The Stringer is, to a former newsroom journalist, very sad. It fairly accurately tracks the decline of true news reporting in the age of the internet and the spread of readily accessible information -- albeit often of a dubious nature -- online. The protagonist, Mark Scribner, is a reporter of great principles and no small amount of talent ... until downturns in the industry force him to make certain adjustments to his career path.

For Scribner, that means putting his knowledge of international politics and global hotspots to work. Combined with a certain degree of technical acumen, he is able to tweak certain news stories before they happen, directing and sometimes directly inciting conflicts between factions, at times between nations -- and, by happenstance, being the first reporter on the scene to bring the grim news to the world.

As his fame spreads, he begins using his connections to begin trading in arms as well, up to and including a nuclear missile.

Scribner has no real moral quandary over his actions, figuring the lives lost in every conflict he sparks would have been lost anyway -- he just makes it happen at a more convenient time for his reporting schedule.

As such -- and speaking here as a news reporter with some decades of experience -- he is a reprehensible human being and, let's face it, a bad journalist. The first rule of journalism is never to become involved in the story, and Scribner breaks that rule in spades. That he has no qualms at costing people their lives makes him many times worse.

The Stringer is a recent graphic novel from NBM, written by Ted Rall and rendered in stark lines by Pablo Callejo. It's a disturbing story, one that is only made worse by just how true its premise rings. It's awful, but it's plausible.

Fictional characters and plot aside, Rall has written a searing indictment of the failings of modern journalism and the credulity of the internet news gatherers. That alone is worth reading.