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Queen and Country: The Definitive Edition #1
Queen and Country: The Definitive Edition, Vol. 1
Queen & Country, the Eisner Award-winning and critically lauded espionage series from acclaimed novelist and comic book author Greg Rucka, is back in a new series of definitive editions collecting the entire classic series in just four affordable soft covers. In this first collection, readers are introduced to the thrilling and often-times devastating world of international espionage as SIS field agent Tara Chase is sent all over the world in service to her Queen & Country all the while Director of Operations Paul Crocker walks a narrow tightrope between his loyalty to his people and the political masters that must be served
376 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2007
24 people are currently reading
1886 people want to read
About the author
Greg Rucka
1,484 books1,913 followersGreg Rucka, is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 208 reviews
August 28, 2017
Sometimes I like to put on my big boy pants and read a grown-up comic that doesn’t feature people in codpieces laser eyeing each other in the gravity-defying bosoms. Queen & Country is one of those books that people who used to read superhero books but don’t anymore and want to feel superior to their infantile funnybook-reading brethren like to tout, so I figured, snobbery of those few detestable individuals aside (*sniff*), I’d give it a shot.
Turns out it’s solid. More than solid, in fact. Despite an artistic shift halfway through (when Chace starts to look a little more like her impossibly proportioned superhero sisters), this is an engaging and gritty spy story for our forked up world (shout out to you, Kristen Bell and The Good Place) that, while not exactly escapist entertainment (too close to the headlines for that), functions really well as a simultaneously matter-of-fact and high-stakes day-in-the-life-of-a-secret-agent chronicle. We'll call it 3.5 stars and round up.
Okay, taking off the big boy pants now. Those things are way too tight. Now, where are my dolls, er,
action figures…?
Turns out it’s solid. More than solid, in fact. Despite an artistic shift halfway through (when Chace starts to look a little more like her impossibly proportioned superhero sisters), this is an engaging and gritty spy story for our forked up world (shout out to you, Kristen Bell and The Good Place) that, while not exactly escapist entertainment (too close to the headlines for that), functions really well as a simultaneously matter-of-fact and high-stakes day-in-the-life-of-a-secret-agent chronicle. We'll call it 3.5 stars and round up.
Okay, taking off the big boy pants now. Those things are way too tight. Now, where are my dolls, er,
action figures…?
October 20, 2012
This book compiled into graphic novel form the first 12 comics from Greg Rucka's "Queen & Country" series.
As you might guess from the title, the book -- though written by an American living in the U.S. -- centers on a very British view of the world. We follow several high-level intelligence operatives based in London who are sent out around the globe to protect their country's interests when things get messy.
It's a James Bond/Borne Identity type of world, with lots of intrigue, shooting, car chases and some killing. But Rucka is less fantastical than the creators of the Bond and Borne universes. He writes about office politics, international law, and the personal toll of top-secret work in terms that mesh well with what an informed citizen of the world might understand to be reality. That makes suspending disbelief easier and the story more entertaining for readers who, like me, get distracted by sloppy omissions of fact and reality.
These original stories were published in 2001 and 2002, and Rucka's awareness of international terrorism was clearly prescient. In tales that unfold before the events of 9/11, he depicts an intelligence community worried about al Quaeda and Osama Bin Ladin. He does not dwell on 9/11 at length, but does include a short, simple and appropriate acknowledgement of the event -- appropriate both in a literary sense and given the British, not American, world he's painting.
I'm tempted to knock my rating down to two stars because I was so annoyed by illustrator Leandro Fernandez's interpretation of the special operations officer at the center of many of these stories. When we meet Tara Chace and follow her through the first two chapters, she looks like a very British and very real person. Yes, artists Steve Rolston, Brian Hurtt, Bryan Lee O'Malley and Christine Norrie all draw Chace as slender, buff and attractive, but she's also got human proportions, a long, British-looking nose, relatively slender lips. In the final chapter, Fernandez halves the circumference of her waist, doubles her bust, plumps up her lips, and imagines that she goes to the office wearing skimpy vests with cleavage-enhancing bras and nothing underneath. If the book had started out with such a gross and chauvinist interpretation of its most central character I'd probably have groaned but accepted a sexist comics world status quo. Because each artist was allowed his or her own take on the character, Fernandez's interpretation late in the book was especially jarring. Hell, if he'd included a few unbelievably sexy men in his eye candy collection, I might feel differently. That's not to say that women are the only people he likes to exaggerate for effect. Fernandez also likes to portray Arabs as big-nosed bad guys whose faces live in evil-infused shadows. Sounds like an enlightened guy, this illustrator.
