Customer Reviews

Queen & Country: The Definitive Edition, Vol. 3 (v. 3)

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

 

 

I got into Queen and Country after reading Whiteout, also created by Greg Rucka. The first two editions set the tone for the series and you felt a connection growing with all of the characters, not just Tara Chace. But by the third volume here, you start to feel frustrated at the change in character line-ups. Perhaps this was the intention of Rucka in order to express the reality of Tara's job and how quickly people come and go but it makes it seem pointless to introduce a character and develop their personality and relationships to only have them gone by the next operation. I also found this volume to be darker than ever with little humor, which I appreciated before as small breaks in between missions and tense situations. I'm holding out that Volume 4 will be consistently good but add a little more flair.

Greg Rucka's Queen & Country is the best comic book series of the last decade. Gritty and realistic in tone, this series has never failed to disappoint with its smart politics, on-the-dot characterizations of both life in Government and in the field, and the daily lives of its cast. Rucka is great at crafting dialogue that is explanatory, yet not patronizing when it comes to world affairs and the inter-personal back and forth isn't bad either. This volume of the Definitive Edition represents the rather sad end with which the first series culminated. Tara Chace's career reaches several turning points as she grapples, at varying times, with the deaths of three of her fellow minders, the callousness international politics, and her own limits as an operative. Given that this volume ties directly in to the events within the first Queen & Country novel (A Gentleman's Game) some key points could be missed by some readers, particularly those who have not comprehensively followed the series. Mr. Rucka's many other projects obviously did not allow him to bring this series to a smooth conclusion and the last few issues are of emblematic of that fact. Regardless, the stories on their own merits hold up to scrutiny and leave the reader wanting for more. I simply cannot wait for another Queen & Country novel or graphic series to begin anew. These characters remain real, engaging and surprisingly endearing. In terms of comics that seek to engage the reader in an adventurous plotline, within a real world setting devoid of men in tights, this tome and the series it chronicles is peerless.

James Bond Eat your heart out. Tara Chace is a realistic spy for Her Magesty's Service. If you are tired of unbeleivable stories about undead or super heroes, try a super look into the realism of these spy stories, they are great I couldn't put it down.