I'm a fan of the action movie, whether you're talking about the classics of the genre like Die Hard or the less-than-classics like Enemy of the State. So The Couriers, which is all about shooting, driving, more shooting and armies of semi-legal couriers against Chinese mercenaries, is right up my alley. Wood and Rob G have no pretensions about what they're doing here, and while there's certainly an interesting macguffin at the center of the piece, this is largely an excuse to draw cool gunfights, some amazing chase scenes and plenty of stuff blowing up.
It's clear from the outset that Wood and G are structuring the book like an action movie, complete with a couple opening vignettes that establish the main characters and the basic plot thread before hitting the credit sequence. There are a ton of cool scene changes in this book, including a push-in and pull-out move on China and New York that establishes changes of scenery quickly and effectively and a beautifully designed three page credit sequence that sets the mood for the whole thing.
And what is that mood? Well, it's high-octane action with a side dish of quirky appreciation for the finer things like food, music and firearms. I love that Wood includes the food that Special and Moustaffa like to eat in amongst their bios, and Rob G's loving notes about the guns that are used in the book indicates his appreciation as much as the ballet of violence that he puts the characters through on the page. The book is also replete with nods to other work by Wood and G, as well as to online friends and inside jokes.
However, while the quirky details are certainly fun, the selling point of The Couriers is the action. Rob G does some fantastic work on the action and chase sequences, providing imaginative choreography, explosive violence and breakneck pacing. Wood sets up some terrific set pieces in this book, including a rollerblade firefight in the beginning, a gunfight at the airport, a multi-car chase and a particularly climactic encounter with attack helicopters, and G delivers on every occasion. I especially love the sense of speed he brings to the work, but the sense of fun shouldn't be underestimated either.
Brian Wood is probably best known for his work on the politically challenging graphic novel Channel Zero, but I must confess that I enjoy the lighter work he's done, from Marvel's Generation X to Oni's Pounded, more, and The Couriers falls into that vein. The pure adrenaline action comic is a rarity, outside of something like The Human Target, and it's not only a genre that can find acceptance with a wider audience but a genre that can be really fun when it's done well, as it is in The Couriers.
