Well, this is going to be hard as hell to review without giving away the big shocker of the issue, but I'm going to try, because I'd hate to ruin the shock that I got when I read the book. This story goes into detail on the recruitment process of special section, continues to follow the story of Tara and Ed's romance and throws in a little businessman kidnapping to keep things active. It is once again a chance of pace for Queen & Country, both in terms of story, as it drifts back away from the sex scandal and corporate espionage and into the more serious kidnapping and threat of death, and in terms of art, as Carla Speed McNeil comes onboard. McNeil is best known for her work on the science-fiction/fantasy opus Finder, but she works fairly well in the modern espionage vein as well.
Rucka does a great job this issue of capturing how sudden shocks don't always result in melodramatic pronouncements and anger, but that they can instead result in a sort of calm numbness. The banter between Crocker and Kate is good stuff, indicative of their relationship as well as a growing dissatisfaction on Crocker's part for the way his department is being run, but I'm almost more impressed at the way a revelation sort of stops all that dead. Ditto the smoking conversation between Tara and Tom. Interesting, character-based day-to-day stuff serves as an interesting contrast to a sudden change of circumstance that puts a damper on any friendly banter and upbeat moods.
One of the things that sets Queen & Country apart as a top comic in the industry is the way that Rucka and his collaborators balance characterization, plot and action. There's plenty of all three elements in this issue, and while the opening segments focus largely on character and plot, there's also a strong action sequence that sets up the main "espionage" plot of the story. I'm reminded of Leandro Fernandez's gunfight from Queen & Country #12 in the way the sequence moves across the page, full of both the realistic brutality and speed of a real-life firefight but still exciting in a cinematic way.
Credit there, of course, must also go to Carla Speed McNeil, artist on this arc. The action in the kidnapping sequence happens quickly, and she jump-cuts away from important moments like one of the kidnappers being shot or the execution of some of those resisting so that the reader has to double-check and make sure they saw what they saw. The result is the feel of a handheld camera shot, not an easy thing to accomplish with static comics panels. The art style in general is not quite as detailed as I'm used to seeing on Finder, nor is the subject matter as outrageous, and I confess that McNeil's characters aren't as expressive as I had expected, but that may be by design, as these are fairly internal people, emotionally speaking.
A lot happens in this first chapter, including the introduction of a new character who will presumably become a regular and the jump-starting of two plots that I suspect will intertwine. At this point, I always know that Queen & Country is going to be one of my favorite reads of the week, but I never know what's going to happen in these pages. That mixture of comfortable familiarity and unpredictability is part of what makes Queen & Country one of my favorites, but really, the key element is the writing of Greg Rucka, which never fails to impress on this book.
