Cry Havoc #3

Cry Havoc, Issue #3 starts out a little confusing, but then I noticed that Louise is in the Red Place, a captive of the shape-shifter she came to Afghanistan to kill.  In Afghanistan (and I don't know if the Red Place is in Afghanistan or not), the soldiers come across three Taliban who are harassing a family of opium farmers.

I loved the red of the opium poppies.  Years ago, I had a friend who was in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan before 9/11, and he explained the situation to me.  Regular farmers in Afghanistan would make $100 a year, but opium farmers would make $400 a year.  The "trickle down" effect doesn't really work anywhere, I guess. Opium farmers are still dirt poor, but with the extra money, they can afford to get their children educated.  Normal farmers can't.  According to Cry Havoc #3, the Taliban hate heroin more than just about anyone, and I'd like to explain the situation.

Heroin has been a cash crop for Afghanistan for as long as there's been heroin, and before that, the cash crop was opium.  It is true that just before the American invasion of Afghanistan, opium production had been cut to less than 5% or 10% of its previous levels, which were lower than the current levels.  The reason they did this was not because they hate opium and heroin but to jack up the price of heroin by cutting down the supply, allowing the Taliban's opium production to be worth more.  Some have speculated that the reason why America invaded Afghanistan was to resupply the world with opium and heroin, particularly Iran, Pakistan, and Russia, which border Afghanistan.  Remember, the Taliban offered to give Osama Bin Laden up to a neutral government after the 9/11 attacks and before the invasion of Afghanistan.

Cry Havoc is only three issues old, but it's one of the titles I look forward to reading the most.  I've collected the variant covers, with the big number on the front.  This month's variant is drawn by Si Gane, and I love the designs every month.  I just hope that they don't end up being too expensive for me to collect.  I like how they use three different colorists in the three different places.  It has a unique effect: the artwork by Ryan Kelly is consistent, but the colors range from dusty and gray in Afghanistan to blue and red, respectively, in London and the Red Place.  The letters by Simon Bowland are clear and consistent, easy on the eyes.