STEVENSON & RODRIGUEZ ON TASK FORCE 1

[MattBrady]

by Rik Offenberger

A generation after 9/11, the world is paralyzed by terrorist sects of every persuasion. In this bitterly divided, terror-struck United States, General Abigail Rhodes takes on the thankless job of heading up the Department of Homeland Security. She could only watch her country get its nose bloodied by these threats for so long before she decided to put a stop to the reign of terrorists once and for all. General Rhodes initiates "Operation: Damocles," a top-secret project too risky for any of her predecessors to try. Now, Rhodes commands a covert unit of super soldiers, codenamed TASK FORCE 1, and she intends to take the terror to the terrorists. It's an interesting intro, but what is TASK FORCE 1 (first issue shipping in July from Image/Shadowline) really all about? Jeffery Stevenson and Carlos Rodriguez explained it all to Newsarama.

Newsarama: There are a lot of super hero teams, what makes TASK FORCE 1 unique?

Jeffery Stevenson: This team has Jim, Carlos, Joel, Jason, Kris, and me making them look good.

The team for TASK FORCE 1 is a actually a team of military soldiers. BDUs, combat boots, armored vests, that work!, guns, and all that fun military gear. Volunteers wanting to defend their country, family, and friends.

They're also a look at what the military soldier could become. I took Jim Valentino's initial concepts and went through notes and press releases from the various military research centers, scientific journals and news sites, and the archives of the great DefenseTech.org blog to see if there were any patterns that could actually lead to the technology TASK FORCE 1 uses. There are.

It's still a work of fiction, minus encounters with mutants, the supernatural, aliens, magic, or super-genius time-travelling were-octopi pygmies, but there's a hint of possibility for practically all the tech seen in TASK FORCE 1, including the stuff used by the terrorists. At any moment, you might get hit with the thought, "damn, that really could happen."

Click here for the full interview and ten page preview.

[Grimm22]

Looks awesome!

I love the concept. Kind of like Ultimates except with original characters.

The art isnt bad either.

I will DEFINITLY be picking this up!

[Contrarian]

Blah. I'm not seeing anything that hasn't been done in a dozen "secret government team" books before.

Seriously, they might as well just bring back Reagan's Raiders.

[Black Beetle]

It reminds me of "Fox Force Five" from Pulp Fiction.

[FallenFate]

Projects like this very much make me wish that Marvel would bring back Strikeforce: Morituri. In fact, I think it owuld be a wonderful television series if done correctly. I very much enjoy "The 4400" and "Heroes" looks good (although I am still mad at NBC for cancelling "Surface" which was very much a serialized show that looks like the first season was a set-up that would have made a radically different and extremely interesting second season).

Of course, going back to the topic at hand:

These pages acually look pretty good, and I enjoy storylines like this, the psudo-dystopian ambiguously near future. I'll likely pick this up.

[Drew Melbourne]

I'm really looking forward to this. I don't think anyone's trying to rip off the THUNDER Agents (one of my favorite comic series of all time), but it looks like Jeff, et al. may be putting together a worthy spiritual successor.

[EvilEric]

very cool stuff. I was also reminded of Strikeforce Morturi, only reminded tho...cool read.

[J. Stevenson]

Originally Posted by Black Beetle

It reminds me of "Fox Force Five" from Pulp Fiction.

I guess that would make our armoured sniper with the big gun the "French fox".

[zuludelta]

Sounds interesting... from the interview, it seems sort of reminiscent of Whilce Portacio's and Micah Ian Wright's woefully underappreciated work on StormWatch: Team Achilles. Wright's falsification of his military credentials and Portacio's iffy rendering of anatomy notwithstanding, I still think they were able to strike a good balance between military fiction and the more fantastic elements of the superhero genre, one that even Millar's The Ultimates would be hard-pressed to duplicate. Here's to hoping that this book becomes StormWatch: Team Achilles' spiritual successor.

[clerk976]

Jeffery Stevenson is one to watch. I've know the guy for a couple of years and he's chock full of great ideas, and he's a hell of a guy. I'm not sure the nice guy I know isn't waiting to just really cut loose on a book like this, so that's why I'm picking it up.

You should too.

[tiso_spencer]

It is interesting and I like the Shadowline books from Image. I also frequent the boards there. I loved Jimmy's Intimidators, but understood why it was cancelled since the support and fan support was not there enough. The problem though, I do not want Task Force to get me into it and then 4 issues in it has to be cancelled. Not to mention, a lot of it has been done before right?

[Jon Malin]

Very much looking forward to this.

-Jon

[Kep]

I can't wait for this series. Honestly, it's one of only a few I plan to add to my box this summer. Give this one a chance and it will last forever.

[GirlyGirl]

Originally Posted by tiso_spencer

It is interesting and I like the Shadowline books from Image. I also frequent the boards there. I loved Jimmy's Intimidators, but understood why it was cancelled since the support and fan support was not there enough. The problem though, I do not want Task Force to get me into it and then 4 issues in it has to be cancelled. Not to mention, a lot of it has been done before right?

