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QUEEN & COUNTRY #6
Highly Recommended (10/10)
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Oni Press
Writer: Greg Rucka
Pencils: Brian Hurtt
Inks: Christine Norrie
Letters: Sean Konot
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
Oni Press was ahead of the curve when they released Queen & Country, as world events and some new series on television have started to turn espionage into a hot genre again. Of course, what's impressive is that even if Afghanistan hadn't been a hot news topic for the past three months, and even if Alias, The Agency and 24 weren't catching public attention, Queen & Country would still be one of the strongest
titles on the racks. The book is remarkably complex without being too confusing
for readers to follow, and I'm simply astonished by how quickly Hurtt has
improved over an already-impressive debut, with Norrie's inks serving him quite
well. In addition, Rucka's risky gambit of putting Tara into a story which isn't
directly related to espionage but instead to the after-effects is turning out to
be story gold.
Though Queen & Country is structured around arcs, and
certainly readable within those arcs, it is an ongoing series, and Rucka seems
quite comfortable with playing off previous developments. While the operation
runs in Afghanistan, Tara Chace is dealing with her own personal demons brought
on from the operation in the first arc. Her interaction with the psychologist is
fascinating stuff, and Tara's self-loathing and self-destructive behavior is
compelling and gripping. She's brusque and can be somewhat cold, but as we see
that her conscience is strong, it's hard not to like her and wish that she could
forgive herself. In addition, though the therapist-patient relationship is
getting quite a workout in television and movies these days, I still find the
interaction between Tara and her therapist fascinating.
Leaving aside the very
interesting character-building of Tara, the operation code-named "Morningstar"
is giving us nice insight into the other Minders, as well as providing a strong
espionage storyline. The dangers in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan come through
quite clearly, and though that regime has finally been toppled, it never hurts
to be reminded of the atrocities that the world turned a blind eye to, in hopes
that a few people might remember it next time something similar is going on. The
vagaries of intelligence work, with the characters unsure of whether or not
they're being lured into a trap and the various higher-ups deciding when it's
time to cut their losses, are illustrated quite clearly in this part of the
story.
Brian Hurtt's work on this
issue is leaps and bounds ahead of his work on issue five, which was itself
impressive for a newcomer. Christine Norrie's inks no doubt helped, but I notice
improvement in areas such as the very detailed backgrounds and in more
consistent anatomy and faces. There's also some terrific storytelling, such as
the intercutting between Tara's encounter and the Minders' search for the list,
which ties the story together visually.
Though I enjoyed the first Queen & Country storyline, the second arc has
captured my attention even more. The details of espionage work, the intricacies
of characters, a compelling plot and terrific artwork make for a near-perfect
read. And the beautiful covers are just icing on the cake.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
