The hunt for truths.
Creative Staff:
Story: James Robinson
Art: Aaron Campbell
Colors: Salvatore Aila
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
In the aftermath of a major terrorist attack in Tokyo by an Aum Shinrikyo-like cult, Felix Leiter finds himself unwittingly drawn into the investigation. And under the oversight of Tiger Tanaka—the Japanese James Bond—and with a squad of Tanaka’s elite operatives, Leiter himself helps to bring down the cult’s leader! But now it’s up to Leiter and Tanaka to work desperately against the clock: they must discover the secret of the cultist’s deadly bio-weapon – especially if they’re going to try and avert another terrorist attack!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Felix Leiter series kind of delighted me the last time around as it took more of the previous works and blended them into it. While I liked that we got a Leiter that had some of the ramifications from the License to Kill work with his lost hand, bringing Tiger Tanaka in and exploring his position and impact in Japan in a more modern sense, and in a greater position of power overall, really drove home some interesting new ideas that I’d love to see explored in both comics and film. Combine that with the background we got last time around and the mission to grab Johnny North so as to stop more of these bioweapon attacks and you had a strong issue made stronger with some fantastic artwork and layouts from Aaron Campbell.
This issue has to work a different path but it does it just as well. The opening segment is interesting enough for a series all on its own as we get to see more of Felix and Alena’s early days of working together in the 80’s as they moved into Afghanistan as the side cleanup crew for the missions to deal with the heroin trade and more. That it shifted to a very physical relationship between them isn’t a surprise in the slightest but it is almost comical seeing how Felix becomes the romantic of it all and realizes how foolish he is. But he is simply taken with her while not being sure he’s actually in love with her. There’s an addictive quality to the relationship from his side whereas she sees it a bit more pragmatically, which isn’t a surprise considering the situation. Campbell brings their passion for the mission and sexuality out in a great way and really hits the nail on the head to showcase why they click so well.
While that’s a very solid background piece, the present is brutal in a different way as Tanaka is interrogating North and trying to get information out of him about potential other human bombs. Tanaka’s style is definitely well played as he works him for hours on end on top of other teams dealing with more of North’s cult, all of which isn’t netting anything. When it does get to more physical forms of interrogation with specialized teams he rarely uses, it doesn’t exactly get them any real information either because of what North is really up to. North and Tanaka’s sequences are engaging because North is teasing out ideas of what it is that may be coming but doing so in the kind of vague way that’s frustrating but not unexpected. That it goes as bad as it does at the end is no surprise, but seeing the way the teams work ahead of it and some of the back and forth between Tanaka and Leiter works very well to showcase more of who each of them are.
In Summary:
The halfway mark of the series doesn’t provide for any big reveals but it does build up both events and characters. The bioweapon itself is interesting in how effective it can be and the uncertainty there makes it a very dangerous thing in general. I like what we get from Tanaka and his team in how that unfolds and his time with Leiter there. Leiter’s dream sequence brings up a lot of his past when it comes to Alena and knowing she’s going to be a big part of things in the second half just makes it clear how much of a problem it’s going to be when the two have to truly face off again. Solid material all around that leaves me wanting a lot more of it all.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: March 15th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
