Coming apart at the seams.
Creative Staff:
Story: Andy Diggle
Art: Luca Casalanguida
Colors: Chris Blythe
Letters: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
As NATO tears itself apart from within, 007 is declared Europe’s most wanted man. Hunted by SMERSH and the CIA, he must infiltrate a nuclear airbase to learn the secrets of Operation Hooded Falcon before Europe erupts into all-out war!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Kill Chain series from Diggle and Casalanguida has been a really interesting if difficult read so far because it does what Bond can do best by drawing on real world events and using elements for the stories. Diggle’s crafting something really strong here with all the pieces that are moving along while giving SMERSH a new life that feels frightening. At the same time, Luca Casalanguida has been delivering some fantastic artwork with a great flow to it and a sense of power that just exudes from the page. I love the angular looks, the design of the hair, the brooding faces, as it all just feels like it could leap to the big screen with ease. It’s engaging throughout and just delights with every little detail.
This installment shows us more of the fallout of what’s going on with four more agents from various NATO member countries being killed and the growing rift between them picking up even more, especially with the fraying of relations between the UK and America. M’s certainly feeling like this are falling apart and is trying to hold it together so it’s amusing when the MIA Bond shows up as a waiter at the restaurant as you’d expect. It’s a good moment to reorient and get that side back up to speed with what’s going on with the resurgence of SMERSH and the getting on the same page side of it. M and Moneypenny are sharp and all on point here and with Bond being all about the business itself instead of his more playful side things move quick as they zero in on an airbase in Turkey as being a focal point.
That in itself ties into real world events well enough for those paying attention to the news in the last couple of years and seeing how it plays out here with Rika having been found on-base with a really well done false ID sets up a new round of questioning potential to figure out what SMERSH’s next movement is. But it’s here where you have that sinking feeling realized as Rika has compromised many more people with SMERSH and they’ve got a use for a dead Bond in the near future to further foment problems as the plan to quite take over Turkey behind the scenes as a puppet nation are moving into place. It all makes sense with what it would destabilize further and provide them protection and expansion opportunities with and it all just feels frighteningly real and possible.
In Summary:
As much as I love what Diggle and Casalanguida are doing here as they’re giving Bond something that’s been harder to do in recent series by investing fully in what’s going on in the real world, it’s bringing so much of the real world to the book that it ups my anxiety over it all. That’s a mixed thing to be sure as it makes for a far more engaging read but I really don’t need my anxiety up any further than it already is. Diggle’s definitely becoming my favorite Bond writer at this point with Kill Chain ready to cement it depending on whether he sticks the finale or not. Casalanguida is also definitely hitting top marks here with his work as I want to see him handling more Bond material in the future as the pairing is spot on and what he brings to the page cannot be understated. This is pure Bond in the classic Fleming sense for me visually and it’s just striking.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: November 15th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
