One Nation Review #1

“ Be all you can be. That’s what the commercial said.” 

I can say a lot about One Nation, that the art is top notch, that the main character Deacon is compelling, that the story began as one thing and then made a quick left and started to become something extremely more interesting.  What I will say is that this comic is f**ing fantastic. The tone, story, artwork is what not just an indie but also a mainstream comic should be. Written by Jason Reeves and Alverne Ball  (Virgin Wolf) Reeves also handles pencil duties while Luis Guerrero works on colors. I’d describe the story as a fusion of Captain America and Superman, however it doesn’t come off feeling at all like a cheap copy of either of those stories.  What it does is take the best parts of both characters; their humble beginnings and their inherent need to do the right thing.

We open up in 1991 during the Gulf war where we meet our main character Deacon who is a solider fighting to help free Kuwait from the grip of Sadam Hussien. We get a brief flashback that doesn’t feel at all forced showing an origin analogous to superman and shows us his motivations for wanting to be a hero. After his friend is killed by insurgents he decides to let his abilities loose, all while wearing the American flag wrapped around his head like a burnoose hood. With violet energy enveloping his head like a halo he goes to work and single handedly ends the war then something miraculous in my opinion happens America loves him and the military supports him giving him the code name Paragon he is made into the worlds first known superhero and is property of the U.S. government. This may sound like I’m spoiling the story but I’m not because all the important and interesting things come later.

The story is very well written I cannot say this enough, the pacing is excellent and the transitions are smooth. The dialogue is real and believable and the narration though heavy finds a way to be interesting and entertaining without feeling like exposition. The art is beautiful professional level work with the pencils defining the characters facial structures perfectly while the art brings everything together from the sandy landscape of Kuwait to the vibrant halo of energy our hero sports around his head while using his abilities. This is yet another book I am surprised isn’t in Image right now and reminds me a lot of Rising Stars in tone. If you’re looking to get out of the mainstream and break into indie comics reading please do yourself a favor and pick this book up I cannot stress this enough. It is better in my opinion than a number of the books both Marvel and DC are churning out right now.

Rating 5/5