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Queen and Country: The Definitive Edition #3
Queen and Country: The Definitive Edition, Vol. 3
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 third collection, readers are sucked into 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
395 pages, Paperback
First published August 17, 2008
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257 people want to read
About the author
Greg Rucka
1,496 books1,927 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 59 reviews
July 16, 2013
It seems that you need to have read at least one of the Queen and Country prose novels before tackling this particular collection. The second storyline comes directly after one of the novels, and refers to its events heavily. And maybe most people who like Queen and Country will do so, and have no problem. I did not. And although there's enough backstory included here to figure out basically what's going on, there isn't enough to get the emotional depth of the story. That said, it's still decent enough writing, even if I was missing something. Anyone who'd gotten this far into the series and was still liking it should be pleased enough.
October 21, 2012
The more I read of the "Queen & Country" series, the more I like it. This book features some new back story into British intelligence operative's family history and love life, but politics and action remain at its core. As Chace uses guns and quick thinking to tackle two major missions -- even when things go awry -- we also watch staffing changes back home complicate things. It appears that this will be the last Rucka comic about Tara Chace, though there's still one more volume to read.
While the earlier books in the series each have three major operations, this has only two. The third segment of the book features Greg Rucka's annotated scripts. They're enlightening in that they show how the sausage is made, and how different writing for comics is from other kinds of writing. They could be a useful took for anyone trying to figure out how to write his or her own graphic novel. But it's hard to get into them in depth, especially if you've already read the first three books and are quite familiar with the story. In other words: sometimes it's better to eat the sausage than to dwell on how it's made.
While the earlier books in the series each have three major operations, this has only two. The third segment of the book features Greg Rucka's annotated scripts. They're enlightening in that they show how the sausage is made, and how different writing for comics is from other kinds of writing. They could be a useful took for anyone trying to figure out how to write his or her own graphic novel. But it's hard to get into them in depth, especially if you've already read the first three books and are quite familiar with the story. In other words: sometimes it's better to eat the sausage than to dwell on how it's made.
October 26, 2015
Huh.
So this is "the end" of my time with the Queen & Country comics. I have two more novels to go and I'm still very excited about them, but this volume made me realize how.... I won't miss the comics.
The reason for this is two-fold. First, the last volume of Q&C was the heretofore pinnacle of the series. It had the gravitas, the resolutions, the excitement that I loved and exalted Queen & Country for. What eventually put me off from ever finishing the comics (which I have owned forever) is all down to having not finished the last four issues because I never read the novel.
Now, it doesn't help that the two operations in this volume are not nearly so excellent as the three in Volume 2. Operation: Saddlebag (which very much establishes a new paradigm in the overall Queen & Country) is a good rather than great operation. It is well done and interesting, but not nearly so impactful on the whole as, say, Operation Stormfront was). It doesn't help that the this book is bifurcated by an utterly fantastic and completely game changing novel. And it doesn't help that the final Operation (which I have always very much looked forward to) is a smaller yet potentially more explosive comedown after the insane goodness that was Gentleman's Game. It doesn't help that the catharsis of the climax, while emotionally true and perfect for Tara Chace, feels rushed and too compressed. And I think that's just.... comics.
Part of this is growing older, finding that 128 pages over four issues of a Queen & Country operation is simply not good enough after that novel. It makes this story feel abridged, over too quickly. Putting Rucka and his fantastic international spy thriller on rails bounded by the limits of comic book panels and page counts only ends up hurting this book for me. And that's a bummer. I quite loved the art of Mike Norton and Steve Rolston and Chris Samnee (like way before Samnee was ANYBODY) and it was some of the best art in the entire series.
But that's not enough. And I find myself surprised at how glad I am that the comic era of Queen & Country is in my past. This series has grown and evolved past what it's capable of doing in the comics. Good. That means the next two novels are going to be frakking gangbusters when I get to them.
P.S. It's a 3 and a half star book that I would round down to three stars BUT the art is good. So.
So this is "the end" of my time with the Queen & Country comics. I have two more novels to go and I'm still very excited about them, but this volume made me realize how.... I won't miss the comics.