Fortunately, the subsequent compilations feature many different artists. I've leafed through volume 2 in the series, and I'm glad to see that Tara Chace's boobs are no longer so big that they'd get in the way of any firearms she might have to use in the field, and her waist seems to be big enough that she can take a deep breath before zig-zagging across a field of artillery fire.
As you might guess from the title, the book -- though written by an American living in the U.S. -- centers on a very British view of the world. We follow several high-level intelligence operatives based in London who are sent out around the globe to protect their country's interests when things get messy.
It's a James Bond/Borne Identity type of world, with lots of intrigue, shooting, car chases and some killing. But Rucka is less fantastical than the creators of the Bond and Borne universes. He writes about office politics, international law, and the personal toll of top-secret work in terms that mesh well with what an informed citizen of the world might understand to be reality. That makes suspending disbelief easier and the story more entertaining for readers who, like me, get distracted by sloppy omissions of fact and reality.
These original stories were published in 2001 and 2002, and Rucka's awareness of international terrorism was clearly prescient. In tales that unfold before the events of 9/11, he depicts an intelligence community worried about al Quaeda and Osama Bin Ladin. He does not dwell on 9/11 at length, but does include a short, simple and appropriate acknowledgement of the event -- appropriate both in a literary sense and given the British, not American, world he's painting.
I'm tempted to knock my rating down to two stars because I was so annoyed by illustrator Leandro Fernandez's interpretation of the special operations officer at the center of many of these stories. When we meet Tara Chace and follow her through the first two chapters, she looks like a very British and very real person. Yes, artists Steve Rolston, Brian Hurtt, Bryan Lee O'Malley and Christine Norrie all draw Chace as slender, buff and attractive, but she's also got human proportions, a long, British-looking nose, relatively slender lips. In the final chapter, Fernandez halves the circumference of her waist, doubles her bust, plumps up her lips, and imagines that she goes to the office wearing skimpy vests with cleavage-enhancing bras and nothing underneath. If the book had started out with such a gross and chauvinist interpretation of its most central character I'd probably have groaned but accepted a sexist comics world status quo. Because each artist was allowed his or her own take on the character, Fernandez's interpretation late in the book was especially jarring. Hell, if he'd included a few unbelievably sexy men in his eye candy collection, I might feel differently. That's not to say that women are the only people he likes to exaggerate for effect. Fernandez also likes to portray Arabs as big-nosed bad guys whose faces live in evil-infused shadows. Sounds like an enlightened guy, this illustrator.
Fortunately, the subsequent compilations feature many different artists. I've leafed through volume 2 in the series, and I'm glad to see that Tara Chace's boobs are no longer so big that they'd get in the way of any firearms she might have to use in the field, and her waist seems to be big enough that she can take a deep breath before zig-zagging across a field of artillery fire.
February 23, 2008
I'm giving the 3 stars for the first two books in this omnibus. I hated the last book - more for the drawing then anything. I have no patience for the two inch waist and watermelon breasts. I also didn't enjoy how the men were drawn. I might enjoy Fernandez's drawing in a different context - I admired the technique - but in this one.
September 24, 2020
This was pretty damn good, but very dense at points.
The thing is I love black and white format. I read plenty of Manga. Grew up on it. So it's no problem. But when you have a lot of action/characters you have to make sure your artist does good on details. I believe this might have had two artist because the style seem to change. Half is really good, other half is not as good.
That's pretty much my negative. Hard to tell what and who is who sometimes. But the actual story here feels real. The plans of sneaking around, protecting your country, sending your agents to kill and pull them out right after. All feels like it's really happening. This feels very adult-centerpiece and worked really well.
I loved most of the interactions between the characters. While don't get a DEEP view into their life you get to know enough to care. The main character, Tara, is the best character and the deepest you get into it for character development but the rest all have their share of good moments. I'll be reading more of this.
A 4 out of 5.
The thing is I love black and white format. I read plenty of Manga. Grew up on it. So it's no problem. But when you have a lot of action/characters you have to make sure your artist does good on details. I believe this might have had two artist because the style seem to change. Half is really good, other half is not as good.
That's pretty much my negative. Hard to tell what and who is who sometimes. But the actual story here feels real. The plans of sneaking around, protecting your country, sending your agents to kill and pull them out right after. All feels like it's really happening. This feels very adult-centerpiece and worked really well.
I loved most of the interactions between the characters. While don't get a DEEP view into their life you get to know enough to care. The main character, Tara, is the best character and the deepest you get into it for character development but the rest all have their share of good moments. I'll be reading more of this.
