Arrowsmith #1

Posted: Saturday, July 19, 2003
By: Ray Tate

"So Smart In Their Fine Uniform"

Creators:Kurt Busiek & Carlos Pacheco,Jesus Merino(i),Alex Sinclair(c)
Publisher: DC

Arrowsmith examines World War I in a fantasy setting as well as through a truthful story indicating the way in which young men are seduced into battle. The story could have easily been overblown in either direction, but the characteristic dialogue and attention to overall detail give the story an understated tone that feels more realistic. The characters also look circumspect as they would in real life as they sense an impending change in their own lives.

In a sense we have seen the story in Arrowsmith before and sadly often enough in reality. The propaganda of the war department attracts the young and naive to what appears to be a noble cause and the romance of the uniform. Upon entering conflict, they discover that perhaps the cause is not so noble, and the uniform becomes so easily awash in blood. "Dulce Et Decorum Est" which loosely translated means is it not wonderful to die for one's country.

Mr. Busiek chooses a particularly senseless war, the setting of the Wilfred Owen poem, to relate his very timely story. World War I began because a Serb assassinated the Archduke Ferdinand. This event catalyzed the various sides who would wage war against each other. To be sure, there were no doubt myriad ulterior motives, but this single assassination was the cause of World War I a war which incidentally helped beget World War II.

Mr. Busiek begins his discourse by directing Carlos Pacheco his partner from Avengers Forever to muddy the pages with a dank, grim depiction of No Man's Land, which has nothing to with the inferior Batman storyarc. No Man's Land was a literal graveyard covered in fog and gaseous residue that hid land-mines, barbed wire and foxholes filled with tired, desperate soldiers. The dour environment explains the joy one combatant feels in the book when he sees what appears to be an innocent bright ray of hope.

The fantasy elements do not beautify the chaos of war. Though startling or sorely out of place, the creatures from fairyland are almost overwhelmed by the violence and the hopelessness of the situation. This is how the book had to start out, and Mr. Busiek and Mr. Pacheco make no bones about it. War is to be avoided. It's not cool. It's not something that needs to be done. War kills without mercy or discrimination.

The scenes depicted at the United States of Columbia--how exactly did that happen--sharply contrast the reality of war: even when that reality is accented by pixies and flaming giants. Busiek and Pacheco introduce the Overseas Air Corps who bear all the dashing characteristics of Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks types with the addition of magical accoutrements, cunningly designed costumes and cute little dragons that would make Kitty Pryde salivate.

These are the Blue Angels of the Busiek/Pacheco fantasy world. Their presence naturally inspires the dreams of flight in some including the eponymous hero whose head is so far up in the clouds that he cannot hear the sound advice of a superbly characterized Rock Troll that works in his father's blacksmith shop. The father in his viewpoint seems gruff and unyielding, but with historical experience and the added depiction of No Man's Land in the book, you can see that his words and attitude hide a want to protect his son from harm.

Carlos Pacheco cannot help drawing things that look aesthetically pleasing, and indeed, his presence on the book eschews the type of gothic, dark fantasy setting one expects to see. In each scene however the innocence of the fairy tale, as it once did, bears an undercurrent of the sinister. When first we see the OAC they should be a bright spot and spectacular, but the reader has already experienced vicariously the battlefield, and she can see the meaning behind the trappings. Pacheco depicts Bonnie--he with the Robin Hood mustache and beard--as too eager to inveigle Arrowsmith. In contrast, he imbues nobility to the Rock Troll who will not fight even if his own family have been killed in the attacks. Such evocative artwork matches perfectly Mr. Busiek's thoughtful, involving story.