The reason for this is two-fold. First, the last volume of Q&C was the heretofore pinnacle of the series. It had the gravitas, the resolutions, the excitement that I loved and exalted Queen & Country for. What eventually put me off from ever finishing the comics (which I have owned forever) is all down to having not finished the last four issues because I never read the novel.
Now, it doesn't help that the two operations in this volume are not nearly so excellent as the three in Volume 2. Operation: Saddlebag (which very much establishes a new paradigm in the overall Queen & Country) is a good rather than great operation. It is well done and interesting, but not nearly so impactful on the whole as, say, Operation Stormfront was). It doesn't help that the this book is bifurcated by an utterly fantastic and completely game changing novel. And it doesn't help that the final Operation (which I have always very much looked forward to) is a smaller yet potentially more explosive comedown after the insane goodness that was Gentleman's Game. It doesn't help that the catharsis of the climax, while emotionally true and perfect for Tara Chace, feels rushed and too compressed. And I think that's just.... comics.
Part of this is growing older, finding that 128 pages over four issues of a Queen & Country operation is simply not good enough after that novel. It makes this story feel abridged, over too quickly. Putting Rucka and his fantastic international spy thriller on rails bounded by the limits of comic book panels and page counts only ends up hurting this book for me. And that's a bummer. I quite loved the art of Mike Norton and Steve Rolston and Chris Samnee (like way before Samnee was ANYBODY) and it was some of the best art in the entire series.
But that's not enough. And I find myself surprised at how glad I am that the comic era of Queen & Country is in my past. This series has grown and evolved past what it's capable of doing in the comics. Good. That means the next two novels are going to be frakking gangbusters when I get to them.
P.S. It's a 3 and a half star book that I would round down to three stars BUT the art is good. So.
November 20, 2008
Volume 3 of the Queen & Country graphic novel series contains 2 story and mission arcs, both hinging on heroine Tara Chace at her lowest points following loss of her lover and a life-changing discovery (events from the first Q&C novel, A Gentleman's Game, which is excellent). The stories are tough love by all accounts for Tara and for (and from) her boss Paul Crocker. Interesting, but less compelling than previous mission arcs in earlier Q&C arcs. The volume also contains a the "scriptbook," -- a blow-by-blow, behind-the-scenes peek at the author's creation process for the first Q&C graphic novel. Great details, but it's really for hard core fans.
December 4, 2016
My least favorite of the series. Nothing sucks worse than off the screen killings of major characters. I cry foul....
June 19, 2018
For me, the previous volume of Queen & Country: Definitive Edition is a high mark for a really good series; sadly, this instalment does not quite match, and in some sense for the wrong reasons. That last statement may seem a bit cryptic (heck, it may well be a bit cryptic), but allow me to explain.
This third volume collects two arcs: Operation: Saddlebag, which consists of a prologue and three chapters, and sees return of Steve Rolston on art duty, alongside Mike Norton, and Operation: Red Panda, which also consists of a prologue and three chapters, and has the great Chris Samnee illustrating. Both of these arcs are really, really good – plot-wise and art-wise. Add to this, the complete scripts for the very first Queen & Country arc (found in the first Definitive Edition volume) and you may very well wonder even more what my initial complaints are all about.
Well, as an author's note on the title page of Operation: Red Panda states, "[t]he events in this story takes place between the end of the prose novel A Gentleman's Game and the start of the prose novel Private Wars," which at a first glance may just seem like practical and useful information for the reader, who may potentially want to check this out. The problem, however, is that the events of A Gentleman's Game seem entirely intrinsic to the set-up of the story in Operation: Red Panda, and while bits and pieces are parsed out for the reader, it mostly comes across as too little too late. Add to this the fact that the arc itself more or less leads up towards a resolution likely to be found in Private Wars, and you may begin to understand my annoyance.
It is not that Operation: Red Panda is a bad story arc; it is that is the middle of a larger story and, to my mind, does not quite stand on its own. Perhaps part of the problem would have been solved if Rucka had included a brief synopsis of the events in the first novel, but even this would not have solved the lack of resolution – which to be frank is a resolution left out of the entire Definitive Edition series, as these prose novels (obviously) are not included.