A 4 out of 5.
October 26, 2015
The weirdest thing about Greg Rucka is I always forget how good he is. Usually when a good writer slips into "I always forget" territory he's quite good. But Rucka isn't. Rucka is insanely good. It's nuts that this came out 15 years ago (ish) and holds up like made crazy. Rucka is a fantastic thriller writer and a fantastic spy-story teller. I can't wait to read the rest of these this year.
If you haven't read Rucka I'd recommend starting here. Or with Alpha. Because Alpha was dope.
If you haven't read Rucka I'd recommend starting here. Or with Alpha. Because Alpha was dope.
June 30, 2018
2.5- Greg Rucka's Queen and Country is an espionage graphic novel centering around the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) in the United Kingdom. The writing and art is pretty solid throughout this first volume, but unfortunately it just wasn't my cup of tea. I don't find secret service, James Bond-ish stories particularly interesting, and this didn't change my mind. If you do like spy thrillers, I recommend giving it a try.
February 10, 2009
I enjoyed this a lot. It's pretty standard spy-agency fare, but the drawings really made the journey enjoyable.
April 30, 2020
Amazing first 2 stories but the last one dragged a little
June 16, 2015
Really enjoyed this series. I will be picking up the rest of the Definitive Editions later. It was more serious spy stuff, post 9/11, from the British perspective, but not over the top like James Bond stuff (which is enjoyable in it's own right). The artwork was interesting, usually more cartoon like initially, but each book within the book had a different artist so it changed as it went. That was an interesting twist, which was nice and not at the same time, since I had to get to know the new visuals for each character. They were somewhat similar, but not exactly. I liked some artists more than others.
Had some good action sequences and the paneling was done really well. Overall, very good.
Had some good action sequences and the paneling was done really well. Overall, very good.
October 11, 2021
Gritty, b&w storytelling. Nothing we haven't seen in a dozen disaffected cold war spy stories before. Tara Chace isn't really the main character here. She's a double-O for sure, but we're really following her equivalent of "M" and the hoops he has to jump through, as well as the hoops he avoids altogether, in order to get operations approved.
I would pick up more of these if I found them cheaply enough, but this wasn't original enough to make me chase them.
I would pick up more of these if I found them cheaply enough, but this wasn't original enough to make me chase them.
December 8, 2021
3.5/5
This edition contains the first three vols of Queen & Country, the first two are great, the third is a disaster (mainly because of Fernandez's ridiculous art).
Still, I enjoyed this black & white spy thriller and intend to read the whole series.
This edition contains the first three vols of Queen & Country, the first two are great, the third is a disaster (mainly because of Fernandez's ridiculous art).
Still, I enjoyed this black & white spy thriller and intend to read the whole series.
October 25, 2016
The writing on this series is top notch, early in Greg Rucka's career, but the change in art styles is jarring: the main character (Tara Chace) goes from average and possibly dowdy in the first couple of story lines, and positively ragged in the second arc, to wasp-waisted, stacked, and sexy in the last arc. It was actually distracting, considering it seemed that the intent was to show average people in the job of spy-craft, which then becomes a Hollywood-ized story without the nuance. This collection loses a star because of the art on that last arc.
September 19, 2016
3.5. I took off half a star for Leandro Fernandez's art. I wish Steve Rolston could have pencilled more of the book instead. As far as story goes, it kept me entertained though.
January 15, 2023
Eight issues in, there is an extremely jarring change in art style. All the characters look completely different and it is very hard to work out who is supposed to be who. The main female lead turns from a normal-looking woman to a pair of beach balls on a twig. The previous issues do a lot to humanize her and develop her as a realistic character, and it all fades instantly when the new artist comes in.
These are deliberately paced spy stories. The spies are somewhat believable because they are people who could blend in and not be noticed. As readers, we get a look into their exciting spy lives even though the man-on-the-street would never notice them. The contrast between their high-stress situations and their average appearances has a wonderful effect. It builds tension. It makes them intriguing characters.
But when she goes from a plane-looking woman to having tits bigger than her head, and a shirt five sizes too small, the effect is completely lost.
These are deliberately paced spy stories. The spies are somewhat believable because they are people who could blend in and not be noticed. As readers, we get a look into their exciting spy lives even though the man-on-the-street would never notice them. The contrast between their high-stress situations and their average appearances has a wonderful effect. It builds tension. It makes them intriguing characters.
But when she goes from a plane-looking woman to having tits bigger than her head, and a shirt five sizes too small, the effect is completely lost.
