Sleeper is set firmly in the Wildstorm super-hero continuity established by Jim Lee a decade ago... a setting that's rarely appealed to me over the years outside of The Authority. References from Gen13 and to Deathblow pop up here, and it boasts all of the makings of an inaccessible read for those not versed in all things Wildstorm. But thankfully, that proves not to be the case. Brubaker and Phillips offer up a dark espionage story dressed up in the clothes of super-villainy.
International Operations is the world's foremost intelligence organization, and not surprisingly, it has a dark reflection... an outfit that plays even dirtier and employs Gen-active criminals as its agents. Well, criminals and an ex-I.O. metahuman agent who moved over to the dark side after being betrayed by I.O.'s director, John Lynch. The turncoat, Holden, is tasked by his boss, Tao, to track down a mole in the organization, and he's presented with a chief suspect... a man he's supposed to partner up with for a run-of-the-mill mission.
Phillips captures a dark, foreboding film-noir riff here that really helps to build suspense. There's a simplicity to the characters that adds to their mystique. The most important element that Phillips brings to the art is the quiet intensity we see in the protagonist. Getting back to the dark atmosphere of the book, though, the colorists, using muted tones and blending them into the inky darkness of the artwork, reinforce the tense mood incredibly well.
Brubaker brings some clever new ideas to bear when it comes to giving these extreme characters super-powers. These guys exist on the periphery of the super-hero genre, and their powers reflect that edgier nature. Their harsh abilities match their harsh attitudes and backgrounds.
The key scene in this issue that makes everything work is the meeting among Holden, the Nihilist and Genocide Jones at the Alter Ego bar. Though the deadly serious overtones are still to be found, we see the characters talking and acting like regular people, and in that moment, it's easier to imagine oneself in the dangerous world in which they exist. Brubaker humanizes them with the barroom bravado and the sarcastic barbs that guys often exchange in a relaxed social setting.
