The Activity #11

Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Mitch Gerads

Since The Activity, Nathan Edmondson and Mitch Gerads's series about a special forces top-secret team of operatives, began, each issue has told the story of a single mission, while hints have been dropped that a larger story has been playing out involving a governmental leak which has possibly compromised the team.

With this issue, Edmondson finally pulls the trigger on that storyline.  The team is sent to Minneapolis to track down a terrorist cell which is planning to blow something in the city up.  They have next to nothing to go on, and so the issue is given over to some pretty unconventional methods of locating cell phones and explosives.  While this is going on, someone in the Pentagon gets final confirmation of where the leak is coming from, and begins to investigate how widely it reaches.

The storytelling in this issue is excellent, as Edmondson plots a taut thriller, as the team watch the clock run down on their window of opportunity.  One way to track C-12 explosives is with specially trained butterflies, which leads to some very cool visuals.

One could easily argue that the nameless and undeveloped terrorists are too easy a stand-in for a threat, but the story is not about their beef with America, or whatever their motivation is; terrorists are the go-to bad guys, and many other issues of this series have used more original villains and targets.

I'm happy to see that the leak aspect of the story is finally being explored, and am curious to see where this story is headed next.

The Activity #9

Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Mitch Gerads

Every month, I feel the need to comment on the fact that I like this book, mostly because with every issue, some if the title's flaws get in the way of my full enjoyment of the comic.  I wish this series could fix its problems, because I believe that a terrific comic is hidden in here.

This issue, the team is sent to Somalia to help a British SAS group rescue a British national who is being held by a warlord.  We meet the British team, and one of them shares some awkward flirting with Fiddler.  The mission is put into jeopardy when American missile support moves up their timeline.  Meanwhile, Stateside, plans are made to test the team to make sure that no one has compromised themselves, in the light of some recent mistakes.

The writing is taut, and the pacing very good.  The problem is that, nine issues in, it's still hard to care about these characters, because they haven't been very developed.  I know that's part of this book's shtick - that these people are so dedicated to their job and servicing their country that they don't have personal lives - but it leads to a lack of emotional investment on my part.

The other big problem with this issue is the art.  Mitch Gerads, the usual series artist, switches up his style this issue, giving us a sketchier, more messy style.  It works with the subject matter, but it makes it even more difficult to tell who is who, especially when the action switches from the usual team to the British one.  I'm all for artists experimenting with their style, but storytelling should still come first.

The Activity is a good comic, and Edmondson is writing it intelligently, by allowing the on-going story of what's happening at command levels to build with each issue, while still spotlighting the mission.  There are things that need to be fixed though.

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.

The Activity #7

Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Mitch Gerads

The Activty, Edmondson and Gerads's military black ops comic, has been criticized for being too TV, and for not building up its characters, as each issue has shown a done-in-one mission.  That all changes with this issue, which launches a multi-part story arc called The Goat, and which gives at least one of the team members a private life (at least for a little while).

The comic opens with a team infiltrating a cargo vessel, and while searching it, finding a known terrorist from Yemen.  He ends up giving some important information about an earlier Team Omaha mission to his interrogators, and soon our team is off to Uzbekistan to make their target, known as 'The Goat', want to come over to the American side. 

The team employs a number of psy ops techniques to turn him, including having him wake up in his own bed to find a number of laser targets playing across his body.  There is a bit of humour to this issue, as Team Omaha finally have a mission that doesn't fall apart on them (at least so far), and doesn't have anyone shooting at them.

Back home, one of the team, code-named Bookstore, is told that she has to end her relationship with her boyfriend, but is not given a reason as to why.  I assume this will be picked up upon again.

Edmondson's writing here is sharp, as is Gerads's art.  I've enjoyed this series from its beginning, but am happy to see that something larger is taking place.  I wonder if this storyline is going to be the one that addresses some of the clues that Edmondson has been dropping about the team's future.

The Activity #5

Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Mitch Gerads

I've seen this title criticized for being a little too 'television'.  Each issue has basically been structured around a single mission for the covert direct operations team that star in this comic.  We have not seen much in the way of character development, and haven't been given much information about the members of the team.

I agree with this criticism, but have also stuck with this series, as I have the feeling that Nathan Edmondson has a plan for this series, and is slowly building his larger story, while still making sure that each individual issue contains a complete mission. 

We have seen Team Omaha screw up a few times, and have seen that their star is definitely falling in the intelligence community in the US, while they are still being used to attempt ever more difficult missions, as if someone wants the team to fail.

In this issue, we see a little more of this back-room intrigue, before joining the team in Thailand, where it appears they've screwed up once again.  They are in custody, after being captured with a number of illegal weapons and ID that suggests they are Australian.  Choosing not to talk, they are soon tortured for information.  Edmondson works a nice little trick into the story though, so things aren't all what they appear to be.

While this is going one, we are given a number of flashbacks that follow the career of Locke, the team leader, and how he ended up in charge of the team.  It's nice to see his character being worked on.

Mitch Gerads, the artist of this book, has shown improvement with each issue, and much of this one looks amazing.  His pictures of a firefight in the snow in Afghanistan are terrific.  This book is steadily getting better and better.