January 7, 2019
An interesting series that is definitely one of those post 9/11 comics where you can already tell all the bad guys are gonna be brown people.
It's interesting insofar as the art and writing style can be at times captivating, and at other times off-putting. I think it's the inconsistency in the style that's sort of turned me off a bit. That and the shoe horned love story between two characters I just met. I don't think I'll pick up any of the other volumes of this just because it's a long series and it didn't really charm me enough in the first volume to keep me wanting to read more.
Decent spy thriller, definitely read this if you want a decent comic book without any superheroes and capes but ultimately not for me rn.
It's interesting insofar as the art and writing style can be at times captivating, and at other times off-putting. I think it's the inconsistency in the style that's sort of turned me off a bit. That and the shoe horned love story between two characters I just met. I don't think I'll pick up any of the other volumes of this just because it's a long series and it didn't really charm me enough in the first volume to keep me wanting to read more.
Decent spy thriller, definitely read this if you want a decent comic book without any superheroes and capes but ultimately not for me rn.
Read
July 28, 2017I am a Greg Rucka fan and a fan of the Queen and Country novels (all 3 of them). I decided to give this Definitive Edition a shot. Glad I did. They remind me a bit of the Strikeback cable series. A woman minder (assassin) is a tad different type of character from over 17 years ago. The art seemed all over the place, from cartoon like to big noses and big breasts later on. Still the stories were all realistic. Already have the Def Edition Vol 2 on hand, and will order Vols 3 & 4 soon.
February 27, 2022
Loved this.
It’s a pretty grounded political drama, reminiscent of le Carré. Not the most glamorous version of espionage fiction, but still quite exciting and interesting with in-depth, conflicted and intriguing characterizations
The art fluctuates a bit. It’s all serviceable, but the last arc of the volume, Operation: Crystal Ball was my favorite, in both illustration and story.
A badass series, and I’m just getting started! So stoked for volume 2!
It’s a pretty grounded political drama, reminiscent of le Carré. Not the most glamorous version of espionage fiction, but still quite exciting and interesting with in-depth, conflicted and intriguing characterizations
The art fluctuates a bit. It’s all serviceable, but the last arc of the volume, Operation: Crystal Ball was my favorite, in both illustration and story.
A badass series, and I’m just getting started! So stoked for volume 2!
October 26, 2021
Queen and Country. A look into SIS, their operations and their agents, better known as Minders. The series focuses on Tara Chace, aka Minder Two. Book one was a good introduction to the characters and the inner workings of the team.
July 11, 2018
Very cool spy adventure with a strong and flawed female lead by Greg Rucka. Will be reading the rest of the series.
January 5, 2019
The first two stories were good spy stories, but the third one leads into a boring love story that just over sexualizes the main character.
September 7, 2010
I like graphic storytelling and I like a lot of espionage stories (be they fiction, film, nonfiction), so when the four-volume collection came out, I figured it was high time I sample this series. This first volume collects three stories about the British SIS (Special Intelligence Service, aka MI6). In "Operation: Broken Ground" (illustrated by Steve Rolston) an agent is sent to Kosovo to assassinate a Russian arms dealer. In "Operation: Morningstar" (illustrated by several artists) an agent is sent to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to retrieve a list of pro-Western contacts that are in danger of falling into the wrong hands. In "Operation: Crystal Ball" (illustrated by Leandro Fernandez) agents are sent to disrupt an al-Qaeda plot to set off a WMD at the 2002 World Cup in Japan.
The focus of the books is not on the "action" of each operation (although there's enough of that to keep things lively), but on the covert ops team and their London handlers. In trying to be as realistic as reasonable, a great deal of time is spent on various bureaucratic argy bargy concerning the operations. Lots of venomous bureaucrats with barely contained anger and loathing with each other (plus the inevitable involvement of the CIA station chief in London). As realistic as this may be, the various suits snarling at each other gets old, and there's altogether too much of it. Somewhat better and more interesting is the limited glimpses we get into the non-work side of some of agents, especially Tara Chace, who probably has the most page-time of any character, as she battles her inner demons.
When it comes to the action, it's generally drawn and thought through pretty well -- except when it isn't. For example, in the first story, one of the team is set up with a sniper rifle to kill an arms dealer -- from a building about 75 feet from the target. The whole point of having sniper training and weaponry is to kill stealthy from afar -- like hundreds of yards. Here, the close range action naturally results in a tension-filled foot chase and the enemy identifying the sniper, all of which propels the plot further along -- at the expense of realism. In another story, two agents are running around Afghanistan looking for a canister hidden by another agent, apparently completely obvious to the notion that they may be being followed. There are too many examples of this kind of unreality for a genre that only works on either the hyper-realistic level (such as John Le Carre's George Smiley series), or the completely unreal level (such as the James Bond films).
