Sex is silly, and Gail Simone knows it.
In her final issue, Simone doesn't really tie up any loose ends or offer a profound examination of who Alex Hayden is or how he came to be the odd individual he is. She just does what she's done well from the start of this series (and during her run on Deadpool): she tells a funny, sexy, action-packed story. I'm disappointed to see her stint on this book come to an end, but relieved to hear that she'll have a new Marvel title -- Gus Beezer -- on the stands soon.
Agent X is hired to retrieve a stolen item on behalf of a remarkably wealthy -- and perverted -- man named Shameful William, who insists on tagging along on the mission. Speeding trains, male strippers-turned-henchmen and a buttload of explosives all provide more than enough danger, but the biggest problem is the ease with which Alex's employer is... distracted. Meanwhile, business is really picking up at Agency X, and Alex figures it should be a guns-for-hire firm, not just a one-man show.
OK, I'm not one for the cheesecake cover art one often finds on the front of many comics. I loathed the bad-girl fad from a few years back and everything. But damn, that cover is hot. Mind you, it helps that it also captures the playful, silly nature of the title. The interiors are sharp as well. Lee and the Udon crew do wonderfully with action-sequences, and the slightly exaggerated manga approach suits the comedic quality of the script. My one problem with the visuals is that there are inconsistencies in the latter pages, where it seems others took over the pencilling duties from Lee.
This story's actually about more than sex and panties. I know, I know... who needs anything else? But Simone also targets collectors and obsessions over material goods that can blind some to the real people who surround them. One would think it's an obvious commentary, but I think we all know someone as anal retentive as Shameful William when it comes to mint condition and mylar bags.
It's a shame that Simone's tenure here is coming to an end, because she's crafted some strong characters in only a few issues. And not surprisingly, it's the female characters who really shone. Sandi, Outlaw and Mary Zero are all wonderful characters with an incredible amount of future potential. I pray the next writer on this title makes use of at least some of them, and if he does so even half as well as Simone did, it'll make for good reading.
