Official Press Release
They do their work in secret, the goals of their missions
and the discipline, teamwork, and skills needed to carry them out well out of
the sight of the American public. However, on May 2, 2010, an elite team of
Navy SEALs carried out Operation Neptune Spear, killing Osama bin Laden and
launching "Black Ops" into the American consciousness.
Among the imaginations captured by these elite forces was
that of Nathan Edmondson, a writer (WHO IS JAKE ELLIS, DANCER) who was inspired
to create THE ACTIVITY, a comic book series that follows the lives of members
of the special operations group Intelligence Support Activity. Drawn by Mitch
Gerads (with guest issues by Marc Laming), THE ACTIVITY depicts the training
and covert missions of Team Omaha within the real-life organization with
glimpses of the "regular" lives they live where no one knows about
their real jobs.
The insight into the lives of special operatives, as well
as the bleeding-edge technology they employ in their missions, is founded on
Edmondson's desire to create a true-to-life depiction of life in Special
Forces. A trip to Washington D.C., as well as extensive research and
networking, yielded defense contractor contacts and sources within special ops.
"I flew to Washington, D.C. and interviewed colonels
and captains and a general face-to-face, gleaning what info I could,"
Edmondson told MTV Geek at the time of THE ACTIVITY #1's publication.
"I’ve had the scripts reviewed by individuals from the Pentagon and JSOC
[Joint Special Operations Command].... Often it was a matter of those advisors
directing me and us to specific reading material, or simply telling us, 'no,
that doesn’t make sense.'"
Edmondson's commitment to accuracy won the aid of many of
the book's advisors, including Major Rusty Bradley of the US Special Forces,
who co-scripted issue six of THE ACTIVITY. Major Bradley is the hero
responsible for leading the team that took Sperwan Ghar in the decisive battle
in Afghanistan, as is accounted in his book, LIONS OF KANDAHAR. Bradley's
co-writer, embedded Special Forces reporter Kevin Maurer, is an ongoing advisor
to the book and wrote the foreword to the trade.
The first trade paperback collection of THE ACTIVITY,
containing issues #1-5, will be for sale on June 6 (ISBN 978-1-60706-561-6).
THE ACTIVITY #6, in stores now and drawn by Laming, shows
events west of the Congo in the Civil Affairs career of Team Omaha's newest
member, code name "Fiddler," that led her to being recruited by the
Intelligence Support Activity
THE ACTIVITY #7 is the launch of a new story arc,
"Goat Hunt," which sees members of Team Omaha being sent to
Uzbekistan for their latest mission after incriminating evidence is discovered
on a Chinese freighter. It was co-written by actual Navy SEALs whose identities
cannot be revealed. It is available for pre-order now from the May issue of
Previews and will be in stores on July 18.