Bad Company #17

Bad Company #17 was published during the long-running serial's tenure in the pages of 2000 AD, the influential British science fiction anthology. Created by writer Peter Milligan and artist Brett Ewins, the series emerged in the mid-1980s as a gritty, surreal exploration of war, drawing inspiration from the Vietnam conflict and reimagining it through a dystopian, space-faring lens. The narrative focused on the remnants of a human force fighting an alien entity on the planet Ararat, known for its visceral depiction of trauma and the dehumanizing nature of combat.

The aesthetic of the series was heavily defined by the collaboration between Ewins and later artists like Jim McCarthy and Steve Dillon. These creators aimed for a distinct, rough-edged visual language that mirrored the instability and psychological toll experienced by the characters. The series was well-regarded for its subversive take on the 'dirty dozen' war trope, challenging traditional heroic archetypes and solidifying its place as a cult classic within the British comics scene for its willingness to embrace darker, more philosophical themes.