QUEEN & COUNTRY: THE DEFINITIVE EDITION VOL. 1

By Greg Rucka, Steve Rolston, Brian Hurtt, and Leandro Fernandez

Q&C is a modern day spy drama focusing on the operations of the Special Section of Britain’s Ministry of Intelligence, more covertly known as SIS or MI6. In 2002 it won an Eisner for “Best New Series” and was nominated 2 more times for “Best Continuing Series” and “Best Serialized Story” for “Operation: Broken Ground”.  It’s written by Greg Rucka who shows a deep knowledge and understanding of the espionage game and the players involved. There is tons of realism in his portrayal of British covert operations, from the missions themselves to the people behind the scenes running them. The book is thick with espionage lingo, and once you get used to it and know who’s who, it paints an awesome picture of the spy game.  The stories focus a little more on one of the Minders. There’s 3 of them (designated Minders 1, 2, and 3) and their role is that of field operatives.  Minder 2, Tara Chace, is the main character and we get a deeper look into her life more than anyone else.  She’s a strong female lead in a man’s game and it’s interesting to see how she keeps it up. The bureaucracy is thick between the agencies directors and adds tons of intrigue and background to the story.  By the time you’re done, you feel like you have a good understanding of each character and their roles within the agency.  This definitive edition collects 3 arcs, all drawn in monochrome by different artists.

1. Operation Broken Ground by Steve Rolston (Brian Wood’s “Pounded”, The Escapists),
2. Operation Morningstar by Brian Hurtt (The Damned, Skinwalker, Three Strikes),
3. Operation Crystal Ball by Leandro Fernandez (Punisher MAX, Stormwatch, Hulk, Wolverine, Iron Fist).

Operation Broken Sword sets everything up and brings you into the game, so by far it’s the best story. It’s this story that won the Eisner. Steve Rolston’s art is lacking fine detail and looks a little bare at times with hardly any shading, but it still visualizes the story just fine.  Operation Morningstar takes a look into the mind of Tara Chase (Minder 2) during therapy while her team continues on without her on an important operation.  Brian Hurtt keeps to a similar style with Steve Rolston but uses shadows more effectively making everything appear more detailed. Operation Crystal Ball  was a different style that of the first 2 chapters, and was by far my favorite as far as art goes.  The way Fernandez draws his facial expressions is really cool. Overall, the art just rides on the tail of the strong storytelling, so if you like espionage and spies, check this out. I, for one, am glad I did.

Martin