Marshal Law #4 - Epic Comics

MARSHAL LAW No. 4, August 1988

Surprisingly divulging the true Machiavellian manipulator behind the Sleepman’s serial killings in a sensational last panel revelation, Pat Mills’ narrative for “Conduct Unbecoming” initially starts with a somewhat sedentary, albeit entirely enthralling, insight into just what makes the Public Spirit actually tick, before subjecting his audience to some wonderfully violent carnage as the California B*stards attempt to take over the Gangrene Gang’s territory through sheer force of arms. Gratuitous in its depiction of heroes having their arms pulled off, as well as limbs mutilated by blades, this lengthy, sense-shattering scene brings the true brutality of life in San Futuro to the forefront of the reader’s mind, and seemingly provides a very valid explanation as to just why Missus Mallon doesn’t like heroes when the ensuing fight badly damages her store; “I’d like to take a carving knife to them all!”

However, this marvellously mesmerising action-sequence ultimately proves to be a well thought out red herring on the part of "the godfather of British comics", and simply misleads the audience as to the true motivation behind the near-future metropolis’ mass murders as efficiently as the titular character is subsequently fooled by a wheelchair-bound Danny into believing that Buck Caine’s addiction to anabolic steroids is all the justification he needs to arrest the Colonel at his wedding. Indeed, it is only by the time “the government-sanctioned super hero hunter" witnesses Hydroman, Aquanaut and H2O Lad’s depilatory party that is finally dawns on both him and this twenty-eight page periodical’s patrons, that Public Spirit might not actually be the cold-hearted killer.

Cramming Issue Four of “Marshal Law” with plenty of unforgettable imagery is artist Kevin O’Neill, whose incredible illustrations really go a long way to selling Mills’ ruse that Joe Gilmore’s investigation into the apparent death of Caine’s first fiancée, Virago, is being systematically thwarted by a government-led conspiracy to ensure that Spirit remains the general public’s golden child of the hour. The aforementioned epic struggle by the Gangrene Gang to retain their turf against an invading horde of cybernetically enhanced villains is arguably this book’s highlight, although the Bram Stoker Award-winner’s mesmerising array of colourfully-caped wedding guests is superbly pencilled, especially the extraordinary cluster of male heroes tightly packed within the confines of the Men’s Bathroom.

Writer/Creator: Pat Mills, Artist/Creator: Kevin O'Neill, and Letterer: Phil Felix