Still, as already stated, this is good material, and I certainly do not regret reading it.
This third volume collects two arcs: Operation: Saddlebag, which consists of a prologue and three chapters, and sees return of Steve Rolston on art duty, alongside Mike Norton, and Operation: Red Panda, which also consists of a prologue and three chapters, and has the great Chris Samnee illustrating. Both of these arcs are really, really good – plot-wise and art-wise. Add to this, the complete scripts for the very first Queen & Country arc (found in the first Definitive Edition volume) and you may very well wonder even more what my initial complaints are all about.
Well, as an author's note on the title page of Operation: Red Panda states, "[t]he events in this story takes place between the end of the prose novel A Gentleman's Game and the start of the prose novel Private Wars," which at a first glance may just seem like practical and useful information for the reader, who may potentially want to check this out. The problem, however, is that the events of A Gentleman's Game seem entirely intrinsic to the set-up of the story in Operation: Red Panda, and while bits and pieces are parsed out for the reader, it mostly comes across as too little too late. Add to this the fact that the arc itself more or less leads up towards a resolution likely to be found in Private Wars, and you may begin to understand my annoyance.
It is not that Operation: Red Panda is a bad story arc; it is that is the middle of a larger story and, to my mind, does not quite stand on its own. Perhaps part of the problem would have been solved if Rucka had included a brief synopsis of the events in the first novel, but even this would not have solved the lack of resolution – which to be frank is a resolution left out of the entire Definitive Edition series, as these prose novels (obviously) are not included.
Still, as already stated, this is good material, and I certainly do not regret reading it.
April 3, 2018
Tense thrillers, I love this series. I've read most of it, except only the last Tara book (Red Panda) and the last two Declassifieds, but I liked this format better and I wanted to finish reading it. Anyway, it's really smartly written and mixes politics with the personal, emotional turmoil incredibly effectively. Most of the art is solid to good. The only series I was indifferent to was Declassified 3, by Antony Johnston and Chris Mitten. Mitten's art was too rough in comparison to the other artists, and the script was good (though more than a bit cliche in the delivery of the ending), but clearly not up to Rucka's standards. I didn't need a story about Nick Poole, a character I like quite a bit, so much that I couldn't have waited for Rucka to write it himself.
June 5, 2022
The end of the comic series.
This one had 2 operations and you will have wanted to read the tie-in novel "A Gentleman's Game" before you start reading about the 2nd operation as it starts moments after the novel ends and there are important plot points.
Operation Saddlebags was one of my favorite. Good story, good art, and good impact on the whole of arc.
Operation Red Panda is the end (minus 2 more prose books I'll probably read) I don't know why but this one fell pretty flat. It felt a little rushed? Boring? The characters were a little out of... character. It was fine but I liked it less than the others.
The last note from the author was interesting. I didn't read this as it came out so I didn't see any delays, but I thought it was stand up to say sorry for the delays and to go into the process of making the comic.
This one had 2 operations and you will have wanted to read the tie-in novel "A Gentleman's Game" before you start reading about the 2nd operation as it starts moments after the novel ends and there are important plot points.
Operation Saddlebags was one of my favorite. Good story, good art, and good impact on the whole of arc.
Operation Red Panda is the end (minus 2 more prose books I'll probably read) I don't know why but this one fell pretty flat. It felt a little rushed? Boring? The characters were a little out of... character. It was fine but I liked it less than the others.
The last note from the author was interesting. I didn't read this as it came out so I didn't see any delays, but I thought it was stand up to say sorry for the delays and to go into the process of making the comic.
January 4, 2017
Calculo que en el tomo 4 estará el desenlace de la serie porque si este fue el final, voy a quedar manija durante toda mi vida.
Que buena historieta de espionaje, estos personajes tan bien construidos no hacen más que ir de acá para allá con sus motivaciones, convicciones y "segundas agendas". Lo que este tomo deja en claro es que en este tipo de campos, no se puede confiar en nadie y hay que dudar de todo.
