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Checkmate (Single Issues) #23-25
Kobra: Resurrection
Kobra is an international terrorist, mad scientist and mastermind whose runs a criminal organization with the same name that wants to usher in a new age of chaos. Their efforts at world conquest has brought them directly into conflict with the majority of Earth's costumed heroes. This graphic novel features the secret origin of Kobra plus the epic tale of their greatest battle with the international peacekeeping force known as CHECKMATE.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Greg Rucka
1,527 books1,949 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 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 1, 2023
Nice story arc and art. Good entertaining read. Recommended
May 5, 2021
Looks like DC is trying to revive Kobra again. The original concept was that they would be a cult of evil fanatics for DC’s heroes to fight. Kobra’s leader would be worshipped as a god by his followers. It's not a bad concept, but DC’s writers generally seemed more interested in using villains specific to their respective books. It doesn't help that their leader and his objectives are so vaguely defined.
The book kicks off with a three issue storyline from Checkmate. Kobra works as a threat for Checkmate reasonably well. Certainly superspy action always does well with an army of evil henchmen to fight. The story is a bit insular. Some of its impact depends on familiarity with the DC universe. At one point, a team of specialists are called in, the Rooks. Clearly, we’re intended to recognize them, but, G.I. Robot aside, I didn't. And no points for guessing how their mission turns out. It's pretty obviously telegraphed. Separated from the Checkmate series, I don't think this story works very well on its own.
The first issue of the original Kobra comic book, reprinted in this volume, is notable mostly for having layouts by Jack Kirby. But let's be honest: artwork by committee--no matter who did the layouts--is not usually a strong selling point. The book's concept borrows heavily from Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu, but compared to that, or even to the New Teen Titans’ Brother Blood, Kobra and their leader come off as distinctly second rate.
Then we get a later adventure with Batman fighting Kobra. It's decent enough, but pretty standard for late 70's/early 80's Batman. It tries for some changes on the formula introduced in Kobra #1, but they don't really help much.
And then we get what's probably the most recent issue yet, an attempt to reboot the concept yet again. Honestly, the most memorable aspect of this entire book is how it showcases repeated attempts to get the Kobra concept to catch on with readers. So far, as best I can tell, none of those attempts have worked very well, and the title remains a minor footnote in DC’s history.
The book kicks off with a three issue storyline from Checkmate. Kobra works as a threat for Checkmate reasonably well. Certainly superspy action always does well with an army of evil henchmen to fight. The story is a bit insular. Some of its impact depends on familiarity with the DC universe. At one point, a team of specialists are called in, the Rooks. Clearly, we’re intended to recognize them, but, G.I. Robot aside, I didn't. And no points for guessing how their mission turns out. It's pretty obviously telegraphed. Separated from the Checkmate series, I don't think this story works very well on its own.
The first issue of the original Kobra comic book, reprinted in this volume, is notable mostly for having layouts by Jack Kirby. But let's be honest: artwork by committee--no matter who did the layouts--is not usually a strong selling point. The book's concept borrows heavily from Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu, but compared to that, or even to the New Teen Titans’ Brother Blood, Kobra and their leader come off as distinctly second rate.
Then we get a later adventure with Batman fighting Kobra. It's decent enough, but pretty standard for late 70's/early 80's Batman. It tries for some changes on the formula introduced in Kobra #1, but they don't really help much.
And then we get what's probably the most recent issue yet, an attempt to reboot the concept yet again. Honestly, the most memorable aspect of this entire book is how it showcases repeated attempts to get the Kobra concept to catch on with readers. So far, as best I can tell, none of those attempts have worked very well, and the title remains a minor footnote in DC’s history.
March 12, 2024
Sad that this is how Rucka's run ends. His Checkmate run ends with a possibly epic battle with Kobra crammed into three issues with no set up, time to breathe, or intrigue. The book is overfilled with military speak and the ludicrous idea that more metas were needed to solve the issue at hand. The new members are given no character development at all. The art is fine but this was poorly written and plotted. Overall, too much in too little time.
July 2, 2012
Such an interesting and suspenseful novel. You'll be glued to each and every page.
March 7, 2013
Kinda sorta. I read the Rucka CHECKMATE issues out of this. A great wrapup (except for the FINAL CRISIS: RESIST one-shot) to Rucka/Trautmann's take on this corner of the DCU.
October 17, 2016
A nice mix of older and newer material, plus some Kirby art. Cool!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews