"Third World War" is a British political comic story. It was originally published in the adult-orientated anthology comic Crisis between 17 September 1988 and December 1990. Written primarily by Pat Mills and initially with art from Carlos Ezquerra, the story was set in the near-future and studied the effect of global corporations on the developing world.
The story debuted the character of Finn, who was later revisited by Mills in 2000 AD.
Creation
Pat Mills had written scores of stories for Fleetway Publications' forerunner IPC Magazines throughout the 1970s, including being the creative force behind the titles Battle Picture Weekly, Action and 2000 AD, but as the 1980s had worn on found himself increasingly unhappy with both the constraints on his writing within the British industry and growing unhappiness with the poor deal given to creators. Steve MacManus' brief to create the adult-orientated Crisis, and the more generous contracts prepared for the title that gave creator rights and royalties far beyond that offered by the company however interested him, and Mills leapt at the chance to create a story with a political slant. The premise of "Third World War" went against MacManus' brief to create an adult superhero title, but he felt the story was strong enough to work regardless. MacManus had originally envisioned the title as a flipbook called 50/50, with a cover either side and each half of the contents designed by a different graphic artist. Rian Hughes was assigned to design the "Third World War" half, but the format was overridden by management. The comic was retitled Crisis, and Hughes' design also encompassed the front cover, where "Third World War" would be a fixture for most of its run.
Mills felt the market for politically conscious readers had been proven by the initial success of Action, and had endeavoured to keep many of its themes going in 2000 AD as science fiction provided a "mask" for such storytelling, feeling "there are real heroes and real villains out there — often disguised but potentially a subject for great drama". The writer felt the reaction to Margaret Thatcher created an appetite for political stories that weren't forced to masquerade as allegory; while he "found that really exciting" he conceded "it wouldn't last, so I decided to make the most of it".
One of his inspirations was a news item he had read around the time of LiveAid, which revealed that at the same time of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, large parts of the country were given over to coffee plantations producing beans for the Western market. Mills took pains to add realism by using acquaintances as inspiration and sounding boards for the characters, an approach he likened to that of filmmaker Mike Leigh. Young writer Tony Skinner worked with Mills on the vast amount of research for the project which was necessary as Mills had never visited Latin America at the time.
FreeAid was inspired by the Department for International Development and the United States Agency for International Development, feeling both were more sinister than the frequently suspected CIA and MI5 due to their more subtle actions. Mills also felt the International Monetary Fund were complicit was distrustful of large corporations, who "make the Joker look like small fry." Carlos Ezquerra, who had a large British following from his work on the likes of "Strontium Dog", was selected as artist. MacManus recalled him being the first choice for the series, describing him as "the preeminent artist working in British comics of the time"; however, Mills' recollection was that he first approached Ian Gibson, who refused due to objecting to Eve potentially choosing suicide over military service. Mills felt that even though "Third World War" took aim at global capitalism he did not feel it was a Communist story but instead as extolling his view that Western countries "shouldn't be" involved in the governments of the Third World.
Publishing history After a promising start, sales of Crisis had nosedived and MacManus was forced to re-evaluate the comic's format. The device of two long, parallel stories was abandoned, though "Third World War" survived to continue while "New Statesmen" was phased out. Later, the first book was repackaged by Quality Communications for the American market when no extant publishers came forward. Third World War became a six-issue limited series, with new covers by Fegredo, Glenn Fabry, Sean Phillips, Paul Johnson, and Phil Winslade.
As per Mills' plans, the second book (from Crisis #15) saw the focus switch to the UK. Wanting to keep the realism high, he turned to other writers to help with various parts of the story. Young Northern Irish writer Malachy Coney was recruited to help with a storyline set in Belfast (MacManus had sounded out Garth Ennis, but Mills found Coney first). Mills has defended the change in direction, citing his previous works such as switching the focus to Blue in "Charley's War" and reinventing "Ro-Busters" as "ABC Warriors" as showing "changing gear is legitimate, provided everything else is right".
Mills, who believed comic characters shouldn't be "politically correct, moral icons" looked for a permanent replacement. However, in the case of Crisis he found it difficult to find artists similarly passionate about the subject matter rather than seeing the title as a stepping stone in their careers, though he would concede many of the artists — such as Duncan Fegredo — did "an excellent job". Fegredo filled in on two chapters as he prepared to work on Kid Eternity with Grant Morrison for DC Comics, and drew on Simon Bisley and Bill Sienkiewicz for influences. He would later note "I've never really been a political person" but enjoyed the experience of working on the story. Glyn Dillon, then 18 years old, illustrated three chapters also using Sienkiewicz as inspiration. Books II and III covered issues including matriarchy, police racism, no-go areas, private police forces, class war, and Black resistance.
