…with comic books and graphic novels in June

Sergeant Rock. SergeantFury. GI Joe. Even the super soldier Captain America made names for themselves as strong military and paramilitary icons on the pages of comic books. Now, Soldier of Fortune Magazine, partnering with Bluewater Productions is adding to the long and distinguished legacy with the introduction of a new ongoing comic book series Soldier of Fortune Presents: Stealth.

The new action-adventure series, which is scheduled to debut in June written by NY Best Selling author Marc Shapiro & drawn by Steven Black, centers around a fictional secret special ops team hired by the government to do the jobs that the military is incapable of doing for either practical or political reasons.

“Finally a real adventure graphic novel for real men,” said Lt. Col. Robert K. Brown, USAR (Ret.), publisher of Soldier of Fortune Magazine.

According to Stealth’s writer and Army veteran Marc Shapiro Stealth is all about when the bad guys don’t play by the rules, the good guys need the equalizer.

“I’m writing Soldier Of Fortune with the idea of creating the ultimate war comic. Lots of action, lots of humor, lots of character and more firepower than you can shake a bazooka at. Big guns. Big attitude. Guts and grit.”

“This book is it. I’m putting everything I have into every panel in hopes that the reader will be as passionate about this book as I am,” said artist Steven Black.

One of the interesting twists to the development and production of the title is the concept of product realism. Several of Soldier of Fortune Magazine’s advertisers will be featured in the pages of the comic in terms of product placements.

“If a character is using a grenade launcher, firearm or any piece of paramilitary hardware it will be an accurate depiction of a current brand,” said Bluewater president Darren Davis. “This is the first time we have taken this approach. As long as it fits the narrative, readers will see a little bit of realism. There is so much excitement here on this project that our licensing agent is already looking to make this a TV series and toys based of the character designs that Ramon Salas did for this project!”

Davis notes that several SOF advertisers have jumped on the bandwagon including bestselling author Scott Bolan.

The first issue kicks off with, “One of Our Nukes Is Missing.” Drawn by Steven Black, the 32-page first issue retails for $3.99 and will be available through traditional retail and online outlets including the Soldier of Fortune website. The comic book will feature two covers one by Black and the other by Filipe Teixeira