''Special Forces'' is a

creator-owned In the United States, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the comic book creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is self-publishing, self-published or published by a corporate publisher. I ...

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

limited series In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...

written and drawn by

Kyle Baker Kyle John Baker (born 1965) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series ''Plastic Man''. Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his wo ...

, and published by

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

. The series details the lives and deaths of a platoon of misfit soldiers who are for one reason or another unsuitable for service, but who have nonetheless been recruited to fight in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

; one of the main characters is

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

. It was inspired by a 2006 incident in which the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

recruited an autistic teenager. The protagonist is a woman who spent her teenage years in reform school before finally using up her "three strikes" and being given a choice between life in prison or military service. She turns out to be the only competent member of her platoon, other than the autistic soldier, whose rigid insistence on following written orders makes him almost unstoppable. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reviewed the 2009 trade-paperback collection of the first four issues, calling it "the harshest, most serrated satire of the

yet published." The title is a pun on " special needs".

References

Comics set during the Iraq War Image Comics titles Books about autism Autism in the arts {{Image-comics-stub