303 | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Avatar Press |
Schedule | Monthly |
Format | Limited series |
Genre | |
Publication date | September 2004 - October 2005 |
No. of issues | 6 |
Creative team | |
Written by | Garth Ennis |
Artist(s) | Jacen Burrows |
Colorist(s) | Greg Waller |
Editor(s) | William A. Christensen |
Collected editions | |
303 | ISBN 1-59291-037-8 |
303 is a six-issue comic-book mini-series created by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows, and published by Avatar Press. The story targets a mature audience.
The story spans two parts titled "Afghanistan's Plains" and "Black Arrow" (after a monologue in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit ) each consisting of three issues and centers around a Russian Spetsnaz colonel.
In the first part the colonel leads a Russian team investigating a plane crash in Afghanistan. Violence soon erupts after first British and then American military forces become involved in the investigation. In the aftermath, the colonel helps a wounded British Special Air Service trooper who translates a document found on the plane. The document suggests that there is a high-level conspiracy in the United States; that the global war on terror was started in order to facilitate the west taking over the oil-rich Middle East.
In the second part the colonel travels alone to the United States in order to carry out a self-assigned mission, where he first faces a sheriff troubled by the loss of his wife because of the deficiency of their insurance. The story also focuses on the problems of illegal Mexican immigrants apparently exploited at a slaughterhouse called "McHell". The Colonel eventually assassinates the President of the United States with the intention of stopping the Global War on Terror, using a Lee–Enfield rifle using only iron sights, firing from behind a closed window.
The title of the series refers to a .303 British calibre Lee–Enfield rifle.
The issues have been collected as a trade paperback:
The Lee–Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the standard service rifle of the British Armed Forces from its official adoption in 1895 until 1957.
Garth Ennis is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series Preacher with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and The Boys with artist Darick Robertson. He has collaborated with artists such as Dillon and Glenn Fabry on Preacher, John McCrea on Hitman, Marc Silvestri on The Darkness, and Carlos Ezquerra on both Preacher and Hitman. His work has won him recognition in the comics industry, including nominations for the Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.
John McCrea is a comic book artist best known for his collaborations with writer Garth Ennis.
Avatar Press is an independent American comic book publisher founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois. It was originally known for publishing bad girl comics, such as Pandora, Hellina, Lookers, The Ravening, and Brian Pulido's Lady Death. Later the company became better known for publishing particularly violent titles by popular and critically acclaimed writers such as Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Jonathan Hickman, and Kieron Gillen.
Óscar Jiménez is a Spanish comic book artist, penciller and inker.
Alan Moore's The Courtyard is a two-issue comic book mini-series published in 2003 by Avatar Press. The comic was adapted by Antony Johnston with artwork by Jacen Burrows from a 1994 prose story by Alan Moore.
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The M1917 Enfield, the "American Enfield", formally named "United States Rifle, cal .30, Model of 1917" is an American modification and production of the .303-inch Pattern 1914 Enfield (P14) rifle, which was developed and manufactured during the period 1917–1918. Numerically, it was the main rifle used by the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War I. The Danish Sirius Dog Sled Patrol on Greenland still use the M1917, which performs reliably in Arctic conditions, as their service weapon.
Steve Pugh is a British comic book artist who has worked for American and British comic producers including DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and 2000 AD.
Jacen Burrows is an American comic book artist best known for his work on various books from Avatar Press and Marvel Comics.
Bad World is a comic book mini-series published by American company Avatar Press. It is written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Jacen Burrows. The series consists of three issues and was published from July through October of 2001. The general theme and tone of the series was continued in Bad Signal.
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Chronicles of Wormwood is a comic book series published by Avatar Press. It consists of two mini-series and one one-shot, all written by Garth Ennis, drawn primarily by Jacen Burrows and Oscar Jimenez, and colored by Andrew Dalhouse.
303 is a year of the Julian calendar.
Streets of Glory is a 6-issue western comic book mini-series written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Mike Wolfer. It was published by Avatar Press, and the first issue was released in September 2007.
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Crossed is a comic book written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Jacen Burrows, published by Avatar Press. Following volumes Crossed: Family Values, Crossed 3D, and Crossed: Psychopath were written by David Lapham. A new series, Crossed: Badlands, was written and drawn by rotating creative teams. The franchise has also spawned two webcomics: Crossed: Wish You Were Here, which ran from 2012 to 2014, and Crossed: Dead or Alive, which began syndication in November 2014.
Battlefields is a comic book metaseries written by Garth Ennis, comprising several mini-series, each illustrated by a different artist and published by Dynamite Entertainment.
Neonomicon is a four-issue comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Jacen Burrows, published by American company Avatar Press in 2010. The story is a sequel to Moore's previous story Alan Moore's The Courtyard and continues exploring H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Moore later continued the sequence with his comic Providence.