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I grew up watching the afternoon G.I. Joe cartoons in the glorious 80s and imagining my Barbies pair much better with the Joe action figures (dolls!) than with Ken. I can't say I've been a dedicated fan since, but they claim a nostalgic spot in my heart.
The graphic novel here, which is a collection of #1-4, retains the macho patriotism I remember, but none of the humor or camaraderie. The good guys are still going strong, but there is a lot more psychological gamesmanship to the good-bad fight. It's a machiavellian world out there and the Joes reflect that. Greater good ho! I recently watched the latest Bond movie, Skyfall, and it struck me that Bond isn't really a hero. He's a dude doing a job and he's not there to prevent innocent lives being lost even if he can manage it. Collateral damage, here we come. The Joes aren't much different. Maybe this is because the bad guys seem to be much worse than I remember. Mostly they were stupid and/or incompetent. These villains are decidedly not. The evil end of the spectrum has expanded, so it seems the Joes have shifted over to maintain the status quo. A lot of food for thought in a comic book!
The art was a bit tough on my eyes. A lot of dark and ill-defined areas for a reader who likes details and realism. Did they fire the cleanup artist? Everyone looks the same! The art does mirror the mood and tension of the characters, though. Things are blurry and shadowy and definitely not smooth.
The plot is well-thought out and executed. Chameleon, a COBRA defector, is trying to prove her new loyalty to the Joes while remaining out of reach of her old cronies. COBRA is temporarily out of commission, but the faithful are far and wide. The Joes lay a trap for the wiliest bunch only to have it backfire and it's up to the backup crew (all women, curiously), including Chameleon, to salvage the mission. The Joes's existence depends on it.
Showing posts with label espionage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label espionage. Show all posts
Saturday, September 07, 2013
Sunday, June 09, 2013
Tainted Angel by Anne Cleeland
Synopsis: Goodreads Amazon
Recommended for: people who like romantic spy adventures, Regency/Georgian/Napoleonic period
When starting a new book, context plays a big part of getting into and staying into a story. So without detracting from the importance of a killer opening paragraph, it probably doesn't bode well that I kept wondering if I was reading a sequel of a series where a lot has already happened. Let me make this easier on ya'll who are looking at this fresh: this is a stand-alone where the characters have a lot of common backstory that you won't ever really know in full. Armed with this knowledge, the many references to the Flemish mission can be just so much chatter in the background. In addition to not being a sequel, Tainted Angel doesn't appear to be a beginning of a series either, so you can sink into the plot knowing the resolution is within reach. It's a refreshing change from all the trilogies and endless series that every new author seems obliged to put out.
Vidia Swanson is very, very good at her job as an "angel". Angels are covert agents, usually female, whose purpose is to inveigle secrets via pillow talk and the like. (Others in the spy genre call them valentines, honeytrappers or femme fatale.) Her assignments for the British Crown make the most of her insanely good looks so all business she conducts is high-profile. Her current target is a financier who is playing a double cross game with the help of Vidia. Another agent, Carstairs, seems to be caught in the crosshairs and Vidia feels a net closing in - a net she can't bring herself to resist. The plot pretty much revolves around whether, how, and why Vidia is playing that double or triple or quadruple cross. Her spymaster believes she has been compromised, or "tainted", and someone is either right behind her to arrest her for treason or is a step ahead of her anticipating the next move that might show her hand. Stakes are high when the mere appearance of guilt means the gallows.
Recommended for: people who like romantic spy adventures, Regency/Georgian/Napoleonic period
When starting a new book, context plays a big part of getting into and staying into a story. So without detracting from the importance of a killer opening paragraph, it probably doesn't bode well that I kept wondering if I was reading a sequel of a series where a lot has already happened. Let me make this easier on ya'll who are looking at this fresh: this is a stand-alone where the characters have a lot of common backstory that you won't ever really know in full. Armed with this knowledge, the many references to the Flemish mission can be just so much chatter in the background. In addition to not being a sequel, Tainted Angel doesn't appear to be a beginning of a series either, so you can sink into the plot knowing the resolution is within reach. It's a refreshing change from all the trilogies and endless series that every new author seems obliged to put out.
Vidia Swanson is very, very good at her job as an "angel". Angels are covert agents, usually female, whose purpose is to inveigle secrets via pillow talk and the like. (Others in the spy genre call them valentines, honeytrappers or femme fatale.) Her assignments for the British Crown make the most of her insanely good looks so all business she conducts is high-profile. Her current target is a financier who is playing a double cross game with the help of Vidia. Another agent, Carstairs, seems to be caught in the crosshairs and Vidia feels a net closing in - a net she can't bring herself to resist. The plot pretty much revolves around whether, how, and why Vidia is playing that double or triple or quadruple cross. Her spymaster believes she has been compromised, or "tainted", and someone is either right behind her to arrest her for treason or is a step ahead of her anticipating the next move that might show her hand. Stakes are high when the mere appearance of guilt means the gallows.
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