I just got off reading the second volume of the graphic novel series "Black Powder Red Earth" which I downloaded to read via Amazon Kindle. One of the best graphic novels I've ever read so far, the series is still far from over, so I cannot tell how this story sums up in the end. If you haven't heard about the Graphic Novel, chances are, you have encountered the Black Powder Red Earth Role Playing Game at Facebook.

In the role playing game, you get to play as a PMC for Cold Harbor, which is supported by Saudi petrodollars and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is composed by the small arab states in the Persian Gulf, pitting yourself against the machinations of Iran and ensure profit potential of Basran amidst instability after Iraq broke up in 2017 into separate states.

Black Powder Red Earth reflects the realpolitik of the present in the future. The suspicions of the Arab states against Iran still is strong in 2017, as they don't want the country nation dominate the region which tensions among Islamic factions, the Sunnis and the Shiites take centrestage. With the PMCs acting as proxies in the region to ensure that the Iran does not dominate the new states, they have to deal with the Iranian's own proxies.

The Graphic Novel is a 4-part series that goes further, starting with capturing high value targets and more roles that go beyond being just a mere PMC operative in the region. The graphic illustration are superb, that I would rather recommend that you buy the printed edition for your book collection since the ebook editions do not do much justice to the artwork. I went for the Kindle Edition for the convenience, that once the series is complete, I would order all 4 parts and leave them at a pristine condition, never to be touched, and as part of valuable collection. Who knows? The series may just fetch a premium in the future if there are collectors looking for it? I would go to the Kindle version if I want to read them all over again since I can just carry them with me wherever I go without being burdened by the weight of printed copies.

Black Powder Red Earth reflects the realpolitik of the present in the future. The suspicions of the Arab states against Iran still is strong in 2017, as they don't want the country nation dominate the region which tensions among Islamic factions, the Sunnis and the Shiites take centrestage. With the PMCs acting as proxies in the region to ensure that the Iran does not dominate the new states, they have to deal with the Iran's own proxies.

For those who have not read the series and want to start reading them, I highly suggest that you read the interview done by Brian Black of ITS Tactical with Kane Smith, on whose experience and his now deceased friend that Black Powder Red Earth is based on. This will give you good background on the story just in case you get confused upon opening the first page of the Part 1. Taking an excerpt from the interview, Kane Smith stresses on the realism and authenticity of the story:

"Very important, everything in the BPRE [Black Powder Red Earth] world is real. The characters are amalgamations of real people; the technology is real; even the background story, designed by Chang 3+ years ago, is starting to become a reality (see Erik Prince’s new proxy army in UAE).

With the exception of some of the brutal gunfights and the outright executions, it’s the closest thing to what’s happened to date and what’s coming next that you will find. We spent enormous amounts of time and energy to research and detail a back-story that was consistent with what’s going on today and what was a natural progression of events from my day-to-day in the field."

If you want to read the novel, you can now buy Part 1 for US$17.09 (Kindle: US$10.00) and Part 2 for US$17.00 (Kindle: US$10.48) at Amazon.com. Or you can visit the Black Powder Red Earth Official Website for more information.