Y el final...pfff. Manija.
Que buena historieta de espionaje, estos personajes tan bien construidos no hacen más que ir de acá para allá con sus motivaciones, convicciones y "segundas agendas". Lo que este tomo deja en claro es que en este tipo de campos, no se puede confiar en nadie y hay que dudar de todo.
Y el final...pfff. Manija.
May 9, 2022
I enjoy this series quite a lot. This volume might not be the 5-est of 5-star books I've read, but I like and appreciate that it's grounded, and seems (as far as I can tell...which is what matters to me) reasonably realistic. I like that there are uncertain and inexperienced characters, which is a nice contrast to the bravado and slang and/or the dramatically flawed characters. I like that that some missions fail.
April 7, 2025
I’m knocking a star off this one because the trade only had two story arcs instead of the usual three, and the last third or so of the book was a copy of various scripts. As for the actual stories, it shows the progression of Tara Chace to Minder One, a job she may not be able to handle
That said, a reveal of a relationship she had with another character was neither something I saw coming nor really saw as wrong. I am guessing it came from a prose novel a footnote mentioned.
That said, a reveal of a relationship she had with another character was neither something I saw coming nor really saw as wrong. I am guessing it came from a prose novel a footnote mentioned.
October 22, 2020
Original content is lighter in this volume due to the inclusion of the script book featuring the first stories from the series. I thought the strongest section was the prologue where we meet Tara’s mom and get a glimpse into what her family is like. It explains a lot. Further, I wasn’t thrilled with missing a large chunk of the main story because it took place in a novel instead of the comic.
December 4, 2021
Mira, Greg Rucka, danos un respiro ya, que pareces el Martin en Juego de Tronos.
Un tremendo ¿final? para un arco que ya apuntaba maneras de autodestrucción. Los cambios en el SIS y las responsabilidades de Tara, y que un espía tenga trauma por su trabajo. Magistral.
El siguiente volumen parece que se centra más en llenar huecos en las historias y el pasado. Pero sigue en un nivel de altura.
Un tremendo ¿final? para un arco que ya apuntaba maneras de autodestrucción. Los cambios en el SIS y las responsabilidades de Tara, y que un espía tenga trauma por su trabajo. Magistral.
El siguiente volumen parece que se centra más en llenar huecos en las historias y el pasado. Pero sigue en un nivel de altura.
July 25, 2022
¡El tomo más real de todos! Siento que la historia ha ido en crescendo, cada vez más realistas, cada vez más difícil. Estas 2 misiones me agarraron por sorpresa y los finales fueron de lo menos predecibles. No quiero profundizar más, para evitar spoilers. Por otro lado, las ilustraciones nuevamente han estado a la medida de las historias, oscuras y atrapantes.
August 24, 2018
Recent Reads: Queen & Country Definitive Edition vol 3. Greg Rucka's Sandbaggers inspired comic series wraps the first of his spy novels in failed operations. This spying game is not easy, even for the Minders. British Intelligence gets grubby.
February 5, 2018
Za mě stále lepší a lepší. Vůbec mi nevadí, že jsem nečetl román Gentleman's game, na který navazuje třetí příběh. Naopak mi přišlo, že ty mírné flashbacky, které moc neřeknou, k sérii dost sedí.
January 20, 2019
Global politics abound as SIS field agent Tara Chase is sent all over the world in service to her Queen & Country.
November 7, 2020
It's a serious book about some serious stuff done by serious people. It's serious not comical. It's all diplomacy and politics less cartoony. Eisner worthy for sure.
September 27, 2021
I feel like Rucka really hit his stride with this series in this volume.
February 1, 2022
Things are really starting to pick up for Tara Chace and company. I've got one more Queen & Country to read and am pretty hyped to see how it turns out.
November 10, 2023
I was kinda lost having not read the 2 stand alone novels. :/
October 13, 2016
Tercer volumen de la edición definitiva de Queen & Country, y el nivel sigue siendo increíble...con unos peros.
