Third World War Book One (Volume 1) Paperback – Illustrated, 9 Jan. 2020

This collects the first volume of Third World War, a class strip about corporate criminality and the destruction of the environment and of cultures and communities in the name of profit.I read this back when it was first printed in Crisis. It seemed a horrifying but terribly possible scenario and has sadly proven more than prescient.It's not an easy read but it is excellent. Great characters, great writing and amazing art by the legendary Carlos Ezquerra. Easy to recommend this one.

Young student Eve Collins has been drafted by the multinational-backed IMF-style organisation called FreeAid. Ordered to win over the hearts and minds of the oppressed in the Third World, she witnesses the suffering that FreeAid has actually caused in South America and across the globe. Caught in the middle of an economic war to control the Third World, Eve tries to take a stand for what she believes in... but is it too late?I used to love this politically-charged comic book series back in the '80s, and was happy to see it now being re-released in collected trade paperback form. In some ways it's clearly dated, and the writing doesn't quite seem as cutting-edge as it was back then; however, the subject matter is more relevant than ever and it's still a thought-provoking story. Proving that the comics medium can be about more than just superheroes, it's got plenty to say.

Not bad

Don't be miss-led by the headline above! This book arrived promptly, and I'm VERY pleased with it. This graphic novel (book1 / volume 1) is in full colour. I'd been eagerly anticipating the release date of this G.N. That's why it was - 'well worth waiting for.' Great. Thanks.

I was looking forward to this book because I had fond memories of this series when it originally appeared in 'Crisis' back in the day and I actually purchased the limited edition hardcover. But memory plays tricks and reading it again was a little disappointed as the story, such as it is, is very slow paced and more than a little preachy. Carlos Ezquerra is best known as the co-creator of Judge Dredd as well as many other fantastic series and was one of the all time greats in my humble opinion. Carlos provides the art for most of the pages in this volume with the non-Carlos pages being of noticeably lower quality. However, at times the art is smothered by the text and I also feel that the reduction in size versus the original publication doesn't do it any favours. Pat Mills is a great writer with a long track record of successful strips including for example in 2000AD and Battle but I don't feel that this is one of his best works. It just seems dated now and I think it probably worked better in episodic form whereas the collected edition makes its weaknesses more obvious. This strip lacks excitement and we are forced to wade through page after page of talking heads describing "evil multi-nationals and western governments are killing the planet" without any discernable tension. Actually, I found my attention wandering at the end as all the preaching without reward was just too much. Some of the original comic covers are included in the back of the book as a nice bonus. Carlos remains one of my heroes and for that reason I couldn't give this book less than three stars.