Taking a Look at The Activity TPB

It's not as if the United States military isn't already doing enough for the country that they decide to team up with Image Comics on a comic taking a look at Black Ops. Specifically, the men involved in Operation Neptune Spear, the famous mission from May 2, 2011. It's that mission that Nathan Edmondson and Mitch Gerads used as inspiration for The Activity, now hitting the shelves as a TPB.

The insight into the lives of special operatives, as well as the bleeding-edge technology they employ in their missions, is founded on Edmondson's desire to create a true-to-life depiction of life in Special Forces. A trip to Washington D.C., as well as extensive research and networking, yielded defense contractor contacts and sources within special ops.

"I flew to Washington, D.C. and interviewed colonels and captains and a general face-to-face, gleaning what info I could," Edmondson said. "I’ve had the scripts reviewed by individuals from the Pentagon and JSOC [Joint Special Operations Command].... Often it was a matter of those advisors directing me and us to specific reading material, or simply telling us, 'no, that doesn’t make sense.'"

The first TPB will hit stores June 6, collecting the first five issues of the series. The Activity #6 will hit stores shortly thereafter, illustrated by Laming and showing events west of the Congo in the Civil Affairs career of Team Omaha's newest member Fiddler.

The Activity #7 will start a new story arc called "Goat Hunt," where Team Omaha is sent to Uzbekistan for their latest mission. That issue hits stores July 18.

Full press release below.

A LOOK INSIDE BLACK OPS IN THE ACTIVITY

Comic written with cooperation of members of U.S. Military & Intelligence

They do their work in secret, the goals of their missions and the discipline, teamwork, and skills needed to carry them out well out of the sight of the American public. However, on May 2, 2010, an elite team of Navy SEALs carried out Operation Neptune Spear, killing Osama bin Laden and launching "Black Ops" into the American consciousness.

Among the imaginations captured by these elite forces was that of Nathan Edmondson, a writer (WHO IS JAKE ELLIS, DANCER) who was inspired to create THE ACTIVITY, a comic book series that follows the lives of members of the special operations group Intelligence Support Activity. Drawn by Mitch Gerads (with guest issues by Marc Laming), THE ACTIVITY depicts the training and covert missions of Team Omaha within the real-life organization with glimpses of the "regular" lives they live where no one knows about their real jobs.

The insight into the lives of special operatives, as well as the bleeding-edge technology they employ in their missions, is founded on Edmondson's desire to create a true-to-life depiction of life in Special Forces. A trip to Washington D.C., as well as extensive research and networking, yielded defense contractor contacts and sources within special ops.

"I flew to Washington, D.C. and interviewed colonels and captains and a general face-to-face, gleaning what info I could," Edmondson told MTV Geek at the time of THE ACTIVITY #1's publication. "I’ve had the scripts reviewed by individuals from the Pentagon and JSOC [Joint Special Operations Command].... Often it was a matter of those advisors directing me and us to specific reading material, or simply telling us, 'no, that doesn’t make sense.'"

Edmondson's commitment to accuracy won the aid of many of the book's advisors, including Major Rusty Bradley of the US Special Forces, who co-scripted issue six of THE ACTIVITY. Major Bradley is the hero responsible for leading the team that took Sperwan Ghar in the decisive battle in Afghanistan, as is accounted in his book, LIONS OF KANDAHAR. Bradley's co-writer, embedded Special Forces reporter Kevin Maurer, is an ongoing advisor to the book and wrote the foreword to the trade.

The first trade paperback collection of THE ACTIVITY, containing issues #1-5, will be for sale on June 6 (ISBN 978-1-60706-561-6).

THE ACTIVITY #6, in stores now and drawn by Laming, shows events west of the Congo in the Civil Affairs career of Team Omaha's newest member, code name "Fiddler," that led her to being recruited by the Intelligence Support Activity

THE ACTIVITY #7 is the launch of a new story arc, "Goat Hunt," which sees members of Team Omaha being sent to Uzbekistan for their latest mission after incriminating evidence is discovered on a Chinese freighter. It was co-written by actual Navy SEALs whose identities cannot be revealed. It is available for pre-order now from the May issue of Previews and will be in stores on July 18. 

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.