The three black and white stories were all drawn by different artists, resulting in some very disconcerting stylistic differences. Steve Rolston draws in a very realistic mode, wherein everyone looks like normal humans, and the main character, Tara Chance comes across as a rather mousy, drab agent. On the flip side, Leandro Fernandez draws in a hyper-exaggerated more "heroic" style, whereby Tara has a Barbie-doll figure and is clad in either skintight or see-through clothing. This wild divergence in styles keeps things fresh, but at the expense of the reader really being able to settle in with a character for the long-haul. Due to those swings in style and some of the storytelling flaws, I doubt I'll go out of my way to read the next volume in the collection.
The focus of the books is not on the "action" of each operation (although there's enough of that to keep things lively), but on the covert ops team and their London handlers. In trying to be as realistic as reasonable, a great deal of time is spent on various bureaucratic argy bargy concerning the operations. Lots of venomous bureaucrats with barely contained anger and loathing with each other (plus the inevitable involvement of the CIA station chief in London). As realistic as this may be, the various suits snarling at each other gets old, and there's altogether too much of it. Somewhat better and more interesting is the limited glimpses we get into the non-work side of some of agents, especially Tara Chace, who probably has the most page-time of any character, as she battles her inner demons.
When it comes to the action, it's generally drawn and thought through pretty well -- except when it isn't. For example, in the first story, one of the team is set up with a sniper rifle to kill an arms dealer -- from a building about 75 feet from the target. The whole point of having sniper training and weaponry is to kill stealthy from afar -- like hundreds of yards. Here, the close range action naturally results in a tension-filled foot chase and the enemy identifying the sniper, all of which propels the plot further along -- at the expense of realism. In another story, two agents are running around Afghanistan looking for a canister hidden by another agent, apparently completely obvious to the notion that they may be being followed. There are too many examples of this kind of unreality for a genre that only works on either the hyper-realistic level (such as John Le Carre's George Smiley series), or the completely unreal level (such as the James Bond films).
The three black and white stories were all drawn by different artists, resulting in some very disconcerting stylistic differences. Steve Rolston draws in a very realistic mode, wherein everyone looks like normal humans, and the main character, Tara Chance comes across as a rather mousy, drab agent. On the flip side, Leandro Fernandez draws in a hyper-exaggerated more "heroic" style, whereby Tara has a Barbie-doll figure and is clad in either skintight or see-through clothing. This wild divergence in styles keeps things fresh, but at the expense of the reader really being able to settle in with a character for the long-haul. Due to those swings in style and some of the storytelling flaws, I doubt I'll go out of my way to read the next volume in the collection.
August 26, 2017
Content Notes for this book: guns, shooting, murder, torture, islamaphobia, ptsd, alcohol
Nah. Apparently the third of the story arcs in this is known for the fact that they took a character design of a woman who was NOT cartoony/sexy (her nose is definitely too large for cartoon sexiness, she is relatively flat-chested, her cheekbones and jawline make her look relatively masculine) and made her GIANT boobed, tiny wasted, symmetrically faced with the worst sorts of porny posing.
Add in that this is basically jingoistic islamaphobia and that this story that is supposedly all about having a fully fleshed out female character doesn't bother having any two female characters interact almost *ever* and... Nah. Just nah.
Nah. Apparently the third of the story arcs in this is known for the fact that they took a character design of a woman who was NOT cartoony/sexy (her nose is definitely too large for cartoon sexiness, she is relatively flat-chested, her cheekbones and jawline make her look relatively masculine) and made her GIANT boobed, tiny wasted, symmetrically faced with the worst sorts of porny posing.
Add in that this is basically jingoistic islamaphobia and that this story that is supposedly all about having a fully fleshed out female character doesn't bother having any two female characters interact almost *ever* and... Nah. Just nah.
January 16, 2008
I was an editor on the original series, but kudos to Oni for making a sharp new collection of one of their best books.
August 5, 2017
I never get tired of this. Upon rereading, it's even better.
Highest recommendation.
Highest recommendation.
April 30, 2018
Tara Felicity Chace is a field agent for the Special Operations Section of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS.) She’s one of three operatives known as Minders who are assigned to the most dangerous tasks, and is code-named Minder Two. It’s a necessary job, but a dirty one, and it is beginning to take its toll.
