Soldier Zero #8

Soldier Zero AKA James Trautmann is losing control of his parasite armor and is being hunted by government agents whose sole purpose is to kill creatures and weapons like Soldier Zero on sight. In the process they've kidnapped an entire hospital full of civilians, putting their lives in danger over the mission they've been given. Trautmann's friends App and Kelsey attempt to help him escape from the clutches of his heavily armed pursuers. Can Trautmann regain control of Soldier Zero and avoid the armor from swallowing his mind and body? Or will innocents die for the sake of the greater good?

Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, drawn by Javier Pina, and published by BOOM! Studios, this issue of Soldier Zero was the end of an arc I hadn't started. I missed a few issues in the middle, but it was well written to the point where I understood exactly what was going on as soon as I got a few pages in. If there's one thing that's great about titles like Soldier Zero on BOOM! Studio's roster, it's that they have great creative teams behind them that make the characters that are new to the world of comics friendly to new readers.

James Trautmann's character is really progressing nicely, and the fact that he's a wounded soldier who is getting his second chance at doing something wonderful with his life plays well with the burden of the symbiotic armor. The only downfall to this new title is something that isn't even it's fault -- MARVEL is trying to do the same thing with Venom. Soldier Zero started long before the new take on Spider-Man's dark counterpart, but since both characters were birthed somewhat through Stan Lee, it can be forgiven.

I still feel that characters like James Trautmann are going to have a high place in post-modern mythology someday, through their strong story lines and complex characters.

Definitely a title to start reading if you love science fiction/military stories.