Posted By Dan Greenfield on May 28, 2024 | 2 comments

The CIA’s ugly history…

By PETER STONE

“This is not your home. It is instead as if someone had traced a shadow of America, had taken an impression and from that impression cast in concrete a vast continent of shadows, ruled by flashlight phantoms, spooks and silhouettes.” – Alan Moore, Brought to Light

Captain America is, in my opinion, the greatest hero of all time. Why? Because he believes in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Later, Cap discovered that the dream was tainted by corruption and lies and that’s what this particular piece of writing is all about.

In this time of political turmoil, I am reminded of a brilliant graphic novel about the history of the CIA. Two of the greatest comic book creators of all time combined to create a stylistic, strange, wonderful, informative story about the birth of the agency and the various dark and horrible things it has (allegedly) done since the Second World War. This is not to say that the CIA has not contributed greatly to preventing potential terrorist attacks, but there have been… moments.

This story is not for the faint of heart. It’s barely for the stout of heart. I believe in America, democracy, justice and equality. Hence, that Captain America part. This story peels back the facade of what America believes it is, then reveals a small part of what it really is.

Brought to Light, published in 1988, is written by Alan Moore and painted by Bill Sienkiewicz. At that moment in time, Moore had written Swamp Thing, some outstanding Superman, Batman and Green Lantern Corps stories…and then there was that little series called Watchmen. Bill Sienkiewicz had become famous doing Moon Knight, New Mutants, Daredevil, Elektra, Stray Toasters and even Moby Dick. These two creators could not have been more successful in the late ’80s. Bill had left superheroes and Alan had left them after Watchmen.

So, when Eclipse (which co-published it with Warner Books) offered them the opportunity elaborate on real-life lawsuits filed by the now-defunct Christic Institute that included allegations of CIA wrongdoing, they jumped on it. Bill had morphed his style far past his “Neal Adams-esque” beginnings. He had become a true artist in so many ways. Moore was either working or doing research for his brilliant From Hell series. They both threw their prodigious skills into this 30-page story and it’s brilliant.

Bill portrays the CIA as an American bald eagle, our most majestic creature, drunk in a dive bar. He consumes amber whiskey throughout the story, curses and is generally a horrible character. You, as the reader, are subjected to him, the victim of his rants about the state of the world and the actions of the covert operations.

The most horrific parts of the stories are the dead. We are told by this stylistic American eagle that the average human body holds a gallon of blood. And the average swimming pool holds 20,000 gallons of liquid. So, every time the CIA does something really bad, our eagle friend judges it in terms of swimming pools of blood.

In Central America alone — El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua – eight swimming pools.

“Maybe we’re just not assassinating enough people,” says the eagle. Then he gets another scotch.

Politics aside, what is most important to me is the storytelling and the art. Moore and Sienkiewicz created a brilliant piece of work. Bill’s eagle is such a great character. Drinking and hacking up a lung. The painting is next level… brilliant. Showing us the lined-up swimming pools of blood, while Alan gives us this wonderful dialogue or captions to tell us how truly awful some things in the world really are. It’s a match made in heaven. Or hell.

It’s only 30 pages, but if you’re looking for something that will open your eyes about what the CIA and America are capable of around the world (whether you believe, or agree with, it all or not) check out Brought to Light. It’s not easy to find because Eclipse is out of business and they never printed a ton of them, but I will say it’s Alan Moore and Bill Sienkiewicz. It’s a terrific book and unlike anything you’ve seen before.

“This is not a dream”, says the CIA eagle.

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MORE

— BURIED TREASURE: The Harsh, Unforgiving Worlds of JORGE ZAFFINO. Click here.

— BURIED TREASURE: Alex Nino and Neal Adams’ SHAMAN. Click here.

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Peter Stone is a writer and son-in-law of the late Neal Adams. Be sure to check out the family’s twice-weekly online Facebook auctions, as well as the NealAdamsStore.com, and their Burbank, California, comics shop Crusty Bunkers Comics and Toys.