What is a “Hot Pants” pick? Quite simply, it’s a book that all five reviewers on this site believe is worthy of your time. It may or may not be one of our favorite books, but it’s that rare breed of comic that struck all five of us, with our different tastes, as a good read. Queen & Country is our latest “Hot Pants” pick.
Who doesn’t love a good espionage comic? Queen & Country is like a Bond flick from Merchant Ivory, a smart and thoughtful look at an action-heavy profession. This seemingly incongruous blend of action and philosophy from writer Greg Rucka and a stellar assortment of artists results in an often grim but darkly fascinating look into what it might really be like for a small group of spies tasked to British Intelligence for missions the government can’t readily admit to. Tara Chace, a top spy who buries herself in too much alcohol and tawdry sex in between missions to overcome her feelings of shame and revulsion at the moral compromises required of her job, is the lead character, but she’s hardly the only one. In the beginning, Rucka populates the world with seasoned spies like Tara’s superior in the field Tom Wallace and reliable yet ruthless spymaster Paul Crocker, but don’t get too attached to anyone, as death is a regular occurrence in this book, and the constant need for new field ops results in new and interesting characters on a regular basis. Art chores are handled by a new artist on each arc, including talents like Steve Rolston, Leandro Fernandez, Brian Hurtt, Mike Norton, Jason Alexander, Carla Speed McNeil and plenty more. The series currently stands at seven trades, two novels and three “declassified” trades that detail the backstories of the older spies, and every one of them is worth a read. The series has stalled a bit with Rucka’s workload at DC, but an eighth trade is promised soon, and even if no further stories ever come out, the series is a solid body of work for anyone who has yet to explore it.
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I have the first seven trades and the first of Declassified and this series is well worth the time. This is about as real world a spy book you’ll probably ever see in a comic/graphic novel format. Rucka does a great job of building on the characters and their world which makes it especially hard when some are faced with life and death situations and not all make it out alive.
It’s a pity Rucka and other writers who have done great independent work(coughBendiscough) have chosen to go mainstream and their work has really suffered for it. When this book was going strong it was right there with Fables as my favorite ongoing. I can only hope Rucka can get back on track to what really is the best work of his career and that’s this series.
12 Jul 2007 at 10:39 pm
QuoteI’m gonna need to give this book another chance, I read the third trade I think, found it and the fourth in the discount bin at one of the local comic stores and it just didn’t grab me, in fact never read the fourth. I don’t know why, maybe I just wasn’t in right mindset, maybe it was coming in mid story so to speak. I do enjoy his Atticus Kodiak novels though. I’ll have to give the trades a second look.
Lets not forget Brubaker, who’s on a bullet train down that track if ya ask me.
12 Jul 2007 at 11:34 pm
QuoteI’ll agree with Rucka and Bendis, who both went whole-hog into company owned and let their creator-owned projects just wither away (seriously, the delays on Q&C *and* Powers are ridiculous), but I think Brubaker gets special dispensation.
He didn’t leave behind anything he’d created (Sleeper was done, Gotham Central was running out of gas, etc.) and when he got his clout with Daredevil & Cap and such, he used it to launch a creator-owned crime book. From Marvel. The guys who only publish superhero books, pretty much.
I think Brubaker got it right. One for them, one for you. Works in Hollywood, shame more comic creators can’t balance it. Of course, in Hollywood, the “one for them” is enough to pay for “twelve for you” making no money, and that’s not as true in comics. So I can’t judge too harshly, mostly I just wish the industry was different so that Rucka could get filthy rich writing nothing but Queen & Country and Bendis could have made a mint on his pop culture and crime stuff.
13 Jul 2007 at 12:11 am
QuoteBah! Bunch of Brubaker apologists, you’re all mad, mad I tell you!
You’ll see, someday you will all see, and when you do you’ll all come crawling back saying , please forgive us oh moldy gourd, you were right, Brubaker is destroying our beloved characters, oh please, please forgive us. And then I, with no real inflexion or malice to my voice, as if someone were simply asking me if I were too hot or or too cold, will look down upon all of you and say… no.
13 Jul 2007 at 12:33 am
QuoteThis is indeed a great series. The last issue of the current, much delayed arc is supposed to ship August 1st. Rucka mentioned that there will be at least a 2 year hiatus on any Q&C comics after that. Boo. He also mentioned that there might be another novel in that time which is cool by me since the novels are as good if not better than the comics.
13 Jul 2007 at 8:34 am
QuoteI would have had Brubaker in that group but I love what he’s doing right now. As much as I love his CA and DD work it’s still Criminal that tops my list. His X-men work just doesn’t do much for me.
If it’s gonna be two years before another Q&C comic that’s pathetic. If he can’t make the book then bring in a new writer until he can get back on the book or maybe have some new Declassified books.
