Greg Rucka is best known for action and crime comics, but the reason those comics succeed, and the reason Rucka's comics and novels are such gripping reads, is his ability to write relationships. Tara Chace's friendship from college turns out to be pretty important to this case, and I loved seeing not only another side of Tara before she was a spy but how her relationships have been affected by her new job. The case at hand here is fascinating, and very different from the terrorism-focused stories of the first three arcs, but it's the character interaction that really draws my attention. In addition, the rotating art paradigm continues to serve Queen & Country well, as Jason Alexander's artwork is very different from what has gone before but either as good or better than much of the art that preceded it.
At the heart of this story is a plot about industrial espionage and a plan by agents of the French government to deprive the British government of a great deal of money, jobs and economic prosperity. But really, what the story is all about so far is relationships: the one between Andre and Rachel, the one between Rachel and her father, the one between Rachel and Tara and of course the fallout from the end of the one between Tara and Ed, which has repercussions for Ed and Tom. I'm interested in the ultimate disposition of the deal at the center of all this, but I'm fascinated by the relationships.
Brian Bendis gets a lot of credit, and rightly so, for his dialogue, but Greg Rucka is certainly no slouch in that department. On top of making the characters convincingly English (at least, from my admittedly American point-of-view), he gives them each a very distinct personality. The lively and more innocent personality of Ray is a contrast to the calculated and quiet Tara, but the realities of their friendship are clear in the underlying tone of their conversations. And though they don't say that much to each other, it's clear that Tom has more sympathy for Ed than he lets on, and Ed's romantic notions are an odd but still fitting match to his special ops training and work.
Then there's the artwork by Jason Alexander, which is really just fantastic. There's an inky, shadowy quality to his work, but it's married to plenty of photo-realism, and I was particularly impressed with his convincing take on the city of Paris. The romantic and exotic backdrop is a big part of making this more than just a bunch of talking heads in this installment, and the strong expressive characters he brings to the work is another big part. The book is dark and gritty, but it has a soft human touch as well.
It seems like I say this with every arc, but I think this is my favorite Queen & Country arc so far. Rucka and company have done a fair job of upping the ante with every story arc, building on character relationships as well as introducing compelling plots, and I see no sign that Queen & Country will stop being one of the best titles on the market anytime soon.
