Lately, I've been in an espionage/heist kind of mood, brought on by the new season of Alias, the impending third season of 24 and a recent rental of The Italian Job, among other things. Losers hits the spot nicely for that kind of thing, with stand-offs, shootouts and chase sequences that give Hollywood a run for its money and a group of characters you can't help but like. "Goliath" is a pretty long arc, considering that it's all taken place in a fairly contained area, but it's been a fantastic read so far, and while there's not a lot of new information imparted here as there have been in each previous issue, there are great action sequences and some classic moments for the characters. Losers is the best adrenaline ride in comics right now.
What I'm really enjoying about this arc, and in this issue in particular, is how Diggle is going out of his way to give us the bad guys' viewpoint as well. Oh, it's not a shades of gray kind of thing, these guys are clearly the scumbag bad guys of the story, but they're not inhuman robots or boring villainous cliches. Little details, like the in-control, moderately annoyed face that Sanderson shows when he comes in or his desire to be in on a field operation, go a long way toward making the bad guys as interesting as the good guys.
That's saying something, too, because the Losers are one interesting group. Despite the fact that Cougar rarely speaks, he's becoming one of my favorite characters, and that's because Jock makes him speak through his actions. His brief showdown with Aisha or his part of the chase sequence show him to be perfectly capable, and well above the idea of bragging about his capabilities. He gets the spotlight a little more in this setting than the showy, loudmouth Jensen or the regular guy (relatively) Pooch, although nobody really gets short shrift in terms of characterization.
Truthfully, though, it's the strength of the action that is the best part of Losers. The chase and gunfight that makes up the latter part of the book is spectacular, with great choreography by Jock and a couple of neat surprises courtesy of Diggle. It's every bit as exciting as a Hollywood action sequence, and you get the same sense of motion and action you would in another medium, which is an impressive tribute to Jock's skills. His sketchy, shadowy style conveys a surprising amount of detail and motion.
There's a lot of story to tell in Losers. There are hints this issue (if Sanderson isn't just lying) that the situation the characters have landed themselves in is much more complicated than a simple order of murder, and it's clear that they're not going to get clear of anything just by one big flashy operation. However, while there's room for an over-arcing plot, the big selling point of Losers for me is that on an issue by issue basis it provides better action than 90% of the comics out there.
