WE WHO ARE ABOUT TO BECOME SMOKING PUDDLES

Greetings, true believers and mendacious sceptics alike.

Allow me to introduce myself. I’m M’att M’atzz and this is yet another bloody blog about comics, on which I shall occasionally ramble about things that have passed before my eyes in my 30-odd years as a reader, collector and obsessive.

The first few instalments are modified versions of articles previously published by The Big Glasgow Comic Page, as part of a series called ‘Bargain Basement of Dooooom’. The aim is to highlight to some of the golden nuggets you might find sitting neglected amid the fetid dregs of the discount bins and clearance longboxes. These are the titans of the 50p box, the heroes of the three-issues-for-a-quid heap. The underrated, the untraded and the unsung. The ugly, the unsure and the completely invisible.

First up, for your delectation, I present Strikeforce: Morituri. Written by Peter B. Gillis (Micronauts, What If?, Defenders) and drawn by Brent Anderson (no, not the guy from Suede, but the outstanding artist of X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills and later Astro City), this sci-fi tale spanned 31 issues between 1986 and 1989.

Existing entirely outside of Marvel 616 continuity (aside from a couple of cheeky Easter eggs), S:M has a simple but intriguing concept. Earth is under siege from ravaging aliens. To repel them, an experimental process has been developed that gives people potent metahuman abilities – but there’s a sizeable catch. The process invariably kills the volunteers – messily, mind – within one year.

Despite the big concept, this is very much a character-driven series. Gillis throws together a bunch of naïve young recruits, who we follow from introduction through training to deployment – and eventual demise. Not just anyone can volunteer, as the Morituri process only works on the few people with compatible DNA. Instead of a bunch of gung-ho badass scrappers, we get a motley crew, including a promising young writer, a devout Christian, a self-described wallflower. The series ruminates on themes of sacrifice, change, death and what constitutes a meaningful life. What motivates these people to pay the ultimate price? Altruism? Glory? Self-realisation? Anger? How will their decision affect their lives? And what goes through the minds of those who send these young people to their fates?

It’s not all mordant philosophising though – after all, there’s an enemy to fight, and the Horde comprise a particularly foul and unconscionable antagonist. This lot resemble a distorted reflection of a Dr Seuss creature – think a bunch of jowly, shaved Sneetches adorned with pet spider crabs and the skulls of their enemies. There’s plenty of brutal battles here, and it’s not long before S:M lives up to its tagline – ‘We Who are About to Die’ (based on the pre-combat mantra of Imperial Rome’s gladiators). It’s pretty clear that not only are no characters safe, but no one is getting out of this alive.

With its big sci-fi concept, imaginative, understated powers (particularly the quietly intriguing but effective analytical abilities of Adept) and, most importantly, relatable, sympathetic characters, S:M was a compelling, if under-the-radar series. And Anderson’s art is superb throughout. Clearly an admirer of Neal Adams, his work is solid and dynamic, clear and expressive, with occasional flashes of layout brilliance. For me, the emotional, explosive, multi-faceted climax of #12 is possibly the greatest single page of Anderson’s career.

Naturally, Strikeforce: Morituri’s focus on mortality gave the series an in-built shelf life. By the end of the first year, most of the original cast were little more than smoking puddles (hardly a spoiler, given the circumstances), and the series started to get a bit stale, giving way to a steady stream of paper-thin, unlikeable and similarly doomed replacement characters. After Gillis and Anderson’s final issue (#20), the creative team changed and the series became both unreadable and visually hideous. But those first 12 issues are very highly recommended, and the next eight are worth your pennies too.