Lost Squad – Comic Review

The Lost Squad Comic Review
Publisher: Devil’s Due, Writer: Chris Kirby, Artist: Alan Robinson
Issue: 4 of 5

Rogue Pictures has purchased the movie rights to “The Lost Squad” comic book series, which features an elite Allied commando team that battles zombies and robots. Rogue studios is an arm of Universal Pictures and the last issue of the current mini-series, “Operation: Crystal Ball,” is scheduled to be released next month.

The story focuses on an American Special Forces squad that seeks to sabotage secret Nazi plans to acquire mystical artefacts and conduct occult experiments. Although the Nazis were interested in arcane and mystical research, “The Lost Squad” mixes a little bit of history with a lot of “Buck Rogers style” and “whiz-bang technology,” according to the creators. In the same vein as the Castle Wolfenstein video games, this comic requires readers to temporarily suspend their disbelief.

So far in their adventures, the men of “The Lost Squad” have encountered zombies, soldiers wearing jet-packs and giant robotic-spider tanks!

The squad itself is composed of a clichéd mix of stereotypical GIs:

• Pvt. Kansas, typical mid-Western cornhusker
• Sgt. Lymangood, who is aggressive and reckless
• Pvt. Jose “Bazooka” Morales, the token minority
• Cpt. Boudreau, s fallen priest
• Mjr. Smithenry, an eccentric British officer
• Cpl. Bergman, the academic poindexter
• “The Chicago Boys,” a collection of indistinguishable street thugs

To combat the Nazi zombies and magi-commandos, “The Lost Squad” packs their own arcane firepower. The “Chicago Boys” have incredible recuperative powers and other members of the team can cast counter-spells or create illusions.

The overall atmosphere of the book is light-hearted. Arcane and mythological elements are sprinkled throughout the story arc and high-tech weaponry recalls the hey-day of 1950s science-fiction. Combat seems more like a game then an actual life of death situation, with larger than life characters. The three main characters, Lymangood, Boudreau and Smithenry are the most complex and interesting. Each has their own back-story that drives them to find salvation, absolution and redemption, respectively.

The art is simple, but engaging and each issue is drawn in black and white. Subtle hints of influence from Japanese animation can be detected, but it doesn’t detract from the spirit of the story. Visuals details are sparse, but effective. A lot of straight lines and geometric details are used to create a crisp and clean image. The Nazis are frequently portrayed as dark, ominous creatures, and are almost demonic in appearance sometimes. Their thick goggles and shadowy helmets hide their faces from the reader.

The first issue was published in Sept. 2005, and it’s taken almost 18 months to produce the next five issues. The production run has been plagued with delays, but the creators say they have plans to produce several more mini-series and other one-shot stories contained within a single issue.