Acá hay 3 capítulos, en donde Tara pasa a ser la Escolta numero 1, conocemos mas de su vida personal mientras se da unas pequeñas vacaciones, una misión complicada de extraccion de informaión en Rusia y una ejecución en Irak. Todo al nivel de siempre, o sea alto, en dodne Tara se ve mas humana, mas dura, aunque con dudas por todo lado, asume el rol de lider de los Escoltas sin miedo, aunque con gran responsabilidad, mientras el tomo de Irak es simplemente genial, desde la preparación del atentado, las mentiras, el estress, la tensión y sangre del ultimo numero...es un gran comic.
El arte es genial, desde el amigo Hurtt a un muy buen dibujo de Mike Norton pero todos sobrepasados por un INMENSO Chris Samnee, el cual en este momento esta haciendo paginas geniales en Marvel, pero aca, se deja la piel en unas de las mejores paginas que he visto en mi vida, un manejo del blanco y negro que haría llorar al Miller de hace 20 años, espectacular y contundente.
Al final,encontramos los guiones originales del primer tomo, por parte de Rucka con anotaciones del mismo las cuales son muy, muy interesantes, bocetos varios .
¿y los pero...?. Al empezar la operación PANDA ROJO, nos hablan de que la trama toma lugar justo después de terminar la novela A GENTLEMAN´S GAME y nos meten en medio de la historia, contándonos a medias un montón de información, que Tara fue de agente libre, se salio de las normas pero por hacer algo bien, que Tom Wallace murio, que ella lo quería y el estaba enamorado de ella...y ya, tenemos que recomponer la información por nosotros.
Queen & Country es de Greg Rucka y el puede hacer lo que quiera con ella, pero que esa novela interrumpiera la srie fue algo bajo para los que no tenemos acceso a la misma, fantástico vivir en estados unidos y saber como iba a ser la publicación del universo de Greg pero no, yo soy solo un fanático del comic de Queen & Country y vaya a saber Kaio Sama si algún dia encontrare la novela...eso me molesto un poco.
Acá hay 3 capítulos, en donde Tara pasa a ser la Escolta numero 1, conocemos mas de su vida personal mientras se da unas pequeñas vacaciones, una misión complicada de extraccion de informaión en Rusia y una ejecución en Irak. Todo al nivel de siempre, o sea alto, en dodne Tara se ve mas humana, mas dura, aunque con dudas por todo lado, asume el rol de lider de los Escoltas sin miedo, aunque con gran responsabilidad, mientras el tomo de Irak es simplemente genial, desde la preparación del atentado, las mentiras, el estress, la tensión y sangre del ultimo numero...es un gran comic.
El arte es genial, desde el amigo Hurtt a un muy buen dibujo de Mike Norton pero todos sobrepasados por un INMENSO Chris Samnee, el cual en este momento esta haciendo paginas geniales en Marvel, pero aca, se deja la piel en unas de las mejores paginas que he visto en mi vida, un manejo del blanco y negro que haría llorar al Miller de hace 20 años, espectacular y contundente.
Al final,encontramos los guiones originales del primer tomo, por parte de Rucka con anotaciones del mismo las cuales son muy, muy interesantes, bocetos varios .
¿y los pero...?. Al empezar la operación PANDA ROJO, nos hablan de que la trama toma lugar justo después de terminar la novela A GENTLEMAN´S GAME y nos meten en medio de la historia, contándonos a medias un montón de información, que Tara fue de agente libre, se salio de las normas pero por hacer algo bien, que Tom Wallace murio, que ella lo quería y el estaba enamorado de ella...y ya, tenemos que recomponer la información por nosotros.
Queen & Country es de Greg Rucka y el puede hacer lo que quiera con ella, pero que esa novela interrumpiera la srie fue algo bajo para los que no tenemos acceso a la misma, fantástico vivir en estados unidos y saber como iba a ser la publicación del universo de Greg pero no, yo soy solo un fanático del comic de Queen & Country y vaya a saber Kaio Sama si algún dia encontrare la novela...eso me molesto un poco.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2015
The definitive editions comprise two 'regular' volumes. This one has issues 25-32.
