The Activity #8

Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Mitch Gerads

I frequently find myself flip-flopping on this comic.  I loved the last issue, but found this one to be a little off-putting.  This one picked up from the last, as the team was in Uzbekistan, working a local criminal, or terrorist funder, or something, into coming in to American custody to give up his associates.

The first issue played out very nicely, as the operatives played up his paranoia and fears by terrifying the man into thinking he was being hunted by his enemies.  This continued this issue, as they led him straight to Fiddler, one of the operatives, who was going to 'rescue' him and lead him to the American authorities.  The mission scenes worked well, but the scenes in America felt a little disjointed.

Last month, it was revealed that Bookstore had a relationship with a man named Mark, at least until she was told to end it by her commanding officer, with no reason given.  Now he suddenly shows up as a civilian who is working with the ISA, and the scenes between him and Bookstore are very awkward.  I feel like, if he was always intended to become a plot point, he should have been introduced into the series earlier; their break-up carried no emotional weight, and therefore his appearance in this issue doesn't resonate at all.

Still, I'm enjoying this comic.  I like that there is a place for an espionage comic that is well-written, has good art, and is very grounded in the possible, unlike most war and spy comics.