Queen & Country Volume 1: Broken Ground

I was a little skeptical at first about this book. Rucka is not a Brit, but he tries writing for English characters. Surprisingly, Rucka deftly handles the dialogue without sounding like he's just sticking in a "bloody" or a "sod off" here and there. He successfully immerses the reader in the world of British black ops. This book reminds me of the American TV show "Alias," but without the romance and convoluted relationships. This is a straight-forward spy book, with believable action and well-crafted character development. Many people have complained about Steve Rolston's simplistic artwork style. It doesn't bother me. I wouldn't say he's my favorite artist, but it doesn't get in the way of Rucka's brilliant story.

This is an "adult" graphic novel, not in the sexual-content sense but because the plot does not involve superheroes, fantasy, or magic. In fact, it's much more gritty and topical than even most adult thrillers I've read. The Secret Intelligence Service, based in London, is (apparently) an MI-6 kind of operation, chartered to carry out assassinations and other operations abroad but whose agents are not even allowed to be armed at home. Tara Chace -- "Minder Two" -- is their best shooter and the story opens with her involved in an unauthorized Special Operation in Kosovo to take out a rogue Russian officer now running with the Russian mafia. Her success, followed by an iffy escape from the scene, leads the Russians to put a bounty on her head -- and to fire a shoulder-launched rocket at the SIS headquarters, just to show they can. Paul Crocker, Director of Ops, wants not just to catch the perpetrators of the attack, he wants them dead. The Kosovo operation was a favor owed to the CIA, who now decline to help in his vendetta. And so on, in a nicely complicated plot that revolves on personalities and the rules of the game in a changed world as much as on action sequences. The art is straight black-and-white line drawing that emphasizes facial expression and body language -- which fits well with the rather talky style of the narration. My only complaint is that the story doesn't so much end as simply stop -- obviously only the first episode in a continuing series (which I haven't seen any sign of).

Every once in a while a comics series comes along that is so far ahead of the curve, you wonder how anything else could possibly measure up. Ennis' Preacher is one. Ellis' Transmetropolitan is another. Queen & Country is definitely one of the greats!! This is one of those series that shows, in graet detail, that there is some incredibly strong writing going on in comics today. Rucka's dialogue and pacing are so spot on and realistic! This is a book that transceds the perception that comics are for kids and are of no real value as "literature". Rucka has created a stunning work of art with Queen & Country, one that is continually being perfected month after month.

Greg Rucka is one of the authors, who can write believable Batman stories. Imagine how real he can get qithout the restrains of spandex-clad characters!This is a realistic spy thriller, full of real life and politicla situations. This is le Carre of comic books, really.Tara Chase is a British agent, sent to assasinate a rogue Russian general, who turned into an arms dealer. This book doesn't give you high-reaching conspiracies and years-old secrets, the conflict plays out much like it would in real life. But it doesn't make it less exciting.The art is very good. It seems cartoony at first, but it somehow manages to conway emotions very clearly, in fact, more clearly than realistic art, found in most action-adventure comics.Queen & Country started as a mini-series, but was turned into an ongoing comics. After reading this, you'll see why it's so.And you'll be glad, that there are other missions you can observe.

Greg Rucka's acclaimed spy series starts here. From the word go, Rucka doesn't let up, doesn't slow the pace down, nor does he bore the reader or make the series seem too OTT. The spy genre has had a misconception that it's all glam and gadgets, no thanks to the recent SFX obsessed Bond films, but Rucka crushes all that, he brings the genre right back to it's origins and makes it a dark and violent and very realistic, good vs. bad scenario. The main charm about the book though is the amount of characterisation in the book, from Paul Crocker the moody, arrogant, commander in chief type character to Tara Chace's professionalism with a hint of "f**k you" attitude. Rolston's crisp, clean, sharp artwork adds a deeper depth, concentrating on facial expressions and pushing his sequential talents to the max. Using panels of different size and space he never bores the reader or repeats himself. A true talent.Queen and Country is an original, down to earth spy story. But it's more than that, it grips the reader from the first page to the very last one. It gives American comics a different edge and the reason it stands out so much is because there's literally nothing else like it on the market. Check it out, it'll be worth the money and the time.