XIII (comic)

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Storyline

The series starts when a man washes up on a shore in Peacock Bay in the East Coast of the United States, suffering from amnesia, with only a 'XIII' tattoo to link him to his past. He moves to Eastown, a fictional city, where he meets 'the Mongoose' and Colonel Amos.

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Volumes one through five deal with XIII searching for his identity and his past, only to find himself confronting the "conspiracy of the XX" which aims to a coup d'état in the United States. They form a closed story arc, ending with the destruction of the "conspiracy of the XX".

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At the end of the story arc XIII believes he has found his old identity as "Steve Rowland", and is prepared to continue his life normally, even if his memories have not yet returned. This illusion is shattered in the next volume, as XIII learns that "Steve Rowland" was but one of many identities. XIII once again becomes a government agent, while at the same time he has to deal with his missing past and uncertain future.

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In volumes six to eighth XIII takes up again the investigation about his past. Volumes six and seven bring XIII to a snowy town in the Rocky Mountains, where the story revolves around the fate of his father in the McCarthian 1950s, who got entangled in the agenda of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter.

Related Topics:
Rocky Mountains - McCarthian - Ku Klux Klan

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In volume eight, he has to deal with the relationship he had with Kim, daughter of general Carrington. Kim is married to Steve Rowland, one of XIII's former identities.

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In volumes nine to eleven, the action takes place in Costa Verde, a small fictional nation in Central America where XIII once led a revolution under the identity of "El Cascador".

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Volume twelve starts a new storyline, with XIII hunted by the National Security Agency, while XIII himself once again confronts his old enemy, the Mongoose.

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Volume thirteen (XIII) is a special issue, where two journalists retrace the first twelve issues, clarifying and expanding the storyline.

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Volumes fourteen to sixteen continue the storyline begun in volume twelve. Volumes seventeen and eighteen are expected to bring the series to its end, and Van Hamme has already revealed he will stop writing the series then. Vance is expected to continue the series with a new writer, whose name has not yet been revealed.

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