While I'm a fan of Tara Chace and the current Queen & Country cast, Declassified wins out for me as the most interesting stories told by Rucka in this book to date. The Cold War politics create a different situation, and though this story could be told in the modern era, without the jousting of East and West that so defined the espionage of the period, it would be very different. I also loved seeing Crocker as a field operative, when he had to improvise in the field rather than deal with the bureaucracy, and I can't say enough about the fantastic artwork by Hurtt either.
The tone of Queen & Country from the beginning has been one that's more about politics than the action that defines blockbuster espionage pictures these days. It has more in common with classic Bond than modern Bond or things like XXX, which just barely qualify as being in the spy genre. So it's interesting that Declassified, while going back to the Cold War politics that informed those older Bond movies, has actually given us one of the most action-intensive Queen & Country stories yet. Though the pacing is such that it increases tension rather than getting the blood pumping, there are a lot of action scenes, including a last-minute rescue, a sudden gunfight and a harrowing escape across the border.
There's also a lot going on in the book that is fairly subtle, and might not come across upon first reading. The decision that Crocker and Weldon come to is made pretty clear, and it's also pretty clear when Crocker comes to a different decision, with all the ramifications that result, but it's all played out in a more subtle fashion that might not be immediately obvious. There's also a fairly important clue dropped about border crossings that makes the last sequence easier to grasp, but I didn't catch it on first reading.
Of course, the reason that Rucka can be so subtle is because Hurtt is up to it. This guy really shouldn't be this good so early in his career, but not only does he have a detailed and attractive style, he has absolutely nailed comics storytelling. There are no thought balloons in Queen & Country, but it's pretty easy to read what's going through the head of Crocker, his charge, Weldon or various others in the way that Hurtt draws them. In addition, the escape sequence, and the way it ends, is just amazing, giving real life to Crocker's feelings and showing how deeply this case affected him.
The initial run of Queen & Country: Declassified has now ended, and I want more. I want to know what happens with Paul Crocker and Donald Weldon between then and now to turn them into such bitter rivals. I'm curious what happens with Jenny and Paul. And I love that Cold War atmosphere, which is so completely different from the modern politics that inform Queen & Country but just as well-thought-out and interesting in Rucka's hands.
