SPECIAL FORCES Review in HEEB

Special Forces #2, Image Comics

5/5 stars

Inspired by news of an 18-year-old autistic kid from Oregon recruited into the Army without any idea the Iraq War was going on, Special Forces follows in the bootsteps of Catch 22, Dr. Strangelove and Slaughterhouse Five. Zone, the perfect soldier because he's autistic and therefore loves to follow orders, is teamed with Felony, a badass super-hot sadistic babe who enlisted to avoid prison. Baker's in-your-face explosively dynamic art evokes the best of comic-gods Frank Miller and Harvey Kurtzman while presenting an utterly unique, compelling and disturbingly fresh vision. JN

NEW ORIGINAL SPECIAL FORCES ART FOR SALE!

From SPECIAL FORCES #2. Published by Image Comics.
Date: 2007
Size 17" x 22"
Media: India ink on paper
Price: $1000
OWN IT HERE

From SPECIAL FORCES #2, Image Comics
Date: 2007
Size 14" x 16.5"
Media: India ink on paper
Price: $500
OWN IT HERE

From SPECIAL FORCES #2, Image Comics
Date: 2007
Size 14" x 16.5"
Media: India ink on paper
Price: $500
OWN IT HERE

From SPECIAL FORCES #2, Image Comics
Date: 2007
Size 14" x 16.5"
Media: India ink on paper
Price: $500
OWN IT HERE

From SPECIAL FORCES #2, Image Comics
Date: 2007
Size 11" x 17"
Media: India ink on paper
Price: $500
OWN IT HERE

New Art From SPECIAL FORCES 3!

I'm hard at work on Issue #3 of my hit comic series SPECIAL FORCES, which introduces the villainy of the AXIS OF EVIL MUTANTS! I'm so excited about this issue, I couldn't wait to share!


I'm also getting a lot of requests from fans wanting too see more of the character Zone! So here's some more!

Blair Butler Berates Baker's Booties: BEHOLD!

SPECIAL FORCES #2 in Stores Today!

From NEWSARAMA's Can't Wait for Wednesday

Chris Mautner's pick of the week: SPECIAL FORCES #2

"(Kyle Baker) does the best smackdown of Frank Miller’s oeuvre I’ve ever seen. I’m genuinely excited to read the next issue."

SPECIAL FORCES #2...the perfect stocking stuffer!

SPECIAL FORCES #2 is DONE!

Issue #2 of Kyle Baker's best comic book ever, SPECIAL FORCES, has been completed and sent to the publisher, so it'll be in stores shortly!
Issue #1 is still available in stores now, or BUY IT ONLINE.

ORIGINAL SPECIAL FORCES ART FOR SALE!

Adorn your walls with the actual one-of-a-kind artwork used to create Kyle's newest SMASH HIT Book! Large format drawings are ideally suited for framing. Highly collectable pages from the FIRST ISSUE. Shipped with certificate of authenticity.

Special Forces # 1 p. 2-3 double page spreadClick Image To Enlarge
Date: 2007
Size 17" x 22"
Media: India ink on paper
Price: $1000
OWN IT HERE

SPECIAL FORCES #1 p23 splash PageClick Image To Enlarge
Date: 2007
Size 14" x 16.5"
Media: India ink on paper
Price: $500
SOLD

SPECIAL FORCES #1 p24 splash PageClick Image To Enlarge
Date: 2007
Size 14" x 16.5"
Media: India ink on paper
Price: $500
OWN IT HERE

SPECIAL FORCES #1 p26 splash Page
Click Image To Enlarge
Date: 2007
Size 14" x 16.5"
Media: India ink on paper
Price: $500
OWN IT HERE

Martha Thomases at Comic Mix on SPECIAL FORCES

Special Forces is hilarious and terrifying...

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! SPECIAL FORCES is a big fat hit!

