The Shield #1 is the first issue of a brand-new DC Comics series that follows on directly from the events occurring in last month’s ‘Red Circle’ event from writer  J. Michael Straczynski. If you have not read the four ‘Red Circle’ comics then I would highly recommend picking them up before attempting to read The Shield #1, because several essential plot points came into play in that interconnected miniseries that will become important later in the story.

Even though it is named The Shield, after the legendary ‘Red Circle’ comics character, this comic actually features two different stories, with a 20-page story starring The Shield character, and a 10-page ’second feature’ that starts another ‘Red Circle’ character called Inferno.

The Shield: Knocking Down the Door, Part 1

The main feature, is written by Eric Trautmann, with pencils by Marco Rudy, and inks by Mick Grey. The story opens an unspecified amount of time after the events of The Red Circle: The Shield and finds us in in the mountain regions between the nations of Bialya and Kahndaq.

During the events of the 52 comic series, and its spin-off World War III, the super villain, and ruler of Kahdaq, Black Adam, seething after the murder of his family flew to the neighboring nation of Bialya, where ‘Death’ had taken refuge, and slaughtered everyone within Bialya, including the government, the army, and the citizens. Now, Bialya is a barren wasteland with only a few small pockets of civilization remaining. In this wasteland, dangerous insurgents have made a nest and have been launching attacks on U.N. relief efforts from a secret base. The U.S. government have identified the insurgents’ stronghold, and have been sending units in to take the hostiles down. So far, four teams have gone into the stronghold, and every one has disappeared without a trace. Not wanting to loose even more soldiers on a futile rescue attempt, the military decides to bring in its ace in the hole,  Lt. Joe Higgins, the super soldier codenamed: The Shield.

The Shield enters the story about 30,000 feet above Bialya, as he jumps of the back of an aircraft with no parachute. He lands hard on a rocky surface, but suffers no harm because of the special nano-technological enhancements given to him by the U.S. Government. The Shield’s first challenge is dealing with the residents of the nearby village, who after Black Adam’s rampage now fear anything with a cape, and hate Americans just as much due to the fact that no one has offered them any real help in their time of need. It doesn’t take him long to to find the thirty-two missing soldiers he was assigned to find, but all is not as it should be, as they seem to think that he is their enemy and open fire on him, then just when things couldn’t get any worse another another DCU super soldier turns up, one who cares little for saving the lives of these brave men and women… Magog!

Eric Trautmann does espionage like no other, and he brings all of his abundant writing skills to The Shield, giving the comic and nice edge of gritty realism. The question of why you never see superheroes on battlefield in comics is as old as the concept of superheroes themselves, and the harsh reality of it is that the war would be over in seconds, as any enemy would be no contest to a real super solider! Trautmann has a very smart way to get around this issue though, because in issue #1 of The Shield, there really are no “bad guys”, as The Shield is forced to face his own troops, and must come up with a way to save them without hurting them. The other battle that he faces in the comic is that of public opinion, something that none of his superpowers will ever help him with., and he is faced with the harsh realities of the collateral damage of a super being’s tantrum, and the fact that his own government has basically abandoned the poor people of Bialya. I was also very impressed with the obvious research that Trutmann has put into military terminology, that shows some real dedication to making this book the best that it can be!

The artwork on the book by Marco Rudy & Mick Grey is nothing short of amazing, and brings a gritty realism to the visuals that is more than a perfect match for Trautmann’s gripping script. It doesn’t stop just art the artwork though, as this book has some absolutely gorgeous design work going on, in the form of it’s unique panel layouts, illustrated panel gutters, and some amazing tricks like using panels within panels to illustrate The Shield’s technologically enhanced vision. One of my favourite panel layouts is when The Shield looks into a hut at a huddled family and they slam the door in his face. The panel depicting the closed door is drawn in a big SLAM! shape – such a unique way to do a sound effect!

Inferno: Burning Inside, Part 1

The second feature is written by Brandon Jerwa, with artwork by Gregg Scott. The story opens just hours after the events in The Red Circle: Inferno, and finds our nameless protagonist on the run from the authorities after they have decided that he had something to do with the recent cruise ship bombings. Going to ground in a sleazy motel our protagonist gives the clerk the only name he can remember… Frank Verrano. Not a smart move, because being the name he gave in hospital, this sets all sorts of alarms at police headquarters!

‘Frank’ has far more immediate concerns though, as a gang of black-clad assassins descend on the motel as he tries to make his escape. Unable to defend himself in his normal form, ‘Frank’ turns into Inferno and begins taking out his opponents with fervor… along with most of the car fuel tanks in the parking lot! Then, a certain emerald archer turns up, and wants a few words with with our flaming behemoth!

Brandon Jerwa has been writing comics like G.I. Joe and Battlestar Galactica for sometime now, and has become somewhat of an expert in the action/adventure genre. Being the story of a man who gets angry and sets on fire, action/adventure is mostly what I was expecting, but I got much more than I bargained for. The story has something of a Noir edge to it, with an amnesiac on the run from the police for crimes that he may or may not have committed. He has to lay low, steal what he needs, and camps down in sleazy motels under the only name he can remember, a name that is important to him… somehow! It’s nice and dark, but don’t worry because as soon as the ninja type warriors turn up we get that action in spates, along with lots of flames and explosions! Then right at the end Jerwa brings in one of the DCU’s best street level characters, Green Arrow, I can’t wait to see where this goes!

The artwork by Gotham Central artist, Gregg Scott, goes a long way towards giving this story its dark edge, with some lovely line work, along with nice thick, rich inks. Again, there are some really nice visual tricks going here, such as the art highlighting the fact that the main character has clocked the security cameras, and the fact that the cops have guns.

Summary

The Shield #1 is an amazing debut issue for the new series, and while we were given these characters origins in the ‘Red Circle’ event, both of these stories give us a much better introduction to the characters themselves. Trautmann & Jerwa have done an absolutely amazing job here, and gone way beyond what I expected of these characters after I read the ‘Red Circle’ one-shots. Don’t tell J. Michael Straczynski, but both of these stories were far more engaging than his one shots!

DC have started to do quite a few of these ‘flip-book’ style co-features. I have noticed them in: Booster Gold, which co-features Blue Beetle; Adventure Comics, which co-Features The Legion of Superheroes; Streets of Gotham, which co-features Manhunter; Doom Patrol, which co-features Metal Men; and Detective Comics, which co-features The Question. Now The Shield and it’s partner comic The Web are joining that list with ’second features’ being Inferno and Hangman, respectively. This is a great idea on DC’s behalf, and seems to be working really well for them. It’s a fantastic way to get titles out there for characters that wouldn’t normally be able to support their own book, and to introduce readers to characters they might not have tried otherwise.

In this case DC are using the opportunity to showcase Brandon Jerwa’s writing talents before unleashing him on an unsuspecting audience of DC Comics readers. This is a fantastic method for bringing new writers (or writers from other companies) into the DC fold, and it it supplies us with more stories as good as this, then I am whole0heartedly for it!

If you didn’t already pick up The Shield #1 make sure that you grab one as soon as you can. This is a ‘must have‘ series, and another fine addition to DC’s current line-up, which is looking the strongest that it has in years!

[Ed Note: I am a little baffled however that there is a Gorilla on the cover of the comic, there being no Gorilla's in the book at all!]

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