Pick of the Week
What did the
iFanboy
community think?
Pulls
Size: pages
Price: 3.99
It was a week or two ago, while reading comics, and caused by nothing particular, I noticed that I missed Checkmate. Well, I missed Checkmate by Greg Rucka and Eric Trautman in any case. Only several months out did it occur to me what a unique and interesting comic book Checkmate was for 25 fantastic issues. It was not an easy comic book, but it was a rewarding one, and if you made the effort to keep the sprawling, ever-changing cast straight in your mind, and really paid attentions to the machinations going on with these characters, you’d be rewarded by dense, tense stories and characterizations you never thought you’d care about. So when Conor told me to make sure that I pick up Final Crisis Resist, I nearly blew him off until he said, “It’s basically Trautman and Rucka doing Checkmate.” Oh really? Because it was as true when Tom Keifer of Cinderella sang it in 1988, as it is now: you don’t know what you got ’till it’s gone.
These days there isn’t much left to Checkmate. In the midst of the whole End-Of-The-World fiasco from Final Crisis, Checkmate have set up shop in Antarctica, and are trying to mount a resistance, which is mostly futile. They’ve got Snapper Carr teleporting in and out of places to try to keep Darkseid from finding and using really horrible biological weapons, and they’re trying to find a way out of the plague of Anti-Life. But just a few pages in, they’re found out and nearly everyone left in Checkmate falls to the equation (math is evil!), leaving Mr. Terrific, Snapper Carr, Thinker, and Taleb as the last line of defense. Even after they survive, it’s pretty much hopeless, as Sasha Bordeaux succumbs to anti-life, and the OMAC tech in her system puts her mind on ice to sustain the body, essentially leaving her lover, Mr. Terrific on his own, to figure out what to do next. And that’s just some of what happens in this issue.
The fact is, I was trying to remember what I needed to cover in summarizing this issue, and there’s just too much. In this one issue lay the seeds of Darkseid’s defeat, as well as some really interesting character moments from characters I had not ever cared about, as well as ever more good work exploring the realities of a world where Final Crisis is actually happening. The main mini series is going by so fast that Grant Morrison rarely has time to explore the world he’s made, because of the all the pieces he has to move. Nearly as much goes on in this issue, but somehow, with an elegance that isn’t as appreciated as it should be, Rucka and Trautman just find all these numerous story beats and start knocking them down one after another, like Wyatt Earp shooting cowboys (for you Tombstone fans). When I step back, and look at everything that was accomplished in this single issue, I am awed by how well it was done. And not once did I feel rushed. What I did wonder was, “How can they tell the main story without making this a necessary part of the whole,” with the answer, of course, forthcoming in Grant Morrison’s final issues. Overall, the issue was a clinic on how to do really excellent superhero comics, in the midst of a universe changing crossover event, using characters most people don’t know, and just owning every page of it. Granted, this is a specific niche, and I’m not sure how big the class could be for that clinic.
Ryan Sook handled the art with just as much aplomb. Here’s a guy I need to see more of. Since he left X-Factor, he pops up here and there, but never for very long, and it’s a real shame. He’s got a great dramatic flair, and the panels are exciting and dynamic. The style really isn’t that far off from JG Jones, and I don’t think it would have been a bad idea at all to use him to fill in here Jones couldn’t on Final Crisis. Just like the script is full of story, moments and beats, the pages are brimming with content. He doesn’t take a breath in this issue, and just looking at the amount of figures and facial expressions as I flip the pages, I’m exhausted. It was an accomplishment to get it done, get it done clearly, and it was actually really good on top of all that. Even if you don’t buy this book (and if you’re into Final Crisis it looks like you really should) pick this up off the shelf, and look at the pages Sook produced. They’re incredibly impressive, and I’m going to be watching for where he pops up next.
I can sit here and tell you what a big fan I am of the craft of this book, but none of it would mean a thing if it wasn’t entertaining as well. This was a page turner, and the clearest representation I’ve read about what’s happening in the world of Final Crisis to boot. Plus, it reunited me with some old friends. Granted, it gave them a hell of a bad day, but that’s what writers should be doing, among all the other things that were done right.
Josh Flanagan
I didn’t even mention the Cheetah thing!
josh@ifanboy.com
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Some rights reserved.
Flipped through it at my LCS and it looked good, shame I didnt pick it up. I was shocked that this was pretty much Checkmate with a FC twist. Might as well called it Final Crisis: Checkmate. Oh and not to ruin the issue but OMAC’s are involved…..Usually I hate those guys but if they are used the way I think they will….Then Final Crisis is gonna be kicking ass in the future.