The Activity #4

Written by Nathan Edmondson

Art by Mitch Gerads

I really like this series.  I've long been interested in war comics, and have had some experience with the more modern warfare-based video games like Call of Duty Modern Warfare, which this series appears to owe a great deal to (apparently, you can play against the creators of the comic on Xbox Live).  So far, most issues of this comic have had the Omaha team - a special Direct Action team of rather murky black ops provenance, complete a single mission.  There hasn't been a lot of building from one issue to the next, and the characters remain rather one-dimensional, but it's becoming clear that Nathan Edmondson is slowly building towards something.

In this issue, the team has to figure out a way of bringing down a Colombian drug lord's helicopter in such a way as to keep him alive, and extract him from the country without being identified.  They are partnered with a Delta team, and the main chunk of the issue, which involves attaching a device to the helicopter without being seen, is pretty suspenseful.

Things don't work out exactly as they were intended to, and from that, and the mistakes of last issue, I can predict that we are moving towards a longer story arc.  I like, so far, that each issue has stood on its own, but am ready to see a little more overlap and character development, now that the 'rules' of this series have been established.

The Activity #3

Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Mitch Gerads

Nathan Edmondson's new monthly series, The Activity, is a strange beast.  It's a military special ops comic, about a Direct Action group, and as I've said before, it brings to mind some of the best of Greg Rucka's Queen and Country series, and the television show The Unit. What is strange about this comic is that Edmondson has been slow to develop the characters beyond showing them as functions of their positions on the team.  Another book this is reminiscent of is Andy Diggle's The Losers, but again, that comic was full of strong character work. 

This issue feels like it is trying to correct this problem, but it's done in a manner that is perhaps not all that effective, while still making an interesting read.  As the comic opens, the team is being extracted from a mission in Afghanistan which has clearly gone badly.  While flying in a military transport back to the United States, the team begins to second guess their decisions, and the decisions of each other, leading to conflict, catharsis, and the sharing of military stories.  All of these are good things, but I leave the comic no clearer as to who each of these people really are.

As I was reading the book, I was struck with the thought that Edmondson is going to need to start to develop a longer narrative here.  Having each issue spotlight a particular mission is, while within the nature of a team like this, not going to create a sustained sense of development in the series.  I'm not suggesting they need some shadowy organization to go after month after month (á la Cobra or Al Qaeda), but a sense of progression is needed.  The end of this issue does lead into the next, which is a good sign, as is the suggestion that this team may be reaching the end of their usefulness.

It also needs to be said that Mitch Gerads's art is improving quite a bit from month to month.  At first, he seemed like a decent if somewhat generic indie artist; now I'm starting to see the development of a more individualistic style, and I like it.

The Activity #2

Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Mitch Gerads

The comparisons between this title and Greg Rucka's Queen and Country, or the TV show The Unit are pretty easy to make, but that doesn't mean there isn't a place for this comic on the stands.  As a fan of war comics, and espionage, when it's done correctly, I am finding myself really getting into The Activity, which chronicles the missions of a Direct Action Quick Response team.

This issue focuses on a mission involving a terrorist cell in Amsterdam that is holding an undercover agent hostage, and is going about procuring weapons.  We get the usual thing you would expect with a storyline like this - cool gadgets, and a chance to see the team in action.  There are a couple of surprises along the way, as we begin to get a better understanding of how this team operates, and just what they are all about.

To be honest, I would have appreciated a little more character development in this issue.  I get that these guys have to keep things professional, but aside from a little hazing of the new operative, there is nothing going on here to help us learn more about who these people are.  I'm hoping that Edmondson addresses this soon, or this series could quickly become dull, lacking any human connection.

Still, this is a nicely-plotted and executed comic, and I'm looking forward to learning more as things progress.  There are some seeds being planted that inter-agency issues will become a big part of the book; that could get interesting.

The Activity #1

Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art by Mitch Gerads

I loved Greg Rucka's Queen & Country (which I was admittedly late to discover). I also got into the TV show The Unit for a while.  This new comic (I'm not sure if it's a mini-series or an on-going; Image is pretty bad about telling us things like that) fills the gap that those two forms of entertainment has left.

The Activity is about a super-secretive group of operatives recruited from various military and intelligence organizations in the American government.  The book opens with them executing a perfect snatch-and-grab of someone we assume is a Mexican drug lord.

The team returns to their home base, where we learn that they recently lost a member, before they are sent to Rome for a new mission, with their new replacement.  The mission is pretty straightforward - they have to cover the tracks of a CIA operative who had to abandon his cover by burning down his office and scrubbing his car - but it allows Edmondson space to introduce the characters a little, and establish the book's parameters.

There is some question as to the loyalty of the new member, dubbed Fiddler in typical, annoying code-name speak.  Other than that, we are given next to no information about what this team really does, or who their masters are.  What is clear though, is that this is going to be a very cool comic.

I like Gerads's art a great deal.  He handles complex action scenes, like the one in the Mexican restaurant, very well, and differentiates the characters nicely.  Edmondson has proven his ability to write compelling spy-based comics (read Who Is Jake Ellis?), and I feel that this comic is already heads above his work on Grifter at DC.  Check this out.