As the grandson of a war veteran, I grew being regaled by stories by my grandfather about World War II. He wasn’t a veteran in the traditional sense, as he was not recognized until very recently long after his death. Hundreds of Filipino WWII veterans and their families finally got recognized by President Obama for their contribution. Even though the world did not see these men and women as heroes, families like mine always did. His stories piqued my interest and fascination with the war itself.

My interest went from reading books to watching movies and eventually reading war comics like Sgt. Rock which gave us a view from the trenches. It would also lead me to reading Unknown Soldier which was a military spy whose face you never saw but his missions were always for the greater good. These comics would not only sentimentalize the war for me but would stoke my interest in storytelling. In Garth Ennis and Kilian Plunkett’s story we find one lone agent searching for the Unknown Soldier.

We meet Agent William Clyde, a veteran CIA agent who is hot on the lead of a clandestine organization, with some very deep roots in major historical events and a bloody trail, which raises even more questions. As he digs deeper into who they are, the more connections to the Unknown Solider, starts to pop up, as everyone he interviews, has a story about this shadow assassin, a man who defines “tip of the spear”. Of course, the closer he gets, the more dangerous the path, as a fellow agent gets killed a hit squad comes after him and the mercenary sent to kill him, join forces with him to  find the Unknown Soldier. By book’s end, Clyde comes face to face with him, and finds exactly why they are hunting him and why the Unknown Soldier lead him to where he was.

Overall, an uneven story that doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of the premise. The story by Ennis is fragmented, at times very interesting, but ultimately not his best work. The art by Plunkett is serviceable. Altogether, a story that doesn’t quite live up the legacy and is neither creator’s best work.

Story: Garth Ennis Art: Kilian Plunkett
Story: 6.0 Art: 5.0 Overall: 5.4 Recommendation: Read