The Future is Now: Real-World Antecedents for JI

[Randy at WCG Comics]

A subject I've occasionally mentioned in the "Liner Notes" of my print comic is the credibility of the company my character, Rob Hanes, works for, Justice International (JI). I first created the character and JI back in the 1970s when I was still in junior high school, so I always thought the concept was a bit far-fetched. But at the time I felt it was the best way to get the character from adventure to adventure.

As I mention in the "Liner Notes" of the 9th issue, history has caught up to the series. Today numerous large-scale private intelligence and security agencies and contractors like Kroll and Halliburton have come out of the shadows and received some media attention. (Kroll is probably closest to JI in terms of its operations and services.)

What particularly reminded me of all this is the news that Iraq is thinking of kicking Blackwater, one of the most prominent "comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world" out of the country. I actually often track these kinds of stories because they are valuable reference material for the series.