Posted by pixelkong@hotmail.com on August 12, 2007 at 18:19:51:
Hi. Much of this has to do with Greg Rucka's comicbook work; I'm posting it here because ComicBloc seems to be a primarily DC-oriented board (and this has to do with more than just his DC work), and because registering for this forum is much easier. :)
So first, I've been wondering about Queen and Country, and Oni Comics in general. I haven't seen any new issues out in quite a while, nor have I seen any other Oni comics...is the company still alive? Is it hibernating? I've seen Greg Rucka, Judd Winick, and Jen Van Meter all writing DC books lately...did everyone just get busy with other projects? I miss my Oni comics...Q&C, Blue Monday, Barry Ween, Hopeless Savages, and I particularly miss seeing Steve Rolston's illustration style.
Secondly, I wanted to ask a few questions, and offer some constructive criticism, about Checkmate. I recently finished reading the CheckOut crossover (yes, I'm behind...hadn't checked my pull box in over a month), and I have to say it left me rather disappointed. The premise was solid, and the subplot involving the discovery of Waller's unauthorized operatives kept me interested. But the story soon turned (as expected) towards Chang Tzu and his torture of the captives.
The thing is...there was no payoff to the story, no climax, no...anything, really. He wasn't torturing them for information, and his 'research' didn't seem to go anywhere. He had no particular 'evil plan' related to what he was doing, other than the fact that he apparently likes taking people apart to see how they work. Well, he disappears without confrontation, Batman makes his rescue without any real challenge, and the closest thing the reader gets to a climax is the Outsiders fighting some giant...thing that doesn't even have a name.
The ending just seemed like the authors were in a rush to finish the story off, without really giving any thought to tying up plot points, or providing any sort of climax to the story. It's as though one were reading "Little Red Riding Hood", and right after the wolf eats grandma, Red just...called a cab and went home. I generally associate Greg Rucka with much better scr1pting than this, and while I realize that the last issue was written by Judd Winick, the story as a whole was co-scr1pted, yes? And the following issue of Checkmate didn't really seem to pick up on anything from the previous story arc, other than a few mentions of Sasha being tortured and her arm being all-metal now.
I've been reading Checkmate since issue 1, but every time the comic crosses over with another comic, or has guest writers, it seems to get worse. It feels like the story is losing its way. What's happening here? Is there an effort to switch plots mid-stream? Was there a conflict over how CHeckOut should end?