Gripping, smart and relentlessly bleak this is a fantastic book from a creator at the top of his game. Alasdair Stuart, FIREFOX NEWS

"a welcome parody while steeped in reality in the style of Jack Davis and Frank Miller by way of EC Comics." DEAN HASPIEL

"Baker combines absurdity, wit, violence, and social standing into a comic experience unlike anything you’ll read this year." Robert Murray, Silver Bullet

"ISB BEST OF THE WEEK" Invincible Super Blog

"Sold out as of 20 minutes ago. I think I miscalculated how much interest there would be for this very fine comic book." Atlantis Comics Online

"Special Forces is the grittiest, most emotional and meaningful war comic I’ve ever read." Geekanerd

"Special Forces was a book I was originally going to wait for the trade on, but now I can't wait to see what happens next." Kevin Church

"Of special note, Kyle Baker’s Special Forces #1 is the first book to get Picked by two of our tastemakers — so be sure to check that one out!" PopCultureShock

"An irresistible premise can carry a first issue, and this is a VERY GOOD starting point." Joe McCulloch

ISSUE #1 is IN STORES NOW! GET IT BEFORE IT SELLS OUT!

Special Forces #2!

While we eagerly await issue #1's arival in stores on Oct 31 (a Halloween TREAT!), Kyle is well into production on issue #2. Here's a peek at the new art. Am I nuts or is this stuff even better than the last one? Click the images to enlarge.

SPECIAL FORCES #1 is finally finished!

Who could have predicted that a story about the Iraq war would become an overlong, overbudget quagmire with no end in sight? Well, the first issue is finally finished and delivered to the publisher, Image Comics! I took a little extra time on it, because I wanted it to be my best comic ever, and it is! Chock full of fights, explosions, and babes! Also, every page is packed with lots of tiny details and lines! Look at all the detail and realism! It's not cartoony at all! This high level of quality takes time! But you fans are worth the extra effort it's taking me, because I love you all. It should go to the printer this week, and then I'm sure Image will announce a release date. Look for it in a couple of weeks at your store, and buy it!
Here's a link to all the art I've posted so far.

I'm finishing the new BAKERS color hardcover BABIES & KITTENS today as well, so that'll be available in store and through this website, too.

SPECIAL FORCES: Apache Crash

More art from the comic. This is my coolest book yet! Look at all those lines! This comic's got more lines than an L.A. club toilet stall! Click art to enlarge.

NEW BATTLE ACTION!

Check out the debris! I've been looking at a lot of Wally Wood, Joe Kubert and Frank Bellamy lately. Also Jack Davis, George Evans, and Will Elder inking John Severin. Who are your favorite war cartoonists? Leave a comment!

SPECIAL FORCES: Best Page 1 Ever!

The first page of any story is the most important. It must grab the reader immediately, compelling him to continue. In comics, this is called the "Splash" page. This is the opening splash of SPECIAL FORCES.

This is pages 2-3, also a Splash.

FREE SPECIAL FORCES WALLPAPER!

The most generous cartoonist on earth gives you something for nothing! You need this desktop in your face at work all day! Hooah!

DOWNLOAD SPECIAL FORCES WALLPAPER

LADIES' HOT OIL FIGHTING!

Yes, it's another awesome cover for my new IMAGE COMICS series SPECIAL FORCES. BRING OUR OIL HOME! It's for issue four, but I couldn't wait to show it off! Clearly fatherhood has mellowed me.
I'm finishing issue 1 now, it'll be out in a couple of weeks. Hooah!!

Even More SPECIAL FORCES art

Click to enlarge.The new IMAGE COMICS series starts in AUGUST! Meet Felony, the new kid.From PREVIEWS:
SPECIAL FORCES #1 (of 6)
story KYLE BAKER
art & cover KYLE BAKER

32 PAGES FC AUGUST 22 $2.99

GET READY TO RAQ! It’s Black Hawk Upside-Down!

EISNER award-winning Kyle Baker brings you SPECIAL FORCES the wackiest boot camp since “Stripes”! SPECIAL FORCES follows a small-town autistic teen from his recruitment, through basic training, and then off to war in Iraq. With violent felons, mental patients, a violent mental hot chick felon and at least one “Don’t ask don’t tell”, his unit is composed of the military’s last line of defense. The very last line!

What happens when desperate army recruiters fall below quota at the same time the President calls for additional troops? Find out in SPECIAL FORCES!

Inspired by a true 2006 incident in which an 18-year-old autistic Oregon boy was recruited into the army.

More SPECIAL FORCES art

Coming Soon From Image Comics Meet the new girl in school.

What.

More SPECIAL FORCES art

More artwork for the upcoming Image series.