PTSD, soldier's life color the hero in 'Vindicated'

Forget Kryptonite and superpowers — PTSD, soldier's life color the hero in 'Vindicated'
Stars and Stripes
By Matthew M. Burke
Published: November 3, 2013

America’s next comic book hero could be a member of the elite Delta Force who lost his legs in an IED explosion in Afghanistan.

Created by a group of military veterans, the comic character John Russell goes by the name Vindicated and is Seattle’s ardent protector, striving to rid the city of organized crime while clad in body armor and a ballistic helmet and mask. He has no superpowers like Superman or fancy gadgets like Batman. Instead, he has to overcome daunting physical wounds and post-traumatic stress with only his elite training and the will of a soldier to help him overcome.

The graphic novel “Vindicated Inc.” — tentatively scheduled for May release — is creator and illustrator Gerry Kissell’s “love song” for all soldiers who left a piece of themselves on the battlefield. A portion of the proceeds from the comic will go to ACVOW, a nonprofit that helps servicemembers adjust to life after combat through peer-to-peer relationships and other programs.

“Vindicated is not a superhero,” Kissell said last month from his Springfield, Mo., studios, where he was busy at work on the project. “He is just a man. His strengths are that of a well-trained elite forces soldier with prosthetic legs.”
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