Checkmate #23

Alas, poor Rucka...

I heard the announcement that writer Greg Rucka was leaving Checkmate with issue #25 just before I read this issue. And that may have worked against him. Or he may be working against himself.

Let me explain: this is a good issue of Checkmate. However, knowing that this story must wrap up in just two more issues forces me to look at this story differently. And I think it may have forced Rucka to look at it different. "Castling - Part One" recalls an earlier storyline featuring the terrorist group Kobra and a Checkmate member known as Pawn 502. This should be the start of an espionage epic. But the knowledge that there are only two issues to wrap up this story leaves me feeling that this issue is a tad more rushed than it should be. The brevity of the arc has already robbed us of some mounting tension. In just one issue, Checkmate calls in Superman, who rescues the pawn. Pawn 502 dies. The issue is action-packed, and the use of Superman is fantastic, but...I still feel like the threat of Kobra has been built up to be huge, and the current plot is snapping into place too quickly.

That said, this is still a very good comic book. As mentioned, Rucka gets to play Superman off of Checkmate this issue, and it works exceedingly well. Most of my favorite potrayals of Superman have been through the eyes of other characters, and the respect that The Black Queen shows Supes in this issue is very cool. I also like the new characters of the White Queen, her knight, and her bishop, but I'm saddened that we won't really get to know them too well under Rucka's tenure. Mr. Terrific and Sasha Bordeaux also get a nice scene in this issue.

Joe Bennett's art has never been a favorite, but it's serviceable and clear here. Works well. The real joy of this book is Rucka's masterful storytelling, but I'm afraid he may be coming to a rushed conclusion.