According to writer Greg Rucka, this series was heavily inspired by the British television series The Sandbaggers and borrowed the organizational structure for SIS from that show, but the geopolitical situation of the new millennium drastically changed the kind of missions the agents are sent on.
The first story arc, “Operation: Broken Ground” has Tara sent into Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia to assassinate a Russian gunrunner as a favor to the CIA. There are a few hitches, but she successfully completes the mission and escapes.
However, during the escape, enough clues were left behind for the Russian mob to identify Agent Chace and order a hit put out on her and British Intelligence. One rocket attack on headquarters later, SIS figures out what’s going on, but the only way to find the hitmen is to use Tara as bait. Her position is made even more difficult because she’s not allowed to carry firearms in Britain.
“Operation: Morningstar” is set a bit prior to 9-11 (by virtue of having been written in early 2001.) The Afghanistan Taliban (“Taleban” here) have seized several journalists and executed them as spies. This is bad, but they (by accident?) managed to execute a real spy as well, who had a list of anti-Taliban contacts he was going to deliver to SIS.
Agent Chace has a personal grudge against the Taliban, but she’s still suffering the aftereffects of her previous mission, and the same misogynistic behaviors that tick her off also make it impossible to insert a female agent without preparations there’s no time for. So Tara is sidelined while Minders One and Three go in to try to find the list. This does not mean, however, that she isn’t useful in the mission. Osama bin Laden gets a mention, but isn’t directly involved in the story.
“Operation: Crystal Ball” is post-9-11, with the shakeups that made in the intelligence community. Tara Chace is sent to make contact with a possible turncoat from a terrorist organization. He claims to have knowledge of a chemical weapons factory to sell, and his initial information seems almost plausible. But is he for real, or a scammer, or is this a deadly trap? Thousands of lives may hang in the balance as SIS attempts to decipher the truth.
The ethically questionable nature of spycraft is front and center here, as it’s pointed out that agents should be questioning the morality of their actions; one that doesn’t is going to make bad decisions. And there’s a counselor on station to help patch the agents’ psyches back together until they completely fall apart. We also see the complications of office politics in conflicts between agencies and even between managers within the SIS.
We see Agent Chace in her underwear several times, and a nude photograph of her is a plot point in the first story. (Due to the changing artists, her figure is anywhere from conventionally attractive but plausible to unlikely.) She has on-page sex with a random guy she picked up at one point, and later pursues an affair with Minder Three. Perhaps more of an issue is the sometimes quite gory violence.
At the end of the volume is a section of concept art, character portraits by the various artists, and some page breakdowns, as well as bios of the creators.
Mr. Rucka writes spy fiction quite well, and Tara’s a believable character given the genre. The politics may be a little America-centric for a series set primarily in Britain. The art ranges from good to overly stylized, with a couple of characters nearly unrecognizable from their other appearances.
Recommended to fans of spy fiction of the “gritty” school.
According to writer Greg Rucka, this series was heavily inspired by the British television series The Sandbaggers and borrowed the organizational structure for SIS from that show, but the geopolitical situation of the new millennium drastically changed the kind of missions the agents are sent on.
The first story arc, “Operation: Broken Ground” has Tara sent into Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia to assassinate a Russian gunrunner as a favor to the CIA. There are a few hitches, but she successfully completes the mission and escapes.
However, during the escape, enough clues were left behind for the Russian mob to identify Agent Chace and order a hit put out on her and British Intelligence. One rocket attack on headquarters later, SIS figures out what’s going on, but the only way to find the hitmen is to use Tara as bait. Her position is made even more difficult because she’s not allowed to carry firearms in Britain.
“Operation: Morningstar” is set a bit prior to 9-11 (by virtue of having been written in early 2001.) The Afghanistan Taliban (“Taleban” here) have seized several journalists and executed them as spies. This is bad, but they (by accident?) managed to execute a real spy as well, who had a list of anti-Taliban contacts he was going to deliver to SIS.
Agent Chace has a personal grudge against the Taliban, but she’s still suffering the aftereffects of her previous mission, and the same misogynistic behaviors that tick her off also make it impossible to insert a female agent without preparations there’s no time for. So Tara is sidelined while Minders One and Three go in to try to find the list. This does not mean, however, that she isn’t useful in the mission. Osama bin Laden gets a mention, but isn’t directly involved in the story.
“Operation: Crystal Ball” is post-9-11, with the shakeups that made in the intelligence community. Tara Chace is sent to make contact with a possible turncoat from a terrorist organization. He claims to have knowledge of a chemical weapons factory to sell, and his initial information seems almost plausible. But is he for real, or a scammer, or is this a deadly trap? Thousands of lives may hang in the balance as SIS attempts to decipher the truth.
