One Country At A Time
http://www.onecountryatatime.net/
Discovery
Found from a new painting in Los Angeles. Picture of the Billboard
On the mural, The bullet carried by the blue winged guy, it says "54 40 or fight," a slogan from early 19th century expansionist America, referring to the latitude point now extending into British Columbia, Canada, but at one point was claimed by America. Another slogan popular in the same era, "Manifest Destiny," is used by the recorded critic who answers 13102951040.
Also at the top right is written: 7769/7771
These numbers may be the address of the building the mural was painted on.
Synopsis
The story follows the narrative of a boy telling the story of his father's role in the military. His father was a Captain in the Syrian campaign. The story switches perspective throughout, from the son's narrative to the flash backs of the actual events that unfolded. His father joined the military while he was still a young boy growing up, and he never forgave him for it. He originally served in Iraq, but could not adjust to living at home again once finishing his tour of duty. He fought with his wife, and became paranoid of even children carrying water pistols, most likely due post traumatic stress disorder or perhaps from the side effects of taking the blue pills, or "Diagra". When the academy awards were bombed in 2009 (-13 BA), it was his "excuse" to return to the fighting.
The story begins on February 3, 2022 (0 BA). While in Syria, the regiment discovers a destroyed town and helps a young 12-year old Syrian girl. The group spots The Presence shortly after rescuing the girl. They attempt to help her to her relatives in Tadmur, 50 miles away from their current position. The trip requires the regiment to travel through a mine infested desert, with the constant threat of snipers looming. They lose their Medic, Gomez, along the way after he is blown up by a land mine while going to the bathroom. While on the mission to return the girl to safe hands, The Presence reappears, and the convoys come to a stop and gazes at the sky. Unaware of the other dangers around them, a soldier falls victim to sniper fire from a rocky hilltop as they watch the giant hand cross the sky. After disposing of the enemy sniper, the Captain charges forward towards The Presence screaming, "Is this how it was supposed to happen? Are you happy now?" as he fires towards the hand. The regiment's sniper, "Blip," then fires a round into the back of his head and kills him. While their new medic says, "But...this looks more like an entrance than exit wound," the other soldiers silently commend Blip with a pat on the shoulder, presumably for preventing harm to the entire group of soldiers by stopping the Captain from angering The Presence. It is also noticeable that the Captain's ideals are different from that of the other soldiers, in that he is losing his faith in the war efforts, and he takes more care into helping the Syrian people rebuild and recover. The Syrian girl slips away from the regiment during the fighting.
Prior to leaving for Syria, the son's parents planned their divorce. Later on, his younger sister Angie was abducted, raped, and murdered by an ex-Special Forces marine commando at the age of 14. He turned himself in and was hanged on a public telecast. His mother is currently suffering with an alcohol addiction. The son is, at the present, part of the resistance movement.
Artist
It is speculated that the real life artist responsible for the comic images is none other than former Ultimate Spider-Man legend Mark Bagley, using a different inker. This would make sense, considering he is one of the fastest, most reliable and biggest names in the comics industry, which would be an asset for a time sensitive project such as YZ and the fact that he is currently between professional comic projects.
Pages
- Street Artist
- Campfire
- Letter
- Tour In Iraq
- Hand
- Abducted
- Soldiers
- Tadmur
- 100 Mile
- Gomez
- First Thing
- Breathless
- Get Down
- Medic
- Captain
- Another
- Goody Goody
- Exit Wound
- Form Letter
- Reckoning
Each page is a page of a graphic novel, the next page can be reached by clicking a certain part of the page, or by hitting tab and then enter.
Hidden Numbers
24.11.1
Background Text
The hidden text from the "Reckoning" page is an excerpt from the movie Pleasantville, in which a character living in a black-and-white world is put on trial and accused of using forbidden colors.
You are charged with desecration of a public building and the intentional use of prohibited paint colors in violation of The Pleasantville Code of Conduct and "Laws of Common Decency." Do you admit that on the night of May 1 you did consciously and willfully apply the following FORBIDDEN paint colors to the North Wall of the Pleasantville Police Station: Red, Pink, Vermilion, Puce, Chartreuse, Umber, Blue, Aqua, Ox Blood, Green, Peach, Crimson, Yellow, Olive and Magenta?
References
Lyrics from My Violent Heart and The Good Soldier are visible in the graphic novel. It is also apparent that hangings and public executions have returned, coinciding with the Mailstrom Wreckage: Gallows.