The Millar Media Machine ...

The Glasgow Sunday Herald spotlights Marvel's "chief writer" Mark Millar, who, it contends, "created the world’s first gay comic book stars" and now is sending Captain America to Iraq in The Ultimates Vol. 2. Oh, that zany Millar:

The first of the monthly comics, Ultimates 2, will be published by Marvel across the world at the end of this month. It is being tipped to cause a huge debate, as Millar’s opposition to the war has already inspired hundreds of patriotic American comic readers to sign an online petition to have him sacked. But his right to free speech has been backed by the board of Marvel, and he states that Bush is "the most terrifying threat to the West since the Third Reich."

And here's Millar himself:

“This turned out to be Marvel’s best-selling comic in years, so a sequel was always on the cards. The concept behind this book was taking the heroes-in-the-real-world idea further and having George Bush using his mandate from an election victory to send guys like Captain America and The Hulk out into Iraq and fighting on the front lines in his war on terror.

“There’s a lot of fear right now that, as the scope of Bush’s plan gets wider, civilians are going to be drafted again. In fact, the draft offices were prepared last year for such an eventuality and there are a lot of nervous under-25s.”