CODENAME: KNOCKOUT #14
"H.E.A.V.E.N. Sent"
Recommended (7/10)
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DC Comics/Vertigo imprint
Writer: Robert Rodi
Pencils: Amanda Conner
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Colors: Wildstorm FX
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
I haven't checked in with the Codename: Knockout crew in quite some time, and I'm pleased to chose to now. Rodi offers up a solid, self-contained issue that serves as an excellent jumping-on point. His espionage parody machine is at full throttle here, and it makes for a cute story. Conner and Palmiotti add to the fun with some sex appeal... both titillating and raunchy all at once.
Superspy Angela and her spunky, Hispanic gay sidekick Go-Go arrive in London for some much needed rest, relaxation and raunchiness, but they run afoul of two agents from the British good-guy intelligence organization known as H.E.A.V.E.N.: superspy Divinita Beastly and her spunky, Indian gay sidekick Ravish Kinkimanboi. Sound familiar? The H.E.A.V.E.N. agents are out to question Angela and Go-Go because they are erroneously believed to be connected to E.V.I.L. Fisticuffs and nudity ensue.
Conner's quirky, sharp art is perfectly suited to the irreverent and sexy tone of this incredibly goofy story. She and Palmiotti employ a clean, simple, sleek style here that immediately conveys the lighter tone of the plot and characters. The action sequences are plenty of fun as well. I was put in mind of Eduardo (100 Bullets) Risso's work, but without the darkness. J. Scott Campbell's cover captures the playful nature of the story nicely as well.
Ravish Kinkimanboi? I'm sorry, but that's damn funny. Rodi's sense of humor is outrageous, and it shows in this story. Go-Go continues to stand out as my favorite character. He has an everyman, disbelieving attitude that makes it easy to relate to him, but he's hardly helpless hostage bait here either. He's kind of a Jimmy Olsen for the 21st century.
There's some gratuitous nudity in this comic book, but one must keep in mind this is a gratuitous kind of title. I'm not really one for the espionage genre -- I can't stand Bond flicks, for example -- and I suppose that's why I enjoyed this sendup of the genre so much. Rodi points out the inherent silliness of a number of espionage concepts, from The Man From U.N.C.L.E. to 007 to Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D. He also mocks his own core concept for Codename: Knockout with his reproduction of British counterparts of his own protagonists.
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