Operation: Saddlebag
It's annoying: FRENCH for 3 pages, no translation. Most is probably just sexual talk, because there are naked people in several positions. And then GERMAN for 1 page, and another 2 more pages of FRENCH. All untranslated. I know smatterings of both languages, but it's not helping the normal reader. Translations would be appreciated.
Tara gets a letter from her mother, a probably invitation to ski in Switzerland and to meet her 28 yr old fiancé, who is HALF her mother's age. Tara goes, fights with her mom, hooks up, leaves. Does get to ski a little and hang out with Rachel, an old friend. Comes back to big changes -- She's now Minder #1. Her first case as #1 begins, then goes bad, then worse.
4 stars
Operation: Red Panda
Takes place after "A Gentleman's Game", a prose novel I had NOT read before reading this :(, which means things/events/people are referred to and I have barely an idea of what happened to Tara and others up to this point. But someone she ares for very much DIED and now Tara has PTSD. Bad.
Still, she's released to work out her PTSD on her own and with co-workers' help.
A Middle East up-and-coming "President in Iraq for Life" is going to be taken out, per CIA's request; the man is under suspicion for "playing for the wrong team", something Tara's not sure is true. In fact, no Brit is sure of it, which means, if it turns out he's not guilty, but still dead, then Tara's unit are murderers. Yes, the PTSD has her shaky, but she won't admit that -- Will she do it as commanded? Or try to clear the target herself? Is she losing her touch?
On the way out of Baghdad, they hitch a convenient ride with a journalist to save fare. All three are grabbed by a group (for no reason other than to be on TV) and will be beheaded for being 'spies'.
Tara's now in trouble. Again.
4 stars
________________
Errors" 219- cheefully, should be cheerfully.
Operation: Saddlebag
It's annoying: FRENCH for 3 pages, no translation. Most is probably just sexual talk, because there are naked people in several positions. And then GERMAN for 1 page, and another 2 more pages of FRENCH. All untranslated. I know smatterings of both languages, but it's not helping the normal reader. Translations would be appreciated.
Tara gets a letter from her mother, a probably invitation to ski in Switzerland and to meet her 28 yr old fiancé, who is HALF her mother's age. Tara goes, fights with her mom, hooks up, leaves. Does get to ski a little and hang out with Rachel, an old friend. Comes back to big changes -- She's now Minder #1. Her first case as #1 begins, then goes bad, then worse.
4 stars
Operation: Red Panda
Takes place after "A Gentleman's Game", a prose novel I had NOT read before reading this :(, which means things/events/people are referred to and I have barely an idea of what happened to Tara and others up to this point. But someone she ares for very much DIED and now Tara has PTSD. Bad.
Still, she's released to work out her PTSD on her own and with co-workers' help.
A Middle East up-and-coming "President in Iraq for Life" is going to be taken out, per CIA's request; the man is under suspicion for "playing for the wrong team", something Tara's not sure is true. In fact, no Brit is sure of it, which means, if it turns out he's not guilty, but still dead, then Tara's unit are murderers. Yes, the PTSD has her shaky, but she won't admit that -- Will she do it as commanded? Or try to clear the target herself? Is she losing her touch?
On the way out of Baghdad, they hitch a convenient ride with a journalist to save fare. All three are grabbed by a group (for no reason other than to be on TV) and will be beheaded for being 'spies'.
Tara's now in trouble. Again.
4 stars
________________
Errors" 219- cheefully, should be cheerfully.
June 22, 2025
Greg Rucka continues his brilliant work and concludes (sort of, at least in this format) the first series of "Queen & Country".
In the first story, Operation Saddlebag, (after a prologue in which she has an unpleasant reunion with her mother in Switzerland) Tara Chace goes on her first mission as Minder One after Tom Wallace leaves the Special Section. Things don't go as planned when the new Minder Three screws up on his first job and Tara makes a couple bad decisions.
