By Greg Rucka
& Jesus Saiz (DC Comics)
ISBN 1-84576-436-6
In the aftermath of DC’s Infinite Crisis an international organisation to monitor and control meta-human affairs was developed, under the aegis of the United Nations Security Council. Originally an American agency, the new Checkmate is tasked with policing all nations, protecting them from superhuman dangers and terrorism, and also preventing rogue nations and regimes from weaponising their own paranormal resources.
This first collection reprints issues #1-7 as the organisation (composed of superheroes and traditional intelligence operatives) faces the loss of their charter due to a traitor on the Security Council, all the while tracking down the death cult Kobra and investigating a suspicious facility in China.
This is a dark and engaging blend of genres from writers Greg Rucka, Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, pencillers Jesus Saiz and Cliff Richards, and inkers Bob Wiacek, Steve Bird, Dan Green and Fernando Blanco, with the murky world of espionage coldly and logically grounding the high-flying gloss of costumed super-doers. Moody and addictive, if perhaps a little too dependent on a working knowledge of the DC universe, this is worth a few moments of any serious fan’s time.
© 2006 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.