Customer Reviews

Checkmate Vol. 1: A King's Game (DC Comics)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'Checkmate' is an international organization that deals with metahuman threats in a political and covert manner. The book is not a standard beat-'em-up, and readers with particularly short attention spans may find it not to their liking. But everyone else should definitely check out 'Checkmate'.

The characters are intriguing, and while I can't say they mesh well, it's that friction that creates some great drama in the series. There are the agents that come from strong military backgrounds, who aren't afraid to kill. They are at odds with the agents who come from traditionally superheroic backgrounds, who are never okay with it. The book doesn't get preachy either way, taking a definitive stance on this issue or any other - instead, it lets the characters words and actions speak for themselves.

The dialogue is crisp and, for the most part, sharp, and the same can be said of the art, making this one of the most well put-together titles DC has going for them right now.

If you have ever wanted a more international approach to superheroic fiction, check out Checkmate. If you have ever wanted a comic that dealt seriously and without judgement about political issues and games, check out Checkmate. If you just want an interesting, fun, well-written book, check out Checkmate.

I love this book. It's not a standard superhero read: you have to pay attention to the Checkmate roles, ranks and nomenclature at first (just like in a spy novel). Great tales, a cool alternate angle to the DC Universe. Rucka is writing a winner...

Readers that have been following my reviews on a regular basis know I'm a fan of action novels, espionage fiction, and superhero comic books. I'm just omnivorous that way. One of my favorite writers, Greg Rucka, also has an interest in those things. He's written the Atticus Kodiak bodyguard novel series, the Queen & Country comics and novels, and nearly every major superhero character you can name. His run on WONDER WOMAN was fantastic, and the pairing of Batman and Wonder Woman in THE HIKETEIA was amazing.

In the wake of the latest crisis in the DC universe, Checkmate was created. The organization has its basis in another old comic book back-up feature starring a spy. Rucka gutted a lot of the old idea but kept the best parts for this new series. The new Checkmate agency consists of humans and metahumans, perfectly balanced - maybe - to deal with emerging political threats that may involve metahuman (read: supervillain, super-terrorists, etc.).

I thought the idea was good and definitely interesting. Given that Rucka has written several dozen issues of QUEEN & COUNTRY, the comic he created that focuses on British intelligence agents with a license to kill, I figured he'd be a natural at this kind of storytelling. He is.

However, the comic title can be somewhat daunting. Rucka doesn't pull any punches. He doesn't just write about a superspy or even a team of superspies. He writes about the whole enchilada: espionage of the James Bond type, super-powered espionage, as well as political threats within the organization and international frictions.

His stories don't just revolve around missions and the agents that go on them. The stories also delineate what goes on back at mission control, all the mistrust, the jockeying for control, the desire of some of the key players to keep certain ops or assets to themselves. I found myself getting just as involved in the bickering, secrets, and political maneuvering within the Checkmate organization as I did with the actions of the agents in the field.

Jesus Saiz's art is tremendous and suits Rucka's storytelling perfectly. The first few frames of the Checkmate operatives rising from the sea immediately brought up great memories of DR. NO, the lead movie in the long-running James Bond franchise. Saiz moves back and forth from the physical action to the cerebral action, from the battleground to the headquarters posturing, without missing a beat. The action, on both fronts, is tense and reflects the story easily. Saiz's women are sexy and his warriors are fierce. The technology looks great and it's easy to lose the frame sequencing and sink into the movie this book would so effortlessly make.

Long-time DC Comics readers will relish seeing some of the old characters (like King Farraday) come out of mothballs and join in the action. This is a perfect venue for the spies that first appeared in various SHOWCASE issues.

This first graphic novels sets the tone for the rest of the series. The focus is on an illegal and clandestine weapons development center being hidden from the rest of the world. That particular mission requires bloodshed, political brinksmanship, and eventually the direct involvement of a hero that costs him his position within Checkmate. Despite the superheroes and the fantasy technology involved, the story feels like it could have been ripped from the pages of TIME or NEWSWEEK.

The second part of the graphic novel shows the recruitment of a new Bishop for the Checkmate ranks. And the final couple issues collected in this first graphic novel focuses on the return of one of comicdom's favorite teams: the Suicide Squad.

This first CHECKMATE graphic novel is a steal and offers some of the best storytelling and art out there today. Superheroes and secret agents just don't get any better than this.

I think I must have forgotten just how good a writer Greg Rucka is, which is maybe why I was so generally surprised after reading the first TPB of Checkmate. Taking place after the events of OMAC Project and Infinite Crisis in particular, the covert government operation known as Checkmate is reassembled and rebooted with some new blood at the helm. Justice Society of America teammates Mr. Teriffic and original Green Lantern Alan Scott are among them, as are former Batman flame and former OMAC tool Sasha Bordeux, and the seemingly always scheming Amanda Waller. Without giving too much away, the first collected volume of Checkmate revolves around the new direction and purpose laid before them, which is made even better by Rucka's underlining political and social commentary that while somewhat slight, is present. Rucka's OMAC Project partner Jesus Saiz provides excellent artwork as usual as well, and as a whole, Checkmate becomes addicting and satisfying comic reading that is loaded with twists, turns, action, espionage, intelligence, and some nice surprises. There has been a good amount of acclaim laid down on Checkmate, and if you haven't checked it out yet, believe the hype and see for yourself.

