Oh Checkmate, how I love thee. It's really sad to know that this arc is Rucka, Trautmann, and Bennett's swan song, but at least they're leaving with a bang!

This issue continues #23's awesome pace as we dive full-on into a strike, utilizing the still "deputized" Superman, on another Kobra installation. It's fast, it's exciting, and I really like Superman's slow realization of how messed up these Kobra fanatics are. It makes sense that the big boy in blue would have a hard time understanding just how nuts these people are and it gives Rucka and Trautmann a good opportunity to remind the readers of this too.

This is Checkmate running in top gear, nobody's standing around idle. Somehow the title manages to showcase everyone and not have it come out as a train wreck. And I love that here, because the interplay between the different Royals and their departments has been one of my favorite elements of this book. Plus, the freaking JSA, JLA, and Outsiders make guest appearances! This book is just damn exciting, and the pages featuring the "live feeds" of all the deputized metas running around trying to stop this Kobra plan from getting too out of hand is just great. I love how dry and technical it is, and how frenetic it all feels.

The Kobra clinic that the Bad Samaritan discovers was creepy as all hell, and I loved it. And the way they introduced the Rooks was absolutely fan-tas-tic! The weight and gravitas that the scene authorizing the use of the Rooks carried really made me say to myself, "Oh crap, things are about to get heavy." And then that last page reveal? Ugh, I wish I had a time machine so I could jump ahead a month and get issue #25 now!

Again, sorry to see this creative team leave one of my favorite ongoing series, but damn if I'm not having a good time on the way out!