Paul Chadwick's latest Concrete series places the monolithic hero squarely in the midst of the often polarized debate surrounding the environmental movement. In Concrete: Think Like a Mountain, a group of Earth First! members approach Concrete to persuade him to observe their struggle to save a Pacific Northwest old-growth forest. They're hoping that Concrete, celebrity author, will write an article in support of their activities. Ultimately, they want his aid in civil disobedience, and even "monkey-wrenching," the practice of sabotaging logging equipment.

"Concrete is, of course, sympathetic to the cause," said Paul Chadwick, Concrete's creator. "But an association with a radical group like Earth First! poses certain problems. For one thing, many people associate Earth First! with eco-terrorism, tree-spiking, and so on. Concrete doesn't want to have to apologize for the Earth First! members later on. Also, his government contacts could cause him trouble."

Despite his qualms, Concrete will become increasingly involved in the plans of this sincere yet manipulative group of environmentalists. Chadwick said, "(Concrete is) the first to see both sides of every question. And as Concrete he lacks the normal needs and motives the rest of us have. He doesn't need to work to survive; he has very few of the normal human goals: finding a companion, marrying, raising a family, or even pursuing a career. So, without getting highfalutin about it, he's got an existential dilemma: how to make some sense of his life -- how to make it worthwhile. So he's ripe for conversion by passionate do-gooders."

Concrete: Think Like a Mountain is a monthly, six-issue, full-color comics series, written and illustrated by Paul Chadwick. The first issue will ship on March 19, 1996.