Brian HurttCritiques

1376

1331

I loved almost everything about this graphic novel. The humor, the characters, the grit, the art. Fantastic! This is a new favorite of mine and I will continue to read these as they come out. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

I finished reading this book a few days ago, and I'm still not quite sure what to think of it. It's interesting, technically, since it's full of spies and international highjinx that are loosely based on historical fact, but it just wasn't that engaging. I think a lot of my lack of interest is due to the fact that all of the characters are rather flat (seriously, even James Bond is more developed as a person, and he's really not a great example of a well-written personality) and barely seem interested in their jobs. They're either suffering from PTSD, but raring to get back in the game, or they're shouting at eachother about not being allowed to do things, and even all of that doesn't seem to quite follow through... Slightly disappointed, since I really wanted to like this series :(

This volume of Queen and Country was about everyone but Tara Chase, with guest illustrators and one guest author (Anthony Johnston of 'Wasteland' fame) writing stories about Tara's associates.

A gritty and believable modern day spy story. Tara Chace is one of three 'minders' (special agents) who are routinely sent on dangerous missions to the world's hotspots. The book also focuses on the management such people by senior officials, and their relationship to other intelligence agencies. Obviously well-researched, the book shows the less glamourous side of intelligence work: waiting around, office politics and the minders' problems with PTSD and alcohol. The characters are very job-focused and closed. It's hard to read much into them, even Tara.

A graphic novel series about the British version of the CIA (operatives that only work on foreign soil). Even though the novel is very plot driven and doesn't really provide background information on the operatives (unless you count the blurbs in the beginning which I don't because really they only describe people's positions in the organization); I was still really interested in the characters, their interactions with each other and with the shrink. Too bad my library doesn't carry any of these.

A graphic novel series about the British version of the CIA (operatives that only work on foreign soil). Even though the novel is very plot driven and doesn't really provide background information on the operatives (unless you count the blurbs in the beginning which I don't because really they only describe people's positions in the organization); I was still really interested in the characters, their interactions with each other and with the shrink. Too bad my library doesn't carry any of these.

A graphic novel series about the British version of the CIA (operatives that only work on foreign soil). Even though the novel is very plot driven and doesn't really provide background information on the operatives (unless you count the blurbs in the beginning which I don't because really they only describe people's positions in the organization); I was still really interested in the characters, their interactions with each other and with the shrink. Too bad my library doesn't carry any of these.

A graphic novel series about the British version of the CIA (operatives that only work on foreign soil). Even though the novel is very plot driven and doesn't really provide background information on the operatives (unless you count the blurbs in the beginning which I don't because really they only describe people's positions in the organization); I was still really interested in the characters, their interactions with each other and with the shrink. Too bad my library doesn't carry any of these.

The Sixth Gun, Volume 1 by Cullen Bunn is an omnibus of the first two volumes of the graphic novel series. There are six pistols with supernatural powers. The person who wields one becomes bonded to it and protected by it. But there's a risk of becoming a monster the longer one has it.

The book opens with a young woman picking up one of the guns. She is instantly in danger, perused by cut throats who want it at any price. Soon she's in the middle of a gun battle in a desolate part of the old west.

Though there is a lot of violence, there's also a discussion of the evils of violence. The series will appeal to fans of Supernatural.

My blog post about this book is at this link.½

The Definitive Edition, Vol. 1, contains three stories, but it seemed that with each one, as the narratives became more compelling, the graphic portrayal of the characters became more and more caricaturized. In the first episode, our protagonist Tara was sketched as an attractive yet no supermodel. By the third episode she was so exaggeratedly proportioned as to put Barbie to shame. Her breasts were such balloons that her upper-body movement would have been considerably hampered by them--a distinct disadvantage for a covert operative. Furthermore, the other characters followed a similar de-evolution in their physical appearances. You could tell the bad guys simply because they were drawn so sinisterly. The experience in reading was quite jarring by the last episode because the cartoonish-ly drawn characters were so incongruent to the story, which was fully grounded in the real world.

Such is the consequence of having different artists doing the storyboarding for each story. I've noticed that there are three different artists working in Vol. 2. Here's hoping that what they do with sketching the characters doesn't cause them to devolve even more.

My blog post about this book is at this link.

It promised much more, but at the end it turned out to be as biased and monochromatic as many other spy stories out there -not to mention dated. The fact that world events and reality have overtaken it doesn't help much, either (even James Bond has of late shown more depth of story and character than this). A disappointment.

It promised much more, but at the end it turned out to be as biased and monochromatic as many other spy stories out there -not to mention dated. The fact that world events and reality have overtaken it doesn't help much, either (even James Bond has of late shown more depth of story and character than this). A disappointment.

The very last installment of Q&C. This set of stories don't have Tara Chace -- shocking! Same good stuff. Cold war spy work. Bureaucracy. Violent action. Angst.

This volume includes 3 Queen & Country books, all written by Rucka but with different illustrators. I absolutely hate Leandro Fernandez' exaggerated, physically impossible and fragile representation of Tara Chace in the last book, Operation: Crystal Ball. My first exposure to Rucka's stories was in Whiteout, and Stumptown, books with strong female characters, beautifully illustrated. The first two books in Queen and Country are similar -- the third's illustrations are crap.

Well, with that out of the way, I continued reading Queen and Country up to the last book,and enjoyed the series. It's your classic hyper-competent, deadly spies working undercover.

Oh my. What a great read. This is a spy espionage thriller in sequential art form. an MI5-like organisation working covert missions. There are three active agents, referred to as Minders - one through to three - with various overseers, and support staff. The stories are intricate, detailed and as readable as anything I’ve ever read. The artwork changes from arc to arc of the series. So each artist gets to put their own slant on the characters. At first this was a shock but once I got into the story, it ceased to have any bearing. Particularly enjoyed the final arc, illustrated by Leandro Fernandez. His style was to make the characters darker and used shadow to highlight (if that’s possible) the murky world of espionage. It worked deliciously well as the characters faces weren’t always wholly visible hinting at a half image of a face with the rest obscured by shadow. Just loved this.

Hmmm. They've changed the cover and I can't seem to find the cover to my book online.

I enjoyed this series, but seriously did not like Fernandez's drawings for book 3 of the series.

I'm not sure whether I'm actually getting an education or not, but I feel like I am. And dude, that's the hallmark of quality entertainment.

Full review to come!