*my pick was Grant Morrison’s Doctor Who #2 btw*
Good lord Josh…I haven’t even gotten off work yet. But I am really excited about this book. Loved Rucka’s Checkmate.
Crap, now I may have to pick this up (I’m still at work, as well). I’m really trying to stick to my guns and limit my single-isse buying, but I might as well bite the bullet since it’s a one-shot penned by Rucka and I’m really loving Final Crisis thus far.
Steal it… read it at the comicbook store…
Sook is a funny name…
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280760/
so far i have been pretty under whelped by final crisis
i know this is trolling but i feel like the story has disappeared up it’s own arse
But having said that, this review did make me want to read Resist
Nice work, Josh
I love the by-line of this review on the main page. Hi-larious!
Nice review Josh. I pretty much agree with you here, except I was a little lost at the end as to how the resistance was going to work. I haven’t finished my books yet this week, but this one is definitely in the running for POW.
I picked this up and put it down and bought the complete Rogues Revenge. There are too many of these Final Crisis books and I have to draw the line somewhere. The Final Crisis cover dress is just so pretty though!
Excellent choice for a pick. I had a really light week (five books) and the only thing that came even close to being my pick was Sgt. Rock (only because I’m a sucker for war stories). The 25 or so issues of checkmate Rucka did were some of my favorite comics I’ve ever read, so getting another (with Snapper Carr!) was AWESOME
I’m surprised that the 3 one-shots have been the best FC tie-ins so far. I was not looking forward to Requiem, Submit, and Resist….and for the most part they have all been very very good. Requiem is probably the best out of the bunch but I’m gald all of them have been great.
will this make sense if i havne’t read checkmate before?
This was an excellent issue, but I am concerned that this resistance will receive very little attention in the main book. 5 million OMACs should be hard to ignore.
@Anson17 – I have read very little checkmate (maybe two issues) and I had no problem whatsoever following it.
Man, I miss Rucka’s Checkmate…
Wow. DC is on a roll. 5 of the last 6. I may have to look at my pull lists to start picking up a little more DC.
I’ll head to my shop and pick this up tomorrow! I missed it today!
i am surprised how good this was!!
ill admit i had my doubts, after reading submit, though i shouldnt have with the success of Revelations and Rogues Revenge
Ill admit i am very impressed by Greg Rucka’s work here. He manages to really show off the world where evil has won in a strong manner. in many ways i feel he has built more to the world better than Grant Morrison inside the main title. Greg Rucka manages to pefectly walk the line as he makes us feel that there is no hope, that evil has won, just before giving us a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
with great tie-ins like this, Rage of the Red Lanterns Revelations, and Rogues Revenge DC has turned me to the dark side away from my Marvel roots.
Then again Secret Invasion failure practically did that by itself!
I didn’t read ‘Checkmate’ and I’m not attempting to follow Final Crisis as it comes out, but I’m noting this review for future reference. You make it sound really interesting.
My week of comics was pretty middle-of-the-road, but I did want to mention the first issue of X-Men/Spider-Man mini by Chris Gage. This was really fun and feels a bit like the X-Men First Class/Ultimate Spider-Man crossover that Conor seemed to want a while back. (These seem to be the main-universe versions of the characters, but it had that kind of fun-loving feel.) First Class is on hiatus right now, so this could be a stopgap for people who want that type of story.
Top Ten #2 was the bees knees.
Any review that references a song by Cinderella is a win in my opinion.
My favorite Cinderella song is "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes".
red this in the store. it was good missed Checkmate. wish they were back…
ULTIMATUM!!!!
I tried to read this.
Honest, I tried.
My POW is TERRA, in a busier week it probably wouldn’t be as it’s got it’s problems, but I LOVE Amanda Conners art so I’m willing to overlook some story trouble.
But Final Crisis Resist was a real close second.
Josh, I couldn’t agree more. Riding home tonight on NJ Transit I was reading through my books and was holding on to this one to savor. I knew Rucka was gonna knock it out of the park, and he did.
I’ve been on Checkmate the whole way through (even the issues after Rucka came off the book.) And you guys are right. The 25 issues he wrote are just plain great comics.
Mr. Fantastic, Sasha Bordeaux (sp?) are great characters, and the work done to develop them in Checkmate really pays off here. Thinker is a great character, and Taleb is just plain fun.
I hope after this is all over, Rucka gets another book like Checkmate.
100% my POTW.
coolish cover
It’s Thursday late night, 1am…..Do you know where Ron’s POTW article is? 😉
It’s on PST with Ron.
Oh that’s right…..
Damn you Science and your ‘time zones’!