If you're like me, you've been relishing the monthly return of this "caper comic," and you're pleased to see it's still living up to that designation. Diggle just keeps raising the bar when it comes to the title characters' resourcefulness, ingenuity and attitude. Losers is rather unique among Vertigo titles. Sure, it's dark and edgy, and it doesn't flinch away form ugly truths and mature storytelling elements. But whereas the appeal of other Vertigo titles stem from relevance, horror or suspense, Losers is... well, it's just a damn lot of fun.
After a backup precaution enables Jensen to slip out of an insurance company's headquarters with the blueprints and operational details of Goliath Oil's port terminal, the Losers put together a plan that will put them together with the goods to force the Central Intelligence Agency to come out from the cold and back into their normal lives. There are two problems, though. First, the security team working for Golaith are even worse badasses then they are. And second, there's some dissention in the ranks that could derail their meticulous infiltration plan.
Jock's artwork here reminds me of a number of different artists' styles, Sean (Sleeper) Phillips, Eduardo (100 Bullets) Risso, Mike (Hellboy) Mignola and Howard (American Flagg!) Chaykin among them. His inky style suits the conspiracy-theory elements and harsher tone of the story, but more importantly, his angular style brings a dynamic look to the storytelling. He brings out the characters' personalities well too. Jensen's flair for humor and the dramatic shines through in the linework, as does Aisha's anger and determination. Loughridge's colors maintain a mature and even unnatural atmosphere throughout the book as well.
Diggle grabs the reader with the opening scene and Jensen's clever and playful way of getting out of the tight spot in which he found himself in last issue's cliffhanger. But then Diggle tops that with the careful and plausible plan that enables the characters to infiltrate the Goliath terminal. Diggle combines the Losers' skills with simple human nature to arrive at a thoroughly believable caper that would make Danny Ocean jealous.
In this issue, we also get to know some of the other Losers better, especially Clay. He's not just a stereotypical badass leader. There's an interesting dichotomy to be found in the character. He's obsessed with conspiracies, but he's also fiercely patriotic. He's part spy, part soldier, and these two mutually exclusive notions seem to thrive in the same setting.
Vertigo has always had a strong track record when it comes to ongoing series, and Losers is just the latest in a series that proves there's no end in sight for said trend.
