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Garth Ennis' 303
Cover: Jacen Burrows
Story: Garth
Ennis
Art: Jacen
Burrows
Color: Greg Waller
Readership: Mature Readers
Format: Color, 6 issue series
Series beginning in October, available for preorder now from your local
comic retailer
Garth Ennis was unleashed on his first major creator-owned series in
years! Ennis and red-hot artist Jacen Burrows are going to blow the
doors off 2004 with this full-color six issue action-packed epic from
the twisted mind of Ennis! A very hard man leads the Russian special
forces team that is investigating a downed plane in Afghanistan. But
when British and US forces also get thrown in the mix, tension turns
to carnage as the whole mission goes sideways. Then Ennis really lets
loose. This special preview gives you a teaser of what is sure to be
one of the most talked-about series of the year.
An introduction to 303 by Garth Ennis
This is the strangest damn thing I've written in a long, long time.
It's the story of a rifle, first and foremost, a .303 calibre Lee Enfield
bolt-action rifle, almost a hundred years old but none the worst for
it. This was the weapon that took the British army through two world
wars and survived in its service until long after the second; it still
shows up today from time to time, carried by tribesmen and guerrilla
fighters in some of the world's most brutal conflicts. The Lee Enfield
is one of the great success stories of killing technology; it's simple
to use, what flaws it possesses are few and far between, and it'll withstand
a good deal of very rough treatment indeed before it stops doing what
it says on the tin.
This particular Lee Enfield, however, is not just some artefact long
overdue for retirement. High in the war-ravaged mountains of Afghanistan,
the rifle falls into the hands of a man who plans to do the unthinkable:
who sets out on a journey across whole continents, who fights his way
through killing grounds both terrible and unexpected, all so he can
fire a single bullet at the most important target in the world.
303 begins as a war story, but changes halfway through into something
I'm still not certain of myself. This is odd territory we're traversing,
where the past pushes its warriors into the present with murderous intent,
aiding and abetting destiny by means of numerous unwitting agents. It's
the tale of a soldier who's been fighting for nothing all his life,
but now believes he's found his purpose, and the one man who can stop
him, a worn-out hero filled with fatal sadness. But it's also the tale
of two great countries, one locked in long and terrible decline, one
with a sickness in its heart; and the champions who do battle for their
nations in the dark and secret places no one ever goes.
If I had to sum it up in one line, I'd say 303 was inspired by my fears
for the world.
Right now I've scripted a little over half the story, and like I say,
it isn't going where I thought it might. I thought about writing it
as a novel, but I love comics, I believe in comics, and I still believe
you can do absolutely anything with them- so a comic book it is. I'm
extremely fortunate to have the excellent Jacen Burrows drawing the
story for me; if you've enjoyed his work with Alan Moore and Warren
Ellis, you'll know exactly what I mean. Jacen's producing some of his
finest work to date on this book, and with the complete creative freedom
available at Avatar Press, you'll be glad to hear that neither he nor
I will have to pull our punches. Which comes in handy, believe me, when
you realize that a story's taking you places you've never been before.
And you're supposed to be writing it.
Garth Ennis
Brooklyn, May 2004
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