Every once in a while you get proud of yourself for taking a chance on a comic and discovering something that’s just fantastic.  American Terror: Confession of a Human Smart Bomb Volume One is one of the great finds from this year’s Baltimore Comic Con.  Written by Jeff McComsey and James Cooper with art by McComsey the story is about the third world war.

The story unravels slowly and is a confessional from one of the key people who started the war.  But what type of war is this?  Is it the stereotypical future war over resources or some religious issue?  That’s where this comic series gets really creative.  Instead, we’re given a political treatise against the rise of corporations and private armies.  It’s a brilliant take and one that makes it truly stand out.

The issues raised are very topical, and very important.  It’s true that nations have a habit of training horrible people to take care of their problems, and once the problem is ended they leave those people to take over.  Then years later they must deal with those they trained.  In this modern age it’s private armies, backed by laws that govern corporations and not nations.  This will be the next flashpoint, we just don’t know it yet.

American Terror is an important read on so many levels, and one of those is because it makes you think about today’s geopolitical status.  It’s just bonus points that it’s so entertaining too.

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