I think I was unprepared for Unknown Soldier after the lighter fare I’ve been reading lately.
Dysart’s doing a two-parter following up on the kid Moses brought to the school. Now, I’m assuming Dysart researched it, so when the school sets the kids loose on each other in a war game–which really messes some of them up–it’s real and terrifying. And then it’s tragic.
The art perfectly captures the lost childhoods; not just the child soldiers, but the child mothers. It makes the whole thing devastating, especially since Paul (the kid) has this girl he’s friends with and it’d be so easy to write them a happy ending in one’s mind.
But there’s no room for it.
Though Dysart makes a lot of room. The pacing in this issue is particularly strong–it follows Paul from school, to running, to finding Moses again.
It’s stunningly, horrifically brilliant.
