Creative Staff:
Story: Ron Marz
Art: Marco Castiello
Colors: Juancho!
Letterer: Rus Wooton
What They Say:
Real-life spy games continue in this true story of Russian intelligence operatives forced to flee their homeland and forge new lives in America. As the Neumann’s struggle to settle into new identities in the Pacific Northwest, they realize an assassin is stalking them.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As we’ve talked about before, “based on true stories” works are always kind of weird in being adapted as you really have to be judicious with what you include. This series has Ron Marz telling the tale and with decades of experience in writing some really great stories, he’s able to take some of the more streamlined elements of this and deliver something solidly engaging. The issues out so far have done a really solid job with what it’s doing, filling in backstory but making forward progress, all while slowly humanizing our characters. You have to move through the right pieces and do it just like building something that will last and work. It also makes out well with the talent Marco Castiello on the artwork as he captures some of the old-school style “spy” elements of the background story told here and makes it feel authentic.
With the series concluding in the next installment, you can see how things are going to come to a head here quickly. While Jan and Victorya are struggling to adapt to their new lives in Portland, the Russian side of things have been keeping tabs on them and they’re now making their move. What the move actually is will come in the next installment but the tease of it here and how they slide into their lives is nicely done even if expected. You know the two of them had to know that they’d contact at some point at the least, if not an outright attack on them, and that no matter how protected they are by the FBI and CIA they will always be vulnerable. That they’re caught here at their most vulnerable and least expected moment only adds to the fun.
What we see with this issue is that the couple is having a hard time dealing with going through the hoops of things, such as getting licenses and the like, and having to take driver’s ed courses. Victorya pretty much brings that avenue to a close with her actions but it reinforces, when she talks with Sarah later, about how out of place they feel and how unhelpful the local FBI branch is. Victorya in particular is really struggling as she hasn’t made friends while Jan gets some time at the FBI side on their shooting range and he’s made friends by managing a local soccer team and getting to play. What I do like is that while already married, they go through a new ceremony in order to cement it here as real under their assumed names and it makes for a chance to see them having fun together and happy before things shift.
In Summary:
I’ve been enjoying the series overall as each installment has delivered some good and varied material about the journey this couple is on. It’s one we’ve seen in film and TV many times but it has a greater air of authenticity here that works nicely. The struggles they’re facing are definitely ones that feel real and earned by coming to a whole new country and trying to start over while relying on your former enemy to smooth it out. The script continues to feel natural and human while the artwork is solid with some strong sequences throughout, such as the wedding sequence, that gives it more life and connection. I’m looking forward to how they wrap things up smoothly with just one issue left.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: January 19th, 2022
MSRP: $3.99