The Losers #1 Vertigo (DC) Comics Writer: Andy Diggle Art: Jock

I wasn't expecting a lot out of this book. I had avoided the hype (if there was any) I didn't know who Andy Diggle was, and I had only the vaguest of notions who the original Losers were. This ain't them. In fact this isn't a military comic at all. The Losers reminds me more of "The Italian Job", it's smart, funny in places, and VERY well paced action.

I guess the originals were a military comic. This is pure caper and con. It's one of the hardest hitting action stories I've read in ages. I loved every minute.

The book starts with the male members of the team "hitching a ride". They need a very specific ride for a very specific purpose. The get it. The action is superb. They sidetrack a military transport (HummVee) and fake an accident starring them and the driver of the hummvee. Then they use the Hummer's ID to call for a medivac chopper. They steal the chopper. Classic, well paced, and the art superbly supports the story.

We are next introduced to the Aisha, the female member of the team. She has been shipped from Iraq in a container with several other Iraqi women looking for Freedom in the US. The guy who did the shipping gets greedy. She teaches him the error of his ways. Without sounding too cocky. She just seems like the ultimate Bad-Assed Bitch. I LOVED it.

The next part of the story involves finding out that the losers are out for revenge on the CIA (Or at least some high ranking members) and that they stole the Helicopter in order to use it to steal a truck. The truck contains DRUGS. They burn them. They know they have no way to tie them to their goal without opening themselves up and just losing that shipment will set funding back on several pet projects buy quite a distance.

This book starts a hard hitting story. A fascinating story. I can see it becoming "the adventure comic of choice" for all Mature Line DC (Vertigo) readers. It has the edge that recent Eye of The Storm titles from Wildstorm have had. It also has an immediate feeling that has been missing in the Wildstorm Universe (at least the parts I've read lately) other than Sleeper and Wildcats. I look for this book to do very well in the very near future .