In an interview, writer Ales Kot has said:

War is a disease, and it seems that a large part of humanity is obsessed with it.

The writer of comics that range from the stream-of-consciousness apocalyptic tale Change to DC Comics’ Suicide Squad draws on this point of view, developed in his native Czech Republic, for his new series Zero, out from Image Comics in September.

I’ve seen, first-hand, what kind of damage war inflicts on people, and how often the wounds become obscured as the decades progress.

Zero is named for its main character, secret agent Edward Zero, a sociopath who solves problems with violence, a perfect execution machine. He’s built his life around certain principles, but ZERO is the story of what happens when his carefully maintained systems break down and Zero must fight not just a war out in the world but one within himself as well.

Each issue will end with this internal struggle producing an indelible change in Zero, and so each issue will be drawn by a different artist. The first issue, in which Zero encounters a bioengineered terrorist whose body is a bomb, is drawn by Michael Walsh, who previously worked on the time travel Image series Comeback, written by Ed Brisson.

Subsequent issues will be drawn by comics stars like Mateus Santolouco, Morgan Jeske, Tradd Moore, and Tonci Zonjic. Kot will write each issue based on the strengths of the artist, and the series will be colored by Jordie Bellaire.

Zero #1 is available for pre-order in the July issue of Previews (Diamond code JUL130415). Variant covers by Becky Cloonan (JUL130416) and Chris Burnham (JUL130417) are also available for pre-order.