Send All Scoops To Our 24/7 News Team At:
24hournews@silverbulletcomicbooks.com

Myatt Murphy Goes Undercover For Two Over Ten

Posted: Monday, October 1
Posted By: Jason Brice
Print This Item

How far would a writer go to make his fiction as detailed as possible?

For Myatt Murphy, creator and author of the upcoming comic book series Two Over Ten (due to hit comic book stands this November), it meant being sent underground for eight days with David Morrell (best-selling author of First Blood) and Marcus Wynne (author of No Other Option) inside a top-secret, high-speed narcotics unit in the seediest parts of Dayton, Ohio. Murphy is one of the only journalists ever allowed access, a request that’s been denied to many other media including representatives of the NBC hit news-show Dateline.

Murphy’s five-issue mini series Two Over Ten is a dark story about the hidden abilities that exist within each of us, abilities we are never allowed access to…until now. The main antagonist is a two-bit thug that rises up the ladder of organized crime quickly when his God-given ability to borrow other’s body parts is returned to him accidentally. In issue #2 of Two Over Ten, a group of international drug lords discuss how simple it is to smuggle money across the country, a detail that is not only dead-on accurate, it’s mildly humorous. "All I’ll say is that it involves a lot of cash and using a few unmentionable undergarments in a way you would never expect," says Murphy.

But understanding the subtle facets of money laundering to use for just one page in his comic didn’t come easy. Decked out in bullet-proof jackets and armed with handguns, Murphy, Morrell and Wynne put in eight, 18-hour days with members of CANE (Combined Agencies for Narcotics Enforcement), an elite covert task force and the nation’s third largest division of The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Starting at six each morning, Murphy practiced shooting techniques with David Spaulding, one of the nation’s foremost pistol experts, training with an assortment of weapons ranging from police issue handguns to AK-47 assault rifles. At night, the three traveled with a team of masked undercover agents to watch (in close detail) as agents shut down highly-explosive crystal meth labs, raided crack houses and took down murder suspects.

"Most authors build on their fiction based on the knowledge of others," says Murphy, "But I think there’s an element of authenticity that is never captured unless you experience certain moments for yourself." Most of what he picked up from these elite officers he plans to reveal in a new female-targeted ongoing series due out from Second 2 Some Studios next year.

So what’s the most impressive piece of covert information Murphy picked up from his masked instructors? "Training to slit a guy’s twelve most vital areas was certainly cool, but I think it was learning how to turn an ordinary shotgun shell into an armor-piercing bullet using just a pocket knife that was super-slick," says Murphy, who plans to reveal that trick to his readers eventually. "When it comes to improvising, these guys make MacGyver look as uninspired as O-Town’s career."

Got some comments on this item?
Have your say at the Bite The Bullet Talkback.