The ethically questionable nature of spycraft is front and center here, as it’s pointed out that agents should be questioning the morality of their actions; one that doesn’t is going to make bad decisions. And there’s a counselor on station to help patch the agents’ psyches back together until they completely fall apart. We also see the complications of office politics in conflicts between agencies and even between managers within the SIS.
We see Agent Chace in her underwear several times, and a nude photograph of her is a plot point in the first story. (Due to the changing artists, her figure is anywhere from conventionally attractive but plausible to unlikely.) She has on-page sex with a random guy she picked up at one point, and later pursues an affair with Minder Three. Perhaps more of an issue is the sometimes quite gory violence.
At the end of the volume is a section of concept art, character portraits by the various artists, and some page breakdowns, as well as bios of the creators.
Mr. Rucka writes spy fiction quite well, and Tara’s a believable character given the genre. The politics may be a little America-centric for a series set primarily in Britain. The art ranges from good to overly stylized, with a couple of characters nearly unrecognizable from their other appearances.
Recommended to fans of spy fiction of the “gritty” school.
November 7, 2024
Queen and country ranks as a 2.5 for me. This story had so much potential to be a fantastic read. What started out as a thrilling spy/anti-terrorist plot turned into an overplayed romantic drama with terrorism put on the back burner. The characters at first didn’t exist outside of their work, which the author did change by the end of the first half of this edition. It took a visit to a shrink for the main character to start to express themselves outside of work. I thought it was a great way to change up the one dimensional: bad guy plotting to kill people, we must stop them. But then the story took a turn to appease the masses. The main character Tara goes from being a calculated cold government-issued machine-like person who as the story goes on, reveals a bit more and more of their emotions to being a sexualized side character. Halfway through, the artist redesigned every character to be “less cartoony” (their words in the epilogue), and more caricature-like in my opinion. They gave Tara a curvy body and way more feminine features, while also giving her tighter, more revealing clothes. The teenage boy in me would love that decision, but that was not the reason I picked up this book. I was really disappointed by this art choice as I thought Tara was such a badass and did not need to be sexualized in the way that she was. And then the story pulls her out of major missions. She is no longer the main character in my eyes, it really becomes about D. Ops’ choices as the director of the organization. On top of that redesign, they made one certain male character from the Middle East have a comically large nose which I found distasteful and unnecessary.
The story also had little to no parallel building story. What I mean is, only towards the very end was there a parallel story where Tara and minder 3 start a forbidden relationship. Again, why is Tara, the character that was struggling with her mental health because she was so afflicted by her work where she sometimes kills people, getting involved with her new coworker who cannot really even relate? Why is that the parallel story? They could have built up a major villain or a major storyline that we got bits and pieces of but instead we get a will-they-won’t-they that came out of literally nowhere. Very disappointing. I got book 2 because it was on sale for next to nothing and now I can see why.
The story also had little to no parallel building story. What I mean is, only towards the very end was there a parallel story where Tara and minder 3 start a forbidden relationship. Again, why is Tara, the character that was struggling with her mental health because she was so afflicted by her work where she sometimes kills people, getting involved with her new coworker who cannot really even relate? Why is that the parallel story? They could have built up a major villain or a major storyline that we got bits and pieces of but instead we get a will-they-won’t-they that came out of literally nowhere. Very disappointing. I got book 2 because it was on sale for next to nothing and now I can see why.
September 20, 2020
I loved that! I hated that! I liked that!
I thought the first "Operation" rocked -- "Operation: Broken Ground." Except I found the art by Steve Rolston to be a bit too cartoony for the subject. (And later I discovered I was clearly not alone: in the bonus material at the end of the book there's a page devoted to "Cartoons done in response to stuffy critics demanding a more 'realistic' style on Queen & Country." Ha! Stuffy.)
New art team on the middle section, "Operation: Morningstar." Good pencils by Brian Hurtt. Bryan Lee O'Malley inked the first chapter, and I found his inks to heavy & chunky for the tone of the book. I much preferred the tighter, crisper lines by Christine Norrie in chapters 2 & 3.