I really like the way they take former heroes and villains and put them in an espionage setting. They have to make difficult moral choices because lives are at stake. Best comic of this type since Suicide Squad. Welcome back Amanda Wall

A very political book, but I knew that coming in. Some good plot twists, like the white king's firing and the relationship implications of Mr. Terrific's impending coronation. Kobra feels generic as the villain, and seven comics isn't enough to keep track of so many characters. However, a few stand out - Fire, the Swiss girl, Vertigo. A good first volume of a series that takes a while to pick up momentum.

Name: Checkmate Vol. 1: A Game of Kings
Publisher: DC
Writers: Greg Rucka
Artists: Jesus Saiz, Cliff Richards (pencils), Jesus Saiz, Bob Wiacek, Steve Bird, Dan Green, Fernando Blanco (inks), Tanya & Richard Horie, Santiago Arcas (colors)
Collects: Checkmate #1-7
Price: $14.99

I picked up this title for two main reasons: I like spy/espionage stories and I like Greg Rucka. Aside from his work over on Wonder Woman, I've pretty much enjoyed all the other stories I've read that were written by Rucka. I figured I'd give this book a try and see if he could work his magic on this title.

For the uninformed, Checkmate is a clandestine group of human and meta-humans employed by the United Nations security council to help provide stability in troublesome parts of the world. Because they are under the jurisdiction of the UN, they try to keep their visibility and casualties in operations to a minimum. The team is comprised of a "Black" side and a "White" side, and each of these sides is comprised of a King, Queen, King's Bishop, Queen's Bishop, King's Knight and Queen's Knight - for a total of 12 core members. The Kings, Queens and Bishops do most of the planning and political maneuvering, while the Knights primarily carry out operations in the field. At least, this seemed to be the case when I read through the book.

This brings me to my first problem with the book. This is certainly not a book aimed at new readers. Other than naming and listing the titles of the main characters, the book does not do a good job of explaining what the roles of the characters are. Some of the main characters were familiar to me, while others were not. The two sides of checkmate were as follows:

White Black
Alan Scott (King) Col. Taleb Beni Khalid (King)
Dr. Amanda Waller (Queen) Sasha Bordeaux (Queen)
Dr. Michael Holt (King's Bishop Shen Li Po (King's Bishop)
King Faraday (Queen's Bishop) Cmdr. Jessica Midnight (Queen's Bishop)
Thomas Jagger (King's Knight) Beatriz Dacosta (King's Knight)
Werner Vertigo (Queen's Knight) Jonah McCarthy (Queen's Knight)

As I mentioned, some of the characters have powers and some do not. I was only familiar with half of these characters. I think this was done intentionally, by Rucka, so that he could try to get a sense of unpredictability in the book. Certainly with so many lesser-known characters in the book, he has a lot of disposable people to work with. In the very first issue, for instance, the Black Queen's Knight is shot and killed. Who cares? I didn't know the guy before I picked up the book and I certainly don't care if he lives or dies. He's like a red shirt from an episode of Star Trek. They're the ones that always get their ticket punched. You know nothing bad is really going to happen to the main characters.

So, within this core group of characters who all come from different places and represent different ethnicities, religions, nationalities, sexes and backgrounds, you also have a group of people with different motivations and goals driving them. Amanda Waller, for instance, is a classic schemer and is never to be trusted. Alan Scott is the idealist who always believes there is a peaceful way to resolve any conflict. Sasha Bordeaux is a gal who follows orders without question and may get the job done regardless of the means used. Beatriz Dacosta is a troubled soul who continually suppresses her conscience to execute deadly orders, even though she doesn't really believe in or enjoy what she does. It's an interesting mix of characters. However, I still have the same problem: I don't know enough about these characters to know who I like and who I don't and what their own agendas are.

My other problem is more of a real-world problem. I really don't like the United Nations. I think the USA should remove itself from the body and start a new body comprised of democratic countries. The United Nations never turned into what it was originally intended to be. The majority of the countries represented in its membership are dictatorships and countries that have terrible human rights abuses in their past or present. Most of the nations represented in the membership do not LIKE the United States. Why should we allow them to have equal say on world issues when it's obvious they don't care for us or others or even their own people? The whole system is broken beyond repair. Don't believe me? Try reading the book Tower of Babel - written by a former USA representative who was there for years. It will make you look at the whole thing much differently. Because I don't care for the United Nations and I know how broken it is, the concept of a multi-national group of soldiers and politicians working for them and solving world problems seems pretty much ludicrous.

I will be picking up the next trade of this series to see if the book improves, any. The idea of a covert group of super soldiers taking on the bad guys of the world is a pretty good concept, but - for me, at least - something falls short in the execution in this book. Possibly things will improve in future tales.

Art by Jesus Saiz is above average and seems to suit this book quite well. The artwork that was not done by Saiz was OK, but not as good, and (as is the status quo in DC books) definitely takes you a step back "out of the zone" while you are reading. Colors are done well, and kept dark, which also suits the tone of the book. I believe the next TPB of the series keeps the same art team, so things should stay on track in that area, at least.


Writing: 6/10
Artwork: 7/10
Cool Factor: 6/10
Overall: 6.3/10