The second story, Operation: Red Panda, takes place between the end of the prose novel "A Gentleman's Game" and the start of the prose novel "Private Wars". So you could go read "A Gentleman's Game" (which is a good book, too, by the way) or I could just give you the gist of it: Tara (disavowed by Special Section), while on the run from David Kinney and MI5, goes on a mission with Tom Wallace. The mission goes bad and Tom dies. Violently.
[Back to Red Panda]: Still shaken from current events and still coming to terms with Tom's death, Tara gets sent back in the field by Paul Crocker, who feels "a good mission" is all she needs to get back on her feet. She and the other Minder she's with get captured by terrorists.
Note: Chris Samnee supplies amazing art for this story. Keen observers will notice that his Dr. Elizabeth Callard looks A LOT like Dr. Eileen Avery in "Area 10" [A book that I urge you to read - check out my review for that book on this site!]
I guess [they] felt the book needed more stuff, so [they] added the script book to the first-ever "Queen & Country" story arc, Operation: Broken Ground, with annotations by Greg Rucka. Okay, it's nice to see a script book and get a helping of Rucka's wit in his notes, but... I could've done without. What's wrong with a two-arc collection, anyway?
In the first story, Operation Saddlebag, (after a prologue in which she has an unpleasant reunion with her mother in Switzerland) Tara Chace goes on her first mission as Minder One after Tom Wallace leaves the Special Section. Things don't go as planned when the new Minder Three screws up on his first job and Tara makes a couple bad decisions.
The second story, Operation: Red Panda, takes place between the end of the prose novel "A Gentleman's Game" and the start of the prose novel "Private Wars". So you could go read "A Gentleman's Game" (which is a good book, too, by the way) or I could just give you the gist of it: Tara (disavowed by Special Section), while on the run from David Kinney and MI5, goes on a mission with Tom Wallace. The mission goes bad and Tom dies. Violently.
[Back to Red Panda]: Still shaken from current events and still coming to terms with Tom's death, Tara gets sent back in the field by Paul Crocker, who feels "a good mission" is all she needs to get back on her feet. She and the other Minder she's with get captured by terrorists.
Note: Chris Samnee supplies amazing art for this story. Keen observers will notice that his Dr. Elizabeth Callard looks A LOT like Dr. Eileen Avery in "Area 10" [A book that I urge you to read - check out my review for that book on this site!]
I guess [they] felt the book needed more stuff, so [they] added the script book to the first-ever "Queen & Country" story arc, Operation: Broken Ground, with annotations by Greg Rucka. Okay, it's nice to see a script book and get a helping of Rucka's wit in his notes, but... I could've done without. What's wrong with a two-arc collection, anyway?
May 4, 2012
When I first started the series, I didn't think Tara Chace was going to figure as the overall protagonist. I thought it was going to be a team-based serial, a la X-Men or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, with Crocker as the Professor Xavier/mentor/sponsor character. By the time we're this deep in the series, we're really focusing almost exclusively on Tara's story. This is all fine, just not what I was expecting. We are given a glimpse into Tara's personal history in the first storyline, which is cool.
The second storyline occurs after a Q&C novel that Rucka wrote. Although he does his best to include what happened in the novel, I still feel I'd been left out of a much larger tale. This was a problem I had reading Marvel comics when I was younger: I felt I was only getting one part of larger story and found it frustrating when the Editor would make references to other issues or comics that I didn't read.
Overall, this particular collection had a lot more action, a return to the faster pace of the first collection, which I really enjoyed. Rucka's attention to detail continues to lend the series all the authenticity and gravitas that makes the series so good. Steve Ralston, my favorite artist for this entire series, is back again and this was a big plus. The annotated script sheets that make up the last third of this collection were a nice bonus, but not really all that enlightening.
The second storyline occurs after a Q&C novel that Rucka wrote. Although he does his best to include what happened in the novel, I still feel I'd been left out of a much larger tale. This was a problem I had reading Marvel comics when I was younger: I felt I was only getting one part of larger story and found it frustrating when the Editor would make references to other issues or comics that I didn't read.
Overall, this particular collection had a lot more action, a return to the faster pace of the first collection, which I really enjoyed. Rucka's attention to detail continues to lend the series all the authenticity and gravitas that makes the series so good. Steve Ralston, my favorite artist for this entire series, is back again and this was a big plus. The annotated script sheets that make up the last third of this collection were a nice bonus, but not really all that enlightening.
