JAN’02 USD $2.99 USD READERS FOR MATURE FOR ™ #1 OF 6 OF #1 COPY RESALE FOR COMPLIMENTARYNOT #1 OF 6 ™ FOR MATURE READERS USD $2.99 JAN’02 ROB THANKS : Ed, Russ and Neil for taking a chance and pushing Cla$$war all WRITTEN AND CREATED BY ROB WILLIAMS the way. Trev, for amazing artwork and loving the script. Len, for the top colouring job. Sam, for encouraging and always being there. Mam & Dad, for always PENCILLED AND INKED BY TREVOR HAIRSINE supporting my love of comics. Bill Hicks, for the inspiration. COLOURED BY LEN O’GRADY Cla$$war couldn’t have been created without reading/watching/ listening to: Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and The Press – Alexander Cockburn, LOGO, LETTERING AND DESIGN BY EDDIE DEIGHTON Jeffrey St Clair; Dangerous, Relentless, Arizona Bay, Rant in E Minor – Bill Hicks; Class Warfare – Noam Chomsky; Hidden Agendas – John Pilger; Billy Bragg; The EDITED BY EDDIE DEIGHTON Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr; Rage Against the Machine; Underworld, PUBLISHED BY COM.X : EDDIE DEIGHTON | NEIL GOOGE | RUSSELL UTTLEY Libra – Don Delillo; Bob Roberts; Brought to Light – Alan Moore, Bill Sienkiewicz; Public Enemy; All the President’s Men – Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein; Them, CLA$$WAR WAS CREATED USING QUARK 4.1, FREEHAND 9 AND PHOTOSHOP 6.0. CLA$$WAR WAS NOT CREATED Adventures with Extremists – John Ronson. USING MAC OS.X. OR UK OS.€. FONTS USED : GARAGE GOTHIC ROMAN AND STENCIL, KID KOSMIC ROMAN AND The Cla$$war soundtrack: Find them, stick them on a tape in this order and BOLD (AVAILABLE FROM BLAMBOT.COM) AND A LITTLE DAB OF HELVETICA. FOR OUR AUDIBLE DELECTATION : LAMB, listen as you read... CRYSTAL METHOD, THE TROUBLEMAKERS, DAVID HOLMES, LO-FIDELITY ALLSTARS, CRAIG ARMSTRONG (KISS OF Side 1 :1This Land – Woody Guthrie 2For what it’s worth – Buffalo Springfield THE DRAGON), BOOM BOOM SATELLITES. THIS MONTH WE BE MOSTLY READING : THE TEMPLE AND THE LODGE, 3 Fight the power – Public Enemy 4 Days like these – Billy Bragg 5 (What’s so HIGH CONCEPT, OCEAN’S ELEVEN, X-FORCE - NEW BEGINNINGS, THE SENTRY, FORTUNE AND GLORY. REMEMBER : funny ‘bout) peace, love and understanding – Elvis Costello 6 Living for the city – Stevie Wonder 7 Gimme some truth (live) – the Wonder Stuff 8 Shipbuilding – ONLY DEAD FISH GO WITH THE FLOW... www.comxcomics.com Suede 9 Know your enemy – Rage Against the Machine 10 Feel like I’m fixin’ to die rag – Country Joe and the Fish. Side 2 :1Waiting for the great leap forward – Billy Bragg 2Tramp the dirt down – Elvis Costello 3 Rockin’ in the free world (live) – Pearl Jam 4 The Revolution will not be televised – Gil Scott-Heron 5God Part II – U2 6All you fascists – Billy Bragg & Wilco 7 Donation (live) – The Wonder Stuff 8 Come together – The Beatles 9 Wake up – Rage Against the Machine 10 For what it’s worth – Public Enemy. TREV THANKS: I'd like to thank Maria for making me tea and putting up with my COPY little tantrums. Ed, Russ and Neil for their ridiculous positivity and unwavering support. Len for making me look good and Rufus, Robbie, Debbie, Jim and Anabelle for their company and companionship. And to Ben for sleeping on the floor. LEN THANKS : Tara - see, you can make a living out of this stuff. Moira & Tommy for encouraging me way too much. To Bridget, for keeping my feet on the ground. Chris for making me feel 10 feet tall. Karen & Colin for helping me get my first real job in Comics. Andrew & Jenny for the big move. Ed, Russ & Neil for making it possible for me to work in the best publishers in the best industry there is. FNORD. RESALE FOR COMPLIMENTARYNOT : PRINTED IN THE UK BY NULEAF GRAPHICS. WHY ARE YOU READING THIS? GET ON WITH THE COMIC!!!! CONTENTS BE OF REPRINTEDTHIS MAY PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE PRIOR PERMISSION OF COM.X LTD LTD : ANY SIMILARITIES TO PERSONS LIVING OR DEAD IS PURELY X.CORPORATION THE OF COINCIDENTAL DIVISION A COM.XIS : RESERVED RIGHTS ALL : : LTD WILLIAMS/COM.X ROB 2001 NONE OF THE © & ARTWORK™ AND CHARACTERS STORIES, ALL : ENGLAND WC1, LONDON STREET, KIRK INN, DICKINS CLA$$WAR ISSUE#1 OF 6 : FIRST PRINTING - JANUARY 2002 : COM.X PUBLISHING LTD : THE first things first. i want to make it clear. i love my country. i have always considered myself a patriot. a good American. just as my Daddy taught me. COPY i was born to serve my country. i was made in America. i have served this land. i have done its bidding. but now i findRESALE that i have discovered certain... truths. i have been