13 Jul 2007 at 8:57 am
QuoteI’ve read pretty much everything Q&C, and it is fantastic. The real bummer is that it has pretty much stopped being published long before it wore out its welcome.
One nice thing about Q&C is that the overall story kept getting deeper and deeper. The first books are just good spy stories but, as with most books like this, as the series went on, you started to see the larger elements. Then, on top of that, they added the “Declassified” series, exploring other characters in greater depth. Finally, you got the two novels, which gave you a look into what the characters were thinking and feeling. The novels give you a clear sense for character motivations and reactions that you can only guess at in the graphic novels. After reading the novels, I went back to the trades and had to reinterpret a lot of things.
By the way, I don’t think Rucka should hand this over to another writer. I’d rather have it be done and know that it was a great series. Why cheapen it?
13 Jul 2007 at 3:57 pm
QuoteI love this series, but I do wish Mr Rucka would learn how British people speak. They’re supposed to be British but they all speak like Americans. It’s just one of those things that irritates me.
And the artist in volume three was crap, he made Tara Chace look like she should be in a Marvel superhero comic.
14 Jul 2007 at 6:01 am
QuoteThanks for spotlighting this excellent series. Inspired by Don and Randy’s sterling recommendations back in the fourthrail.com days, I picked up volume 1 and was immediately hooked. Violence, humor, sex, political intrigue, ethical dilemma - this series has it all. Gray Pumpkin, I strongly recommend that you (and anyone else interested in Q&C) do the same. Each book builds on the events and relationships in the previous books, which may make it daunting for a new reader to pick up in the middle.
Although I see some similarities, I don’t lump Ed Brubaker in with Bendis or Rucka. I enjoy most of Ed’s mainstream work and he and Sean have made Criminal a high priority in terms of their other commitments. Now that 52’s done I hope that Rucka will crank out more Q&C.
15 Jul 2007 at 6:21 pm
QuoteThanks for spotlighting this excellent series. Violence, humor, sex, political intrigue, ethical dilemma - Q&C has it all. Inspired by Don and Randy’s sterling recommendations back in the fourthrail.com days, I picked up volume 1 and was immediately hooked. Gray Pumpkin, I strongly recommend that you (and anyone else interested in Q&C) do the same. Each book builds on the events and relationships in the previous books, which may make it daunting for a new reader to pick up in the middle.
All I can say about Bendis and Rucka is that I’d like to see more Powers and Q&C than Secret Wars and 52.
15 Jul 2007 at 6:23 pm
QuoteSorry about the double post! Wordpress wouldn’t let me delete comment #9.
15 Jul 2007 at 6:25 pm
QuoteLove Q&C, but haven’t tried the Declassified spin-off. Worth tracking down? And I noticed the two novels, but was wondering how it would translate - thoughts?
16 Jul 2007 at 7:19 pm
QuoteThe novels are fantastic and add a lot of depth that really can’t come across in comics. There’s also some pretty major events in Tara’s life that go down in the novels.
And to chime in on the Brubaker bashing, you’re all mad. Bru is doing the best work of his life on both the mainstream and indy stuff. Cap, DD, and Uncanny haven’t been this consistently good in a long time. Iron Fist is probably one of the best books Marvel’s got going right now. I am by no means a Brubaker apologist in that I don’t follow him blindly and I don’t apologize for liking good writing. Bru has shown that he can write just about anything at this point whereas with the exception of Spider-Man and Batman, Bendis and Rucka have shown repeatedly that they just don’t understand superheroes and should stick to their strengths (crime and espionage).
17 Jul 2007 at 3:30 pm
QuoteYep. I actually thought the first novel was better than the first, but they’re both very good. But I do think that the major events that happen in Tara’s life in the novels are a bit much… I know she’s got a tough job and a tough personal life, but I thought Rucka went a bit far in just sort of piling it onto her.
I’ll agree with you on everything but Uncanny. It has definitely had its up moments, and it’s better than it has been in a while, but that’s just because it was mediocre to awful for so long. I thought the first arc was bloated and a little meandering, and I think Vulcan is a pretty weak adversary for the X-Men and character on the whole.
Plus… dude killed Banshee. And Corsair. That shit ain’t right.
But mostly, if Brubaker has room for an extra book each month, I’d rather it wasn’t X-Men. I’d rather he was writing something else a little more off the beaten path like Iron Fist or Daredevil.
No bashing from me, though… to my mind, Ed Brubaker is the best writer working at Marvel, rivaled only by guys like Dwayne McDuffie and Jeff Parker. Top Marvel writer or no, though, he’s easily one of the top five in the industry at the moment. And he’s teamed with great artists.
17 Jul 2007 at 3:38 pm
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