Almost everything has been done before! But as Jeff said: "They come from the same hometown, but they're taking different paths to different destinations."

I rarely post, but I think this book looks really promising! I love the idea of a female sniper (in pink, no less!) that can camoflage herself. It looks like there are two very strong female characters on this team that aren't decked out in skintight spandex, and I'm very appreciative about that.

I really dig team books, and I like this concept; it reminds me of "The Unit" (anyone see that TV show? It rocks) but the team has "built-in" weapons that are essentially ticking time-bombs.

Count me in for this one!

[Jason Hanley]

Thanks for the kind words, everybody!

I for one am very excited to be a part of this book; it's a lot of fun to work on.

For those of you that are worried: don't be. The characters are going to be much more 3-dimensional than any "super-strike-team" books that are out there. I just finished the lettering on #2, and there were a lot of little things about the characters in there that really surprised me, and although I'm not going to offer any spoilers, I will say that you'll start to really get a feel for the individual team members. It's not just a "this is the team, and this is how they work together to defeat the bad guys" book, it's a team made up of individuals, each with their own quirks, their own baggage, their own demons.

I'd love to see people giving the book a chance, not just for the sake of numbers, but to see where the story goes, I honestly think people will enjoy it.

[jedifish]

I see Task Force X and I think of the Suicide Squad or JLU.

[joel seguin]

Hi folks!

First off thanks for the feedback!

Second,
Jason pretty much nailed the head of the uh... well he got it right. This is NOT a "B" movie, comic, action flick with terrible acting and even worse one liners. This is a blockbuster of a tale and it really grabs you from the beginning. The characters alone will keep you interedted in their own lives. The concept has been done. And we're not trying to deny that. But it's the journey That is the best part. You're not going to be reading something you've read before, that is a garentee!! ( Just wait till issue two hits, is all I'm going to say...)

Thanks for the support and all the comments everyone! Please keep posting here and let us know what you really think. Then read the comic and tell us what you think again, and again, every month!! ( that seems to stop a book from being cancelled for some reason )

joel, ( Colorist on Task Force 1 )

[J. Stevenson]

Thanks for the comments on the book everyone. And I'm glad you like the idea of a female sniper, GirlyGirl... Jim wanted a female character that could run at subsonic speeds, and I thought, "that would be cool for a sniper." Oddly enough, I discovered a lot of historical information on female military snipers from other countries when developing that character.

Originally Posted by zuludelta

I still think they were able to strike a good balance between military fiction and the more fantastic elements of the superhero genre, one that even Millar's The Ultimates would be hard-pressed to duplicate. Here's to hoping that this book becomes StormWatch: Team Achilles' spiritual successor.

Yep, and Task Force 1 is along those lines balancing military fiction with fantastic elements (but it leans more toward near future science fiction than all-out superheroes). BTW, nice screenname. The unofficial title of the first Task Force 1 story arc is "Tango Uniform".

Originally Posted by tiso_spencer

The problem though, I do not want Task Force to get me into it and then 4 issues in it has to be cancelled. Not to mention, a lot of it has been done before right?

I understand exactly how you feel. I've been hit by the reality of some good books not getting enough sales to keep going (like you, I was really enjoying Intimidators). The whole team on Task Force 1 loves working on this book (I've seen the artwork they've put together for the first few issues so far, and their passion for this book shows), and I plan on doing everything I can to keep this team together and keep this book going for as long as possible. I'm stubborn like that.

A lot of stories share similar concepts, but the excitement is all in the execution. I'm someone who likes to twist things around and play with perceptions and expectations (and really mess with characters). And I started out with a concept from Jim that had a ton of potential for doing just that. Hell, I've shocked (and sometimes scared) myself with some of the ideas I've come up with for storylines to explore in this book.


Drew, Rob, Jon, and Kep... looking forward to seeing you guys at conventions again this year.

[JRCarter]

Originally Posted by Black Beetle

It reminds me of "Fox Force Five" from Pulp Fiction.

Who's the Mia Wallace character?

[joel seguin]

she'd have to be Alpha ( the team's telepath), Her nose bleeds sometimes....



joel,

[J. Stevenson]

Originally Posted by joel seguin

she'd have to be Alpha ( the team's telepath), Her nose bleeds sometimes....

Well, Alpha could actually match up to both Raven (Mia's pilot character) and Sommerset. Raven because she's a circus freak (that likes the more "personal" weapons) and Sommerset because of the photographic memory (although Alpha's memory is not quite photographic... the tech just indexes the info in her brain really well for easier access).

[Carlos R.]

Hi everybody!

I´d also like to give you thanks for your comments about the series. I´m really enjoying penciling this book and it is great to see that people is interested in it. Give a chance to TF1 and I´m sure you won´t be disappointed!

And if you have any question about the process of penciling the book let me know and I´ll be glad to answer you.

Carlos

[350z]

This reminds me a little of the Ultimates. Let me rephrase that: Damn. This looks like another decent book that I will have to add to the list. I guess I'll have to get a third job...

[joel seguin]

why stop there? why not get a 4th and pick up two copies


Thanks for the support and I'm sure you'll love it!

joel,