Checkmate Vol. 3: Fall of the Wall

Checkmate #3

by Greg Rucka

The espionage and intrigue continue as Amanda Waller — Checkmate's White Queen — resorts to blackmail to protect her own covert op interests.

Collectes Checkmate #16-22.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fiction, Crime, Thriller

168 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2008

About the author

Greg Rucka, is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.

Reviews

[Chad]

Finally, things come to a head with Waller and her operating the Suicide Squad in secret. Lots of intrigue here as Waller goes up against the other 3 heads of Checkmate for the leadership of checkmate. Also included is some early Chris Sammee artwork on a two-parter about the history of Mademoiselle Marie and an old Superman villain taking over as Castilian for Checkmate.

[Little Timmy]

Nice crossover story. good art and writing. Recommended

[John Yelverton]

Intrigue galore as Amanda Waller finally gets what's been coming to her for ages.

[Kelsey]

Nothing wets my appetite like scheming Amanda Waller machinations, whether by her or against her..That's what the majority of this volume is about, and even though Waller is busted from her position, you just don't fuck with the Wall. A reckoning is coming.

The last two issues are a get-to-know-you with Sabine, the Black Queen's Knight. She had a rather cool history with the mantle of Mademoiselle Marie.

Only thing keeping this from five stars is that once again, this volume does not feel cohesive.

[Richard Franklin]

My favorite thing about Greg Rucka is the way he balances action scenes and political intrigue/espionage. It's pretty common for a comic of his to have it's most intense and exciting moments happen during a conversation in a conference room after the big fight is finished. His Checkmate run is all of that with the added bonus of some great superhero stuff.

And with all this going on, he still manages to find the time to create some amazing character moments that have stuck with me ever since I first read these issues as they were coming out. Sasha Bordeaux's confession to Mr Terrific about why she was staring at him still gets to me. Batman's short appearance and Sasha's reaction to seeing him still hits me hard.

I don't know why his run ended when it did, but I really wish it would have been longer.

[Sean]

My favorite Checkmate volume so far. We get some real life ramifications for Waller's actions and the "good" members of the organization attempting to subvert her power play. It was solid spy work from Rucka and Trautmann. I liked the fallout of the Outsiders crossover but wish they dealt with Sasha's treatment more. There was also a very good look at Josephine's history and a really good action tale. Joe Bennett's art was very good. Overall, this was a very good book filled with intrigue.

[Andy Dainty]

The Castellan start was a bit of a slow issue to start this collection with, but is then relevant later. But following this the Fall of The Wall arc is in full swing and thoroughly enjoyable. I also enjoyed the Mademoiselle Marie story, which had fantastic artwork and feels very Girl Power.

[Timo]

Maybe this calm before the storm period for Rucka, but for me, these stories just never seem to pick up.
Couple of fillers, one longer story arch and one interesting two parter about the history of Mademoiselle Marie, which was cool, because it always nice to read comics about strong females.
But still, stale after taste, much happened, but nothing memorable.

Timo

[Craig]

This was better then the last. A villain from the 90's superman's days joins checkmate. A story about the black queens knight. And best of all the fall of the wall! I hate Amanda Waller , but there's no denying she's a great character. Still it's fun to see people like her go down once in a while! Great stories and the arts pretty cool most of the time. Over all a great book.

[Ryan Viergutz]

Checkmate's a bloody cool idea for a spy org in a superhero world. They operate in pairs: one normal, one superhero, and the basic concept starts to utterly and thoroughly unravel in a good dramatic way in this volume.

[Sylvester]

Amanda Waller gets put into her own place. This volume also features an exploration on the background of Josephin Tautin.

[Christopher]

This has been a very enjoyable series. Look for a new, updated release of this title later this year. Perhaps with extras?