Checkmate #2

Checkmate #2

DC Comics 2021

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Illustrated by Alex Maleev

Coloured by Dave Stewart

Lettered by Josh Reed

The heroes network-the secret technology that connects the Batcave, the Hall of Justice, and Superman’s Fortress of Solitude-holds all the secrets of the DC Universe. The growing evil called Leviathan is trying to get it…and Checkmate are the only people standing in the way. All this and Leviathan versus Talia al Ghul in a fight to the finish, not to mention someone has kidnapped Lois Lane! And you never, ever, ever kidnap Lois Lane. Plus: Who is the Daemon Rose?

Here’s the all important question when did Shaw take over Markovia? That’s Geo-Forces country and there’s no way he lets that go to someone like Shaw without a fight. I’d see him being able to take the Khandaq or Bialya before Markovia. I am intrigued by this series because we’ve seen Shaw in the past suffer from multiple personality disorder and he seems to have this hodge podge collection of agents from various agencies trying to cobble together technology that shouldn’t be compatible with each other but being forced to work and this is a recipe for disaster but insofar seems to be working in his advantage. The real question is can the new Checkmate rise to the challenge and stop him thus reinstating the status quo of the worlds espionage agencies.

I am thoroughly enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter as it fleshes them out and portrays them in both familiar and yet fresh ways that continue to make them exciting. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists & turns along the way we find ourselves so engrossed and engaged by what we see.

I appreciate the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, evolve, strengthen and newly emerge. The avenues we’ve seen already opened and explored contain the fresh characterisation while the newly emerging ones add plot twists and all of them add depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is greatly achieved.

The interiors here are absolutely gorgeous! The lienwork is fantastic and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised ot create the detail work is extraordinary. When we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments it’s a great thing so I wish we’d see more of them. Still how we see the composition within the panels bringing out depth perception, a sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is so well managed. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is beautifully rendered. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a great understanding of how colour works.

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I really hope that once this limited series is over that we’ll once again get an ongoing Checkmate series. There are so many possibilities out there and the Suicide Squad cannot be the only series that deals with the underhanded government agency that we see currency in use. This has some amazing writing and characterisation that’s wrapped up in some fine interior artwork that really brings the reader back into this world of unlimited possibilities and leave us wanting more!