Weekly Hornet

Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: Entertainment

Forget Superman. Comics, or as Will Eisner phrased it; "sequential art," is so much more than superheroes.

Greg Rucka's Queen and Country is a standout title in the industry. The book is mature comics; not because it has explicit sex scenes or disgusting amounts of gore, but because the series tackles current events, politics and espionage in an engaging, thought-provoking manner.

The series is published by independent publisher Oni Press on a sporadic basis. The narrative follows Tara Chace, a minder, or secret agent, for the British Secret Intelligence Service. Chace is a beautiful blonde, but her life as a spy is extremely stressful and wears heavily on her. She works with two other minders on politically sensitive covert operations including assassinations, rescue missions, the retrieval of vital data and antiterrorism missions.

The artist is new for almost every story arc, but Oni manages to find talented underground or little-known cartoonists to pair with Rucka each time. Tim Sale, Leandro Fernandez, Carla Speed McNeil, Brian Hurtt and Mike Hawthorne, among others, have contributed to the series. Rucka uses his in-depth knowledge of military weapons and equipment to lend the series an authenticity that speaks almost as loudly as the characterization.

In "Operation: Storm Front," Rucka highlights the inter-office politics and politicking that make the series an engaging page-turner. In one scene, Paul Crocker, operations director, and Tom Wallace, senior of the three minders, discuss the fate of agent Chase in Tbilisi.

"What? Tell me, What you want me to say? Do you for a minute think that I don't know what I'm doing? What I'm asking," Crocker says, raising his voice to yell at his colleague. "Do you think for a second I can walk through these bloody halls and not see ghosts everywhere I turn?"

"You'll have one more haunting you, if you're not careful," Wallace mutters as he turns to leave the office. "And if it's hers, so help me, boss … I'll find a way to make you pay."

The tension is tangible in the room, and the scene sums up some of what the series is about - the relationship between the British SIS and the CIA is always filled with back-door deals and double crosses.

Queen and Country is the most politically conscious publication in the comics industry. Before Sept. 11, when most Americans had no idea who or what the Taliban were, Rucka and Fernandez had finished the first issue of a story that took place in Afghanistan under the rule of the extremist leadership.

If the spectacular comics work was not enough, Rucka has also written two Queen and Country novels featuring Chase. The books, like the comics, are the product of immense research on the part of Rucka, who takes the time to make sure that his work is in-depth and accurate.

Queen and Country is on hiatus while Rucka works on novels, comics and other projects, but when it returns, be sure to catch the series from a new number one.


Notable Comics On Store Shelves Today:
Queen & Country collection #2
Batman #675
Godland #22
X-Force #3
Mice Templar #4
Wormwood Calamari Rising #4

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