And finally we get to "Operation: Crystal Ball" with art by Leandro Fernandez. And it's so frustrating! Almost ... upsetting? Not the right word. It's not "bad", it's actually cool in its way: kinetic, dynamic, with good angles, framing, composition. Fun to read/look at! But there's crap too... Fernandez decided to completely ignore the earlier style choices and draw Tara Chase like a stereotypical 'sexy' 90's-style female comic character with plump, pouty lips, big boobs, tiny waist, arched back. Thanks Liefeld. And it's SO wrong for the character. On top of that, Fernandez draws a bunch of (male) characters with highly exaggerated facial features and over-the-top cartoonish reactions, like caricatures. On top of all that, Rucka decided to give Minder 3 (Kittering) a ridiculously stupid crush on Tara/Minder 2, which she indulges; and he entirely dropped the story thread about Tara in therapy.
The stories were all pretty good.
I thought the first "Operation" rocked -- "Operation: Broken Ground." Except I found the art by Steve Rolston to be a bit too cartoony for the subject. (And later I discovered I was clearly not alone: in the bonus material at the end of the book there's a page devoted to "Cartoons done in response to stuffy critics demanding a more 'realistic' style on Queen & Country." Ha! Stuffy.)
New art team on the middle section, "Operation: Morningstar." Good pencils by Brian Hurtt. Bryan Lee O'Malley inked the first chapter, and I found his inks to heavy & chunky for the tone of the book. I much preferred the tighter, crisper lines by Christine Norrie in chapters 2 & 3.
And finally we get to "Operation: Crystal Ball" with art by Leandro Fernandez. And it's so frustrating! Almost ... upsetting? Not the right word. It's not "bad", it's actually cool in its way: kinetic, dynamic, with good angles, framing, composition. Fun to read/look at! But there's crap too... Fernandez decided to completely ignore the earlier style choices and draw Tara Chase like a stereotypical 'sexy' 90's-style female comic character with plump, pouty lips, big boobs, tiny waist, arched back. Thanks Liefeld. And it's SO wrong for the character. On top of that, Fernandez draws a bunch of (male) characters with highly exaggerated facial features and over-the-top cartoonish reactions, like caricatures. On top of all that, Rucka decided to give Minder 3 (Kittering) a ridiculously stupid crush on Tara/Minder 2, which she indulges; and he entirely dropped the story thread about Tara in therapy.
The stories were all pretty good.
August 2, 2020
This just really wasn't my thing. With a title like Queen and Country I was expecting something more in the style of The Avengers and instead got Homeland, albeit written a decade before that show even hit the screens. The problem is that Homeland did what this comic series is trying to do SO MUCH BETTER. And I'm honestly not even the biggest fan of Homeland. The real issue I took was with the rotating illustrators. It was a real gamble with no real consistency and the third arc, "Crystal Ball," was not just badly drawn, but it was over-the-top. The terrorists were cartoonish terrorists with long noses and they came off as so damn racist. Then there's the hyper sexualization of Chace. She was a normal girl for her previous adventures, and here she has balloons for boobs, kind of ironic given how the Sarin was going to be transmitted. Also what was with all the leather and kink? I'm sorry but NO ONE would show up to work in those clothes unless they were prostitutes. Also none of the illustrators got the drape of a trench coat right. Always too lumpy and heavy. Not a series I think I will be continuing.
August 25, 2019
This was so good. Well worth the effort. An Intriguing spy story different from the James Bond stereo type, but just as exciting. Focusing on a female protagonist the story is visually exciting and suspenseful. Trace is strong, independent, brave and intelligent, a great role model for young readers. Not a perfect person, but a good person. The material has not dated since its publication, it is just as relevant and reflective of todays international situations. The art work is a treat. You can see the interpretation change of the characters as the story progress and different artists take over the role, moving from a light sketch look at the beginning of the story, to a more hard line and detailed representation by the volumes conclusion as the charters are established.. This title has won multiple awards and praise throughout the industry and today is reflected upon as a landmark publication in graphic novel story telling. After reading the first volume, I can see why. A great read. If you have already read this title, read it again
March 1, 2020
An espionage procedural comic that convinces, up until, that is, someone says Kabul is West of Mecca. The first case involves the people in London protecting their interests – and themselves – from the fall-out of killing off a Russian; then the next errand is in Kabul, while our ostensible heroine is left in London to wallow in her angst; after which – why, wonder of wonders she's grown a humongous rack, her colleague wants to bone her as a result – oh, and there's something about 9/11 and Al Qaeda terrorists. The lurch in the character's style is really quite risible, but so is the charge that this is a book full of Islamophobia. Anybody who thinks it is needs to get their trigger-happy heads out the sand. The self-styled religion of peace has been responsible for just the kind of activity featured on these pages, and some of us might want to read about it. I'm happy I did, but it's not really my genre, and however smart this can get I do predict it's my only foray into this series.
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