America-love-it-or-leave-it philosophy spouted by those who back the government. If you think it's scary being an American these days, just try being a non-American, waiting to see where Bush and company are going to lead the entire planet.
I bring this up not to elicit another flood of abusive e-mail from Republican-minded, "patriotic" Americans (though I expect it's on the way), but to point out that where one stands on this debate will affect one's appreciation of this comic book. Ellis puts forth the notion of assassination and carnage as a means to uphold democratic ideals here. It's hidden behind a mass of Matrix-esque action and explosions, but while Gulacy assaults our senses with flash, Ellis challenges the mind with guerilla politics.
In the near future, America is still enveloped and manipulated by an ultra-conservative government, and someone has decided that the hypocrisy and crimes that lay behind the religious rhetoric must be exposed. One assassin's bullet and one hacker's keystroke sets the plan into motion, and in the middle of the chaos, one Secret Service agent has the savvy and wherewithal to pluck one clue to the mystery from the panic, explosions and confusion. That clue, though, ends up pointing to more than the identity of an assassin, but to a coverup as well.
Gulacy captures the fiery insanity of the assassination and getaway with great clarity and style. The visuals take on a cinematic quality, and we can imagine the assassin as Trinity, Carrie Ann Moss's noted big-screen alter ego. Major's colors bring added depth to the action and the characters as well. My one qualm with the art is Gulacy's tendencies to render his characters with squat, wide-eyed faces. I find they detract from the tone of realism the rest of his linework establishes.
Ellis wisely brings this terrorist drama down to earth early on, when he introduces agent Chris Royal on the second page. Royal is a savvy agent, and at this point, he's the chief protagonist of the story. But he's got a casual, witty personality that makes him instantly likable and more like an average joe.
This book is about the degrading separation between church and state. It's about revolution. It's about Lee Harvey Oswald being set up as a patsy. It's about corruption and zealotry. This may just be a comic book, but it's one that puts forth questions and ideas that have never been more relevant.
Reload is Important. You should read it.
