The artwork by Kevin O’Neill is rendered with such wit, style and all round awesomeness that only a handful in the comics industry can match. And the superheros in particular bear the brunt of Marshal Law, who has a clear disdain for them… The book is a critical look on the complacency and apathy of society as a whole, demonstrating the idiocy of celebrity worship, and a world in which the corrupt politicians and the rich dictate our lives. Our protagonist Marshal Law rounds up and brings the super-humans who violate the law in San Futuro (a post big quake San Francisco) to justice. The story is set in 2020 after a war in The Zone or South America, (an allegory for Vietnam) in which super-humans were created and used. Where Moore showed sympathy for his characters, Mills tears into them with devilish glee. It was like nothing I had read before sure the deconstruction of the super hero in comics had been tackled before, the most notable example being Alan Moore’s Watchmen, but Marshal Law is a whole different beast altogether. However, nothing would prepare me for the shock (or should that be Shocc?) I received when I read Marshal Law for the first time.
I’ve been a fan of Pat Mills for a while now, and i would like to think that I was familiar now with his witty, satire and politics laden writing.
