Readers that have been following my reviews on a regular basis know I’m a fan of action novels, espionage fiction, and superhero comic books. I’m just omnivorous that way. One of my favorite writers, Greg Rucka, also has an interest in those things. He’s written the Atticus Kodiak bodyguard novel series, the Queen & Country comics and novels, and nearly every major superhero character you can name. His run on Wonder Woman was fantastic, and the pairing of Batman and Wonder Woman in The Hiketeia was amazing.
In the wake of the latest crisis in the DC universe, Checkmate was created. The organization has its basis in another old comic book back-up feature starring a spy. Rucka gutted a lot of the old idea but kept the best parts for this new series. The new Checkmate agency consists of humans and metahumans, perfectly balanced – maybe – to deal with emerging political threats that may involve metahuman (read: supervillain, super-terrorists, etc.).
I thought the idea was good and definitely interesting. Given that Rucka has written several dozen issues of Queen & Country, the comic he created that focuses on British intelligence agents with a license to kill, I figured he’d be a natural at this kind of storytelling. He is.
However, the comic title can be somewhat daunting. Rucka doesn’t pull any punches. He doesn’t just write about a superspy or even a team of superspies. He writes about the whole enchilada: espionage of the James Bond type, super-powered espionage, as well as political threats within the organization and international frictions.
His stories don’t just revolve around missions and the agents that go on them. The stories also delineate what goes on back at mission control, all the mistrust, the jockeying for control, the desire of some of the key players to keep certain ops or assets to themselves. I found myself getting just as involved in the bickering, secrets, and political maneuvering within the Checkmate organization as I did with the actions of the agents in the field.
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