Skull & Bones

FROM THE ARCHIVES (Comics That Time Forgot)

SKULL & BONES

# 1-3, DC Comics (1992), Prestige Format Limited Series

Story & Art: Ed Hannigan
Letters: Clem Robbins
Colors: Alex Wald

Skull & Bones, a political/espionage thriller set in Yeltsin-era Russia, is the brainchild of Ed Hannigan, a veteran comics writer and artist known for his work on Defenders and a score of fill-in issues for various titles. Skull & Bones is an impressively researched story chronicling the fictional exploits of Adrian Linov, an ex-Soviet special forces operative who grew disillusioned with the State while fighting the war in Afghanistan.

When Skull & Bones opens, we see the rather fragile remnants of the Soviet Union just months after the attempted coup to oust Yeltsin from power. Intrigue and plots fill the air, the people are restless, and it’s clear the status quo can’t abide for much longer. A KGB political leader (and Russian Mafia head) named Kozakhov has decided that the time has come to seize power—and to do this, he plans to acquire a specially-engineered virus that will kill anyone not previously inoculated.

Linov, of course, enters to help stop Kozakhov’s plan, and is aided by a "hacker revolutionary" named Elektrik Feliks and Nadejda, the girlfriend of a man Kozakhov had murdered. Linov operates while wearing a costume with a skeleton-motif, explained as the uniform of a special unit he was part of designed to inflict terror on the Afghanis. Together with his allies, Linov manages to unearth the details of Kozakhov’s plot and stop it just before the virus is unleashed on innocent people.

As mentioned, Skull & Bones was meticulously researched—place names, organisations, and even real people were used in the book, and one really gets the feel that one is in Moscow as opposed to any generic urban city. The pacing and tone of the book are well done, combining the intrigue of a good Tom Clancy with some of the exciting stunts of Bond movies. The story loses some of its verisimilitude with the introduction of a prototype flying car, but otherwise stays close to reality.

The series has never been reprinted and is likely hard to find. A mock call for suppression of the book can be found on Hannigan’s own website at http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/lubyanka.html According to Hannigan, the rights to Skull & Bones have reverted to him, and he’s been trying to get it turned into a movie or at least republished. Public interest in Russia and the former Soviet Union has largely given way in favour of the Middle East, but the series remains worth reading.
(c) Jeremy Patrick, 2003

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Ed Hannigan (edjhann@hotmail.com) wrote on July 29, 2003:Thanks very much for your article.If I may offer a couple of minor corrections: The story is set in the Gorbachev era, not the Yeltsin era. The confusion may arise from the Prelude which actually covers events that happen after the end of the story.And Nadejda is not only the girlfriend of a man Kozakhov killed, but Kozakhov's niece as well.I am currently talking to some people about serializing the entire Skull & Bones on their website. Not sure how it will work. No money in it, alas, but more people will be able to read it.Thanks again.====================================