June 24, 2014
So this deserves four stars except for two things. First, the novel Queen and Country: A Gentleman's Game takes place between the two missions in this book but there's no summary of the events given for those who haven't read it. The second mission heavily references events from the novel and loses a ton if you don't know what's happened, but there is no summary given of the events. Yes, there's a quick note telling you the novel occurs between the two stories so that you can go read it, but how hard would it be to give a short summary in order to make this volume feel more complete and flow better on its own. So that's probably the biggest reason why I gave this three stars instead of the four that it could have gotten. The second reason is the scriptbook. It's kind of nice to see Rucka's thoughts behind the making of the stories from volume one, but it mostly just felt like filler. So, a third of the book is filler. I typically enjoy the sketches and such included in the end, but this was a bit much. It's also something I'd have been likely to enjoy more if it was with the first volume. To have the script for the volume one stories in volume three just seemed kind of odd.
February 21, 2011
This series gets steadily better with each volume, so much so that I wish Goodreads had a half-star option. They don't so I'm forced to explain that I give this three stars (liked it) when I really want to express liking it more than the previous two volumes. Rucka still has an unfortunate obsession with rattling off an alphabet soup of department initials in his dialogue (DID, SIS, WTF) but the main character of Tara Chace becomes more fully formed by the issue. She gets two great stories in this volume, both of which serve as prologues to the two "operations" that make up the bulk of the story, but I think they're some of the best writing Rucka has done on the series yet. The rest of this edition is rounded out with the annotated scripts for the series' first story arc, which provides some nice context and background into the origins of "Queen & Country."
December 21, 2011
I enjoyed this volume but I think I'm getting a little sick of Q&C's tendency to throw us into the middle of a storyline. I understand not having the entire story laid out and coming in partway through can be helpful! But when I'm at the end of a story (I give you "Operation: Red Panda" as a perfect example) and I still don't quite understand what in the hell happened to bring us to this point, well, it gets frustrating. I'm left wondering if I missed reading a volume. ...Maybe I did.
Anyway, I do like the interplay between the characters (Nicky!) and some of the art is fantastic. They continue to catch me off guard with full-page spreads, which is also annoying, but I'll definitely keep reading to find out what happens next. I'm just hoping for some sort of a resolution before Chase totally slips...
Anyway, I do like the interplay between the characters (Nicky!) and some of the art is fantastic. They continue to catch me off guard with full-page spreads, which is also annoying, but I'll definitely keep reading to find out what happens next. I'm just hoping for some sort of a resolution before Chase totally slips...
December 21, 2011
The third mega-edition of Queen and Country offers some hits and mises. The Prologue story provides and insight into Tara Chace's hedonistic mother, forcing both women to examine how they run their lives. Saddlebag is the first major arc, sending Tara in as the number one minder, with a rookie as backup - naturally the plan goes south and Tara finds herself on the receiving end of a major scolding for the blown operation. Red Panda is the second and final arc of the book, as a botched operation leaves Tara's fellow minder and friend Tom dead. Forced to confront her feelings about the man, Tara becomes nearly catatonic while in captivity - finally exploding in rage against her captors and salvaging the mission. The final 140 pages are just scripts from the first volume, presumably added to thicken this edition. Overall, the volume is just not as good as the first two.
April 6, 2010
I love this series. Tara Chace is a real protagonist, someone you can identify and empathize with, despite the fact that she is very closed off emotionally. In this definitive edition, we learn a bit more of Tara’s personal life, including her relationships with both her mother and Tom Wallace. And, per usual, we see her kicking a lot of butt, but also getting her butt kicked (another reason I enjoy the series, and why I love J.J. Abrams’ ALIAS, is because Tara takes hits. She gets hurt, and she doesn’t always get the bad guy – the stakes are higher for the reader, and you’re never sure what is going to happen). I have Volume 4 waiting on my shelf, and I hope Volume 5 comes out soon.
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