And blasts it, right? In a bizarre plot twist, no, although a retailer near Fort Benning says it doesn’t sell much to soldiers.

Welcome to “Army@Love,” a bizarro take on the war in Iraq, here called “Afbaghistan” and set about five years into the future. It’s published by Vertigo, a DC Comics line that typically offers more adult fare, both in terms of story line and art.

This is not DC’s “Our Army at War” or “Sgt. Rock,” probably the most successful war comic titles of the past five decades. “Army@Love” presents war as bread and circus, where corporate logos adorn mobility aircraft, the Pentagon boosts morale by sponsoring orgies and even the mentally retarded can pull a combat tour (but not carry cell phones).

A@L mastermind Rick Veitch wrote to us the other day to remind us that he’s another one of the hardcore self-publishers who are still at it, with such things as the new SHINY BEASTS, however, even he has tabled the pamphlet model.