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Forever War (graphic novels)

Introduction
United Nations Exploration Force

See also:

Introduction

Mark van Oppen’s 1989 european/belgian style comics version of U.S. science fiction writer Joe Haldeman's 1974 novel Forever War includes flags. See also here and here

I don’t know if these come from the original (these novels are still a gaping maw in my SF culture), but Marvano (pseudonym of Mark van Oppen) was in close contact with Joe Haldeman during the creation of these comics, so I guess they are as "canonical" as they could get.

Apart from the UNEF flag below, flags and flag related symbols (U.S. and NATO) show no outstanding features.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 9 September 2007

United Nations Exploration Force

by António Martins-Tuválkin, 9 September 2007

Volume one, De Eeuwige Oorlog (or. belg. ed. in Dutch, Dupuis publ. — I'm reporting from a Portuguese translation of the French version), set in fictional time 2010-2020 (_Private Mandella_ episode) includes on plate I7A the flag of newly created UNEF, United Nations Exploration Force, as seen on TV: Seven yellow five-pointed regular stars upright set in circle (one star centered top) within a yellow ring all on white background, ~2:3 shown hoisted in a regular pole with rope. (Attached as .) I have no idea about the seven-star symbolism.

I suspect however that this may be a coloring mistake (either in the original or in my edition), because all other instances of this symbol show on red or reddish orange background: As a U.N. speaker's backdrop (plate I7A, bottom left) and personnel uniform (esp. pl. I20B). It would be good to check other editions and the remaining volumes of this series.

The ligne claire style includes black lining all around the flag elements, which I left out the image above.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 9 September 2007

I'd heard of the comix adaptation, and have always meant to look it up some day. I don't recall any mention of a flag in the original book, though.

As for the stars, maybe the seven continents? I too almost always leave out holding lines, but in this one instance it might look better with them - yellow on white does not work well contrast-wise.
Eugene Ipavec, 10 September 2007

There is none. I'm pretty sure of that. I don't even recall a mention to this symbol in the book, but I'm not as sure about its inexistence as I am about the flag.
Jorge Candeias, 10 September 2007