misled. i have been used. and now, all this. all that i previously believed in... FOR COMPLIMENTARYNOT i’m going to DESTROY it. rip down this lie. this... deceit. COPY RESALE FOR COMPLIMENTARYNOT i have seen the truth. i recognise their treachery. and I know there is no other choice. there is no turning back. COPY CREATED & WRITTEN BY ROB WILLIAMS • PENCILLED & INKED BY TREVOR HAIRSINE • COLOURED BY LEN O’GRADY • LETTERED & DESIGNED BY EDDIE DEIGHTON RESALE FOR COMPLIMENTARYNOT NO SHIT “we have a situation.” i can see the boy. the whole world can see him. that’s kind of the point. mr President. Sir, we have a situation. Sir, we’re mobilising units and we’d like to get you and the first lady out of here. damn SON. what you gonna do? barring a nuke ain’t nothing can even put a crack in his ass. ain’t you read the files? mr President, sir... COPY there ain’t no point going nowhere. that boy can outfly the chopper in his sleep. ,sides, the First Lady’s loaded, out cold and RESALEdreaming of Ricky Martin. FOR because I am not THE PRESIDENT of THE UNITED STATES of America, COMPLIMENTARYNOT MR PRESIDENT. SIR. perhaps it would be prudent to uhuh... umm... go and speak yeah. good point... to AMERICAN, mr ummm... president? the people need to hear the truth. Shit. SAY WHAT? why don’t you go speak to him, JEFFERSON? No more lies. well, Frank, people here are confused and a little apprehensive. we’re not entirely sure what AMERICAN is doing and, so far, he isn’t telling. COPY RESALE FORi want them to see. i want them ALL to see. COMPLIMENTARYNOT what they’ve done to the heart of this country. “...we still don’t know what’s going on. for security reasons guns have been trained upon AMERICAN but, given his heroic service to the American nation, it’s difficult to believe that he could pose a threat.” Oh...no...this isn’t... no...not pink, not hairy pink... prolapsed bad. Harvey won’t...Harvey SHUT IT, won’t be happy. looney tunes. i’m watching the box. whoever said there,s nothing sniff... good on tv? “Well Frank, it now appears that the President himself is coming out to talk to AMERICAN.” COPY SHIT. the old man’s going to put on a show. Pass the fucking popcorn, this is going to be good. it’s official. He’s AWOL. RESALE We finally get to cremate the prick. I’ve been looking forward to this. What about the boy wonder? FORHe toast too? COMPLIMENTARYNOT yes. Great balls of fire. “We’ll be ensuring that all of America can see what transpires here.” “Wait for my order then, if necessary, shut it down.” let’s do it. understood... “This is KP7 Washington, telling America the truth.” COPY RESALE FOR American was specific about this. No killing, he said. No one dies. COMPLIMENTARYTime to grow up, boy. One thing I learnt early on, everybody dies. NOT We at war, boy. and it was during the short-lived Despite rumours of their war in the Persian Gulf that the team existence throughout the eighties, of super-powered American heroes it was only in the build up to the code-named Enola Gay came to conflict that Enola Gay world-wide prominence. were actually introduced to the public. President Bush made it quite clear that, should Saddam Hussein not leave Kuwait, Enola Gay would be unleashed upon Iraq within 24 hours. COPY Read my lips... RESALE FOR COMPLIMENTARYNOT When Hussein did not comply, Enola Gay was sent in to clear a path for American and Allied troops. Thanks to Enola Gay’s intervention Iraq pulled out of Kuwait within 48 hours of American troops first setting foot in the region. Since then Enola Gay has acted as the front line for American forces around the globe. Helping to bring order to a chaotic world and dealing with domestic uprisings such as the L.A. riots and the siege at WACO. COPY RESALE FOR COMPLIMENTARYNOT And team members such as American and Young American have become spokespeople for a better country. Appealing to youngsters to stay in school, to turn their back on drugs and to use firearms sensibly. ...that doesn’t mean drugs, that doesn’t mean turning your back on your education. That means being all you can be. Achieving your potential. Being the best. Being a young American. Charlie, I just want I don’t know to show you my about this... autograph collection, that’s all. Unless you’re COPY not that interested in it, that is? Now, I didn’t say that, did I? So, you want to show me some RESALE of those super- powers? FOR COMPLIMENTARY I think I NOTknow how to get them flowing. I LOVE being Oh yeah? Well, they a superhero. need to, y’know, Oh shit. get worked up.