Dysart and Ponticelli: A Happy Unknown Soldier

[mrosa]

Unknown Soldier #25: In this short-lived series' final ending, Moses infiltrates Joseph Kony's compound, stabs him in the face. Then he still has to deal with the child soldiers:



The kids throw down their guns and leave with Moses:



And after many issues seperated from her, he's reunited with Sera:



Alberto Ponticelli's art in this issue was gorgeous:



Yay, great happy ending for everyone!

And then the reader turns the page...

Unknown Soldier is one of the best comics I've ever read, but it was sadly underrated when it came out. Joshua Dysart and artist Alberto Ponticelli created a consistently exciting, horrifying and moving saga of a killer in search of redemption. I urge everyone to read the series.

Also, we need new tags.

Comments

[icon_uk]

From the moment the kids dropped their rifles and INSTANTLY became happy laughing kids again despite the sheer hell of their lives, this HAD to be either the worst case of glossing over I've seen in many years, or be a dream-fulfilment fakeout as he dies (And no, I haven't read the issue, so I'm guessing there)

I agree though, some nice art there.

[mrosa]

Or maybe he's just good with kids :)

The series is very good about depicting the traumas of ex-child soldiers, how they cope with their horrible memories and their difficulty in becoming normal children again. Read issue #13, about Paul, a child soldier the US rescued. In fact, read the whole excellent series.

[sharky_chan]

100% with you on that dying-dream guess! Which makes me sad. Absolutely love the concept of the series and what they're trying to show, but I hate, hate, hate that trope :X. I'm afraid to read the whole thing, knowing that the ending will leave a sour taste in my mouth _o_.

[mrosa]

The series takes place in the 'real world,' whatever that is in a work of fiction, and the trope only applies to #25, and it's a great way to end the series, trust me. Read the whole series, you won't regret it.

[sharky_chan]

That's reassuring...I think I saw posts of parts of the series earlier, and both the art and handling of the content really caught my eye as something exceptional. I just really hate it when I feel like the author is trying to trick me rather than tell the story that needs telling...if that makes sense.

Is it collected in tpb?

[mrosa]

Yes, it's collected in 4 TPBs.

[jlbarnett]

I didn't think the dropping the rifles made it an obvious instant fakeout because that could be like an adrenaline high thing. Temporary euphoria.

[icon_uk]

Given the personality cult such people use to control their child soldiers, euphoria after being told he's dead would be by no means given, in fact many of them would probably try to hurt the person who killed him.

[shadur]

I'm going to throw out a wild guess and say in the next page it turns out to be a dream/delusional episode while he's in the hospital for those face injuries?

[big_daddy_d]

Ahh so the Unknown Soldier has a face after all.

[beoweasel]

So, I decided to look up how it ends...yeah, dick move on the writers part. :|

[blackruzsa]

When was this? :) It seems much older. Reminds me of how the Kony thing became such a big deal a few months ago when Kony was driven out years back.

[mrosa]

The story takes place in 2002.