Often military science fiction war stories have an unknown alien threat uniting the world under the banner of survival of the species. Much like World War II, millions if not billions enlist, to fight for the human race and their way of life. While this is a compelling reason for your future war, it has also been done to death, and originality is the order of the day. So, will the 2007 mini-series
Drafted offer something different? Let us find out.
What is Drafted?
While the basic concept behind
Drafted is familiar and derivative (like most sci-fi), the core characters are well done and developed along with the presentation of the world as a whole. It those central characters that save
Drafted from being typical and common, along with how those characters interact with the story and events. Most military sci-fi stories focus on the soldiers and their experiences in war, while some MSF works cover the events back home. But in
Drafted, the "homefront" is explored in direct manner with characters and event we care about and it helps round out the whole story. Due to the way that the soldiers are drafted by the aliens similar to the Christian Rapture, families are torn apart, and since there is a lack of communication, the soldiers and their bewildered families wonder and struggle separately during the war. Very powerful and compelling stories here. We also get to the affect these millions or billions being drafted in extraterrestrial military service has on Earth. Two other elements I very much enjoyed was the use of psychic weaponry and not following the familiar arch of military characters. Most military sci-fi stories has the soldier going from the civilian world to basic to advanced training and then the first taste of combat that takes the lives of some of the original characters. Then the veteran characters return home which has changed along with themselves. This is followed somewhat in
Drafted, but it mainly happens off-the-page and the overall story of the soldiers is less formulaic than other MSF works I've read.
The BAD
This may be highly subjective, but I feel that the original art style in the first issues is just not good for a transmitter of the story and setting. Detail is lacking, and it is too cartoony to be taken completely serious. It does not help that one of the main characters is too manga for his own good, along with reminding me of
Gear School. During the latter portions of the graphic novel, the art switches to a more realistic and grittier style, but the art lacks contrast and appears too dark. This is a minor bitch here, but things like this bother me: wrong weapons. During the early portion of the book prior to the drafting, Afghan fighters and American Special Forces are both drawn with the wrong weapons. The Afghans are armed with CAR-15 like Commando Carbines and the American Special Forces team sent into sand covered Jerusalem wields AKS74s with all manner of goodies on them, which the US SOF units would not be using. One of my big complains with the graphic novel is the big bad enemy of the aliens that came to Earth to draft soldiers for the interstellar war: the worldeaters. They are nasty looking space worms that appear conjured from HR Giger’s daydreams and are too over-the-top for their own good, and lack any kind of military presence or realism. Also, this design of the Worldeaters lack the foundation for the big plot twist at the end of the graphic novel.
The UGLYTowards the very end of the graphic novel, within the last five to six pages, there is a major plot twist that is both unsupported, a far-too-common trope, and is sadly predictable. That is only part of the issue with the twist. Any major twist to the setting that the story and characters operate in is risky and needs to be handled with care and consideration. None of those are present here. There is simply no supporting evidence or foreshadowing in
Drafted to support the twist, making it hollow and stupid. You cannot just spring a major twist in the fictional reality of your work without supporting it and laying the ground work. I understand what the creators were hoping for, namely a big shock, but it does not work and it undercuts everything else established in the book. While it may have been hoped to fuel more sales for the upcoming
Drafted sequels, I will not be buying it because of this twist and future creators should look at
Oblivion for a good plot twist example like this.
Should You Read Drifted?This graphic novel is harmless overall, and it is not groundbreaking or that bad…it is simple okay with some elements, like the homefront and the friendly alien factions, being handled extremely well. To me, the end twist that reverse the basic reality the people of Earth have been operating under since the aliens showed up kills
Drafted and leaves me wondering how this element got so mishandled when other elements are handled better than most MSF works. If you want to read it, don’t pay too much for it or borrow it.
What about the Rumored Movie Adaption?In the winter of 2014, it was announced that
Drafted has been optioned for development by Benderspink Productions and New Line Studios for a movie adaption. Not much has been heard since along with the reboot or continuation of the comic by creator Mark Powers. From the information I read, it seemed that
Drafted could be a series of movies and could be aimed at the teen market, like
Hunger Games and the recent
Divergent trilogy.
Next Time on FWS...
Two terms that get thrown around a great deal in military science fiction circles is "stormtrooper" and "shocktrooper", and it is high time that FWS explore and explain these two military terms that have become standards of military sci-fi and common culture.
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This may be highly subjective, but I feel that the original art style in the first issues is just not good for a transmitter of the story and setting. Detail is lacking, and it is too cartoony to be taken completely serious. It does not help that one of the main characters is too manga for his own good, along with reminding me of Gear School. During the latter portions of the graphic novel, the art switches to a more realistic and grittier style, but the art lacks contrast and appears too dark. This is a minor bitch here, but things like this bother me: wrong weapons. During the early portion of the book prior to the drafting, Afghan fighters and American Special Forces are both drawn with the wrong weapons. The Afghans are armed with CAR-15 like Commando Carbines and the American Special Forces team sent into sand covered Jerusalem wields AKS74s with all manner of goodies on them, which the US SOF units would not be using. One of my big complains with the graphic novel is the big bad enemy of the aliens that came to Earth to draft soldiers for the interstellar war: the worldeaters. They are nasty looking space worms that appear conjured from HR Giger’s daydreams and are too over-the-top for their own good, and lack any kind of military presence or realism. Also, this design of the Worldeaters lack the foundation for the big plot twist at the end of the graphic novel.
Two terms that get thrown around a great deal in military science fiction circles is "stormtrooper" and "shocktrooper", and it is high time that FWS explore and explain these two military terms that have become standards of military sci-fi and common culture.