By 1990 Crisis was once again in sales trouble, being switched to monthly publication and trying to find a new format to survive. "Third World War" petered out and finally ended in Crisis #53 (dated December 1990) Mills was unhappy with the decision, believing editorial were attempting to sell what he would describe as "cappuccino comics" for an easier sale. He would later continue Finn's story in 2000 AD.
After the cancellation of Crisis in 1991 and the collapse of Maxwell's empire after his death, the elements of the comic and its stories that Fleetway owned passed to Egmont Publishing. In 2016 they were sold on to Rebellion Developments, who began reprinting strips from various titles. The first "Third World War" began being collected in 2020, under Rebellion's Treasury of British Comics label. The collection was restored with scans of original artwork provided by the late Ezquerra's son Hector, though some pages had to be remastered from scanned original issues of Crisis. Rebellion editor Oliver Pickles stated he hoped to collect the whole "Third World War" across four volumes at a rate of one a year. The second volume, collecting part of Book Two, featured some edits to dialogue to remove racial slurs; while a foreword explained these were used to show the racist attitudes of the characters using them, the publishers felt the censorship left the authors' meaning clear.
Plot summary In 1994, Western military sponsorship in the Third World grows, with multinational corporations charged with the undertaking for the security. This initially leads to boycotts and civil disturbances until FreeAid (Free World Agency for International Development) is founded in 1997 to restore Third World stability, and in 1999 establishes the Youth Selection Board to recruit troops for the FreeAid Peace Forces.
Book One In 2000, Eve Collins has just turned 18 and has found herself conscripted by the YSB to join the Peace Forces, after an attempt to escape by taking a drug overdose fails. Instead she is simply assigned to a Psychological Warfare Battalion (known as 'Psychos') in Central America with a group of fellow misfits — Armageddon-obsessed Ivan, self-proclaimed witch Paul, zealot Trisha and Garry, whose insanity resulted in him actually volunteering for the Peace Forces. The squad are involved in a mission to relocate villagers, with orders to kill any who resist, distributing vouchers and gifts from the likes of Multi-Foods and Coola Cola to smooth things over. Garry guns down a suspected terrorist during a house clearance, and after it is cleared the village is destroyed to deny it to Guerrilla Army of the Poor. Garcia's wife later immolates herself rather than be taken in by FreeAid. Eve writes about meeting a boy named Jose, a street child obsessed with Coola Cola, an unhealthy soft drink promoted to children by mascot Multi-Food Mickey. She rewrites the piece after seeing rebel propaganda, but superior Lieutenant Ward convinces her to remove the critical parts after arguing the actions of FreeAid are preferable to a massive war. The unit was assigned to guard the factory from protesters, but Jose and his fellow street-children reveal themselves to be working for the guerrillas, and blow up the factory in a suicide attack. Their next mission is fitting remote villages with satellite TV, designed to brainwash them to FreeAid's way of thinking with propaganda. Eve and Paul discover that many of the villagers are already docile zombies due to Parathion pesticide being sprayed on crops entirely to kill off thrips that only cause cosmetic damage to the oranges grown by the farmers. Finding common ground, Eve and Paul share a kiss while the unit amuses itself mocking the devout Trisha until they come under rebel attack. Terrified, Eve kills one of the attackers, and is chided by Paul for betraying her principles in order to survive.
At a barrio near their base, the Psychos find the rebels are using a man dressed up as a superhero called Super Barrio to try to counter FreeAid propaganda. Later they discuss the Green Army, a paramilitary environmental group led by Finn. The people of the barrio are set to be moved to a FreeAid 'New Start' housing scheme (in reality, a prison camp); Eve and Garry are corralled into wearing superhero costumes as 'Silver Saviour' and 'Multi-Man' respectively to counter Super Barrio's popularity but have limited success and the relocation soon turns ugly, with Super Barrio suffering a heart attack after a fight with Garry. The Psychos also encounter the Madres, a group of women who carry out a dance for the liberation of political prisoners whose members are often targeted by government death squads. An escaped Madre called Monica begs them for help and they take her to safety. Eve and Paul survey the dumping grounds for the death squads' victims with Monica, but the death squad are tipped off by a former officer known to Paul. Paul and Eve are saved by Monica and her allies, who kill the officer and the death squad before escaping.