Creative Team:
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artists: Steve Rolston, Brian Hurtt, Leandro Fernandez, Christine Norrie, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Stan Sakai
What They Say:
Queen & Country, the Eisner Award-winning and critically lauded espionage series from acclaimed novelist and comic book author Greg Rucka, is back in a new series of definitive editions collecting the entire classic series in just four affordable soft covers. In this first collection, readers are introduced to the thrilling and often-times devastating world of international espionage as SIS field agent Tara Chase is sent all over the world in service to her Queen & Country all the while Director of Operations Paul Crocker walks a narrow tightrope between his loyalty to his people and the political masters that must be served!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the recent news of Ellen Page being interested in taking on the lead role in a movie adaptation of this book, I figured that it was a good time to check it out. I had never heard of Queen & Country before, coming out in single form during a time I had little to do with comics, but I had been a fan of Greg Rucka from what I’d seen in his DC Comics works for awhile. While there are a few choices when it comes to the form in which you can get the book, I opted for the 2008 release series of the Definitive Edition since it has a ton of content and extras to it to make it worthwhile. And since the movie has franchise potential, I wanted to sink my teeth into several stories at once to see what kind of work it is and what it can do. With Greg Rucka as the primary here across all the stories while different art teams work on the larger arcs within, with some help from a few friends, we get a pretty engaging work with some variable quality stories.
The series revolves around the SIS section of British Intelligence where we’re introduced to Tara Chace, a minder operative that deals with the dangerous field work around the world. Taking place pre-9/11, we see how the small office group works when it comes to sending agents out into the field as this particular part of the service has three primary agents working with in it with a manager and a boss over them and things that obviously go even higher up the food chain. While there’s some very good and engaging action across the book as it works the espionage side right with a strong dose of realism to it, it also makes sure to show us the nightmare of how an organization like this works when it comes to deniability, inter-office politics and the larger politics of the nation as well. There’s a decent supporting cast that works throughout this as we move through a couple of years worth of time, and having people doing the difficult jobs and sticking to what needs to be done rather than what they feel is right can often be a difficult read. But that also lets you rally with those that break the rules along the way to save their agents in danger.
This first definitive edition features three primary arcs through it, each with a different lead artist that sets the tone, though Steve Rolston is the one that really set the mold here and is a hard one to surpass considering what he did. The opening arc is one that surprisingly delves into the character material more than I expected as we see Chace on a mission that involves her carrying out what you realize is her first assassination. It’s a strong performance and seeing her make her escape works great, but it sets into motion a chain of events where she’s discovered in the long run and she becomes the target. It’s here that we start to learn a bit about Chace as she ends up back in London and has to become bait to draw out those that are after her, with the help of her fellow minders and boss. Chace is a woman of few words overall and fits the kind of profile you’d expect of someone in this position where you’re doing what’s right, but it takes its toll. She’s not exactly empty, but she’s struggling not become empty at the same time. And having to confront not only what she did for the service but to be chased at the same time pushes her a bit deeper into her emotional turmoil.
Which is why I like that as the series progresses, we do get some time with Chace having to deal with a therapist to try and talk through parts of it, though she does spend a good part of it initially playing up her walls and keeping her distance. That back and forth across several encounters makes up a healthy part of the second arc, which lets some of the other minders take center stage as Wallace and Kittering deal with the problem of an important contacts list being stolen that they have to track down overseas. It has a pretty good world trotting aspect to it and ties into the CIA as well as we have a number of instances here and across the volume as well showing the kind of distrustful but useful relationship the two agencies have. Chace’s story provides some solid background and character growth/reveals for her, but it also keeps her invested in the main story that’s running while letting the other minders – and the various agency directors – show their strengths as they do a lot of the field work.
For me, the third story was the hardest one to get through, partially because of the artwork as it felt like it took the title in slightly less realistic directions, but also because it took a couple of chapters before the events really come into focus. Working through a story in the post-9/11 world with a potential chemical weapons attack on UK citizens, the team has to work with some minimal information to see if it has real potential to be true or not before truly going forward with it. That involves some intriguing bureaucratic issues to deal with at first that are more engaging that I thought they would be, but it also moves to some interesting field missions. It just takes time for it to come together and – for me – to make sense since it does it in a staggered way. The further it went along, the more I enjoyed it, especially as the minders exhibit some good character moments and some problematic areas as well with relationship potential. But I simply felt that it was hamstrung a bit by Leandro Fernandez’s art, which didn’t fit with my conception of it after what Steve Rolston and Brian Hurtt did with it.
In Summary:
It’s easy to see how they can make this into a pretty decent series of movies with the right people, the right budget and the right approach. It’s not James Bond – any incarnation really – but it’s much closer to the current one with a group and team approach to it that makes it feel like a lot more than just one man that can stop it all. Greg Rucka does some solid pacing and execution with the story here to tell engaging stories with a small group of people in difficult situations and just starting to get into the edges of who they are and why they do this job. He’s partnered with some really good artists overall, though your enjoyment can obviously vary by artist as mine did, as the black and white style fits perfectly here since it’s really a world filled with grays. Queen & Country has a lot to offer and these definitive editions are certainly ideal, especially with almost thirty pages of sketches, rough draft covers and more included with it.
Content Grade: B+
Released By: Oni Press
Release Date: January 2nd, 2008
MSRP: $19.99
