DCU Comic Book Reviews

CHECKMATE #1

The Game Of Kings, Part 1

June 2006

Written by Greg Rucka

Pencils by Jesus Saiz

Inks by Jesus Saiz

Cover by Lee Bermejo & Patricia Mulvhill

Synopsis

In Somalia, Black King Sasha Bourdeaux and her knights Jonah McCarthy and Beatriz DeCosta (aka Fire) infiltrate a Kobra base of operations.  At the same time White Queen Amanda Waller and White King Alan Scott (aka Green Lantern) are presenting to the United Nations to make Checkmate a permanently authorized security council agency.  Waller believes the resolution won’t pass because the French were involved in terrorist activity.  Sasha and her team are infiltrating the Kobra base to find that evidence.  What they find is that the evidence leads directly back to the Chinese, just as the Chinese delegate to the United Nations exercises the right to veto, forcing Checkmate to disband within 1 week.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

“I want it clean, Amanda.  Minimal loss of life.  We’re the good guys, here.”

I have been a big fan of Greg Rucka’s for a long time, so I was really, really looking forward to this issue and I am pleased as punch to say that it did not disappoint.  This was a fantastic issue and I am eagerly awaiting the next issue already.  I must admit I am a big fan of Rucka’s Queen & Country as well as the television show 24, so I am already inclined to liking stories centered around spies and espionage and political intrigue.  I must admit, I spent several minutes looking at the layout on pages 4 and 5, determining who was working for who and the allegiances they have (and then going to Wikipedia) to learn more about Werner Vertigo and King Faraday.  The relationships within Checkmate are going to be just as important as their missions.  The set-up is divided between white (thought) and black (action) and often the two will collide.  Hopefully, as the series continued we will learn more about the bishops and knights and the Black King.

The choice of Alan Scott as the White King is interesting, especially given the events that occur during the black queen’s operations.  Alan Scott is part of the old guard, then super heroes that do not kill or take human life.  In fact, he even tells Waller that at one point.  Yet, Sasha and her team pretty much kill all of the Kobra personnel within the facility.  Sasha kills the Kobra leader pretty much in cold blood.  So, it will be curious to see how this plays out and whether this will become a theme for the series:  the use of excessive force in order to accomplish missions. 

I was a little surprised that Jonah McCarthy died, but ultimately I think his death sets the tone for the series.  It shows that anything is possible and given the covert actions anything can happen to any of the characters.

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