Checkmate #5

Checkmate #5

DC Comics 2021

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Illustrated by Alex Maleev

Coloured by Dave Stewart

Lettered by Josh Reed

THE DAEMON ROSE IDENTITY…REVEALED! Ripped from the pages of Justice League! As Checkmate digs deeper, it's obvious that what Leviathan is selling is a dirty lie that cannot sustain itself…so Checkmate has to…INFILTRATE LEVIATHAN. But with Checkmate being so outside of the system, once any of them go undercover, they are officially…not on our side.

Six issues of this run just isn’t enough. There has to be some way that this moves directly into a new ongoing monthly series. I’m still confused by The Guardian being a member of Leviathan, is he still related to Roy Harper?, so there has to be more on that. Brain introduces us to so many different possibilities that stick with the reader, and the great part of this is that not everyone will be stuck on the same point; it'll vary depending on the reader. It is so smartly written that what we see relates to all of us and resonates in different ways at the same time. It is an impressive piece of writing and it's what I’ve been waiting to read from Bendis since he came to DC. We definitely need a spy, espionage or black ops kind of book that isn’t tied into any major character and for me this is the perfect book for that.

I am incredibly impressed with 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 exquisitely. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character development as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in bringing their individual personalities to life. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story it somehow pulls us even further into the intrigue in ways we didn’t think were possible.

I’m pretty impressed with the way we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. How the layers within the story continue to open up new avenues to be explored and add so much great depth, dimension and complexity to the story is masterfully done. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is perfectly rendered.

Alex’s style of work just lends itself to this type of story exceptionally well. The mood, tone and feel that is created and how we see and feel this is utterly amazing. How we see the attention to detail throughout thanks to the linework and its varying weights and techniques is beautifully rendered. The way that backgrounds are utilised judiciously enhance and expand the moments while also working within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is gorgeous! How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work pull the attention right where it needs to be. That we see such great techniques utilised to lay it down is sensational.

​

Rarely am I as excited for a book as I am for this one. The potential is here for so much more than is visible on the surface. The mix of characters alone is worth the price of admission and who they can pull from on an as needed basis is just as exciting to contemplate. With such smart, intelligent writing and intense, in-tune characterisation along with these perfectly moody interiors really up the game for everyone else across the board.