The Losers, Vol. 4: Close Quarters

The Losers #4

by Andy Diggle, Jock

The Losers' pursuit of rogue C.I.A. mastermind Max has led them to London, where a potential trove of information on their quarry's financial dealings awaits them at the money-laundering offices of Cayman Credit Internationale—provided they can get past the Company-sponsored welcoming committee.

Following the money will only take them so far, though. To find out what all that cash is for, the Losers will need to head out to sea—and what they discover both above and below the waves will raise the stakes of this deadly game to a whole new level.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Espionage, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Military Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2005

About the author

Andy Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of 2000 AD. He is best known for his work on The Losers,Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Adam Strange and Silent Dragon at DC Comics and for his run on Thunderbolts and Daredevil after his move to Marvel.

In 2013 Diggle left writing DC's Action Comics and began working with Dynamite Entertainment, writing a paranormal crime series Uncanny. He is also working on another crime series with his wife titled Control that is set to begin publishing in 2014.

Reviews

[47Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cayman Credit Internationale is a British company Max used to move money around. The Losers pose as weapons dealers, intending to work their way up to Max, but discover Stegler instead. He is an old CIA agent who worked with Sanderson, another CIA agent who got too close to Max. When Sanderson turned up dead after refusing to close his investigation, Stegler decided to side with the Losers.

Roque springs out of nowhere when Clay tries to log into a CCI account that traced the money Max used to pay people off. He barely gets away, but the Losers get the data they sought. Max has been profiting directly from the terrorist activities he triggers.

A tracer on Roque leads the Losers to the Azores. Max intends to steal missiles with weapons grade Plutonium from a couple of French vessels. The Losers get in his way in spectacularly effective fashion, even though nothing goes according to plan. Roque loses the missiles, but survives.

[Tony Cafiso · Rating 3 out of 5]

This comic was about a group of criminals against the government. At the beginning of the story they are trying to hack into a bank computer system that has a lot of money in it. The next mission they were on was trying to prevent another group from getting their hand on a bunch of plutonium. I didn't enjoy this comic as much as i did the walking dead because it seemed a little harder to follow. Maybe if i had stated with the first volume i wouldn't have felt like i was thrown right into the middle of things. Also, I had an idea of the story behind the walking dead from the TV series which is something I didn't have for this comic. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys crime stories or just good action comics that aren't about superheros.

[Vikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars all the way .. best action comic there is .. full of mystery and Max still has to go down .. finale would be awesome.

I have always loved comics, and I hope that I will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics or Diamond Comics or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on the international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I can. I Love comics to bit, may comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this volume got interesting, by mixing spy stuff with a complicated crime caper. Okay, so I had a little trouble believing the methods being used to move the warheads, but so it goes. The level of tension was certainly built into the story in an interesting fashion, and the tension of the whole "who is blowing up who" fight got nice and complicated. The subplot with the sub got to be odd, though. Still, if the ships were in fairly shallow water when all that went on, everything mostly makes sense, other than the good guys assuming that the plutonium was now "safe" under water.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never underestimate Jake Jensen!!

[Andy Haddon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good work.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still both predictable and stereotypical yet enjoyable all the same as I plug my way through the series.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took an involuntary break between volumes 3 and 4, due mainly to my inability to locate either of the last two volumes of this series in my local comics shops. Maybe that was the problem, but "Close Quarters" is a step down from the previous installments.

While the first three volumes of this series were pretty derivative, I never felt they dipped quite as deeply into the realm of cheap cliche. From the very first page, which is little more than a lame joke to two of the main characters sleeping together (for no particular reason) to the reappearance of a villain who was previously thought dead, everything just feels like a cop-out. I feel strange saying this about a comic series that only lasted 25 issues, but this feel like a lot of padding.

[Tays · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow even with all the these surprising hits this volume has, I feel like it's simply mediocre compared to the first three. The unpredictability of it all is seemingly trying to wrap things up so quick in this one. Roque coming back and that little heartbreak you get from Jensen dying but actually didn't were the only bits that caught me off guard. Nevertheless, the storytelling was still brilliantly executed and the art style was always shiny as it ever was. I wouldn't say that this is the weakest volume this title has though. I guess the title was just finally growing on me and I feel like I'll be saying goodbye soon.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found a used copy of this for dirt cheap, so I thought I'd give it a try. I have not seen the movie nor read any other volumes of this comic, so it was like seeing only the middle half-hour of a movie. I didn't know the back story or characters so I was a bit murky about what was going on. Also, the minimalist art made it hard to distinguish one character from the other. Lots of action movie tropes here, and the book moves briskly, but I just couldn't get very involved. Maybe if I found some earlier volumes, I'd actually understand the story better.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the movie opening in 2 weeks i decided to burn thru the five TPBs that had been loaned to me. With help from an information source close to the Qatar royal family The Losers follow the money to London, and from London to the hijacking of nuclear warheads. yes, not warhead, warheads. Max's plan is closer to fruition, we also get a trip to Sealand (which actually exists), and has Aisha actually chosen The Losers' side?

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good solid storytelling. The mysteries and subplots are beginning to converge, and make more sense - so in one respect the story's getting easier to follow (and less complex or implied). The action picks up here and is breezy, fast-paced - we know the characters, we aren't as surprised by their actions - but in another respect I'm really enjoying their interactions and craziness.

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically a well-told story, I think, but kept from greatness by the artist Jock. While the art is often striking, due to his rendering it can be very difficult to tell which character is speaking and his story telling in action scenes is too hard to follow. Pity. This would be much better if drawn by an artist without these flaws.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continues the story well. I dug the Ben Oliver art in the first story here a lot more than his superhero work I've seen. Inking/finishing can make all the difference.

[Mac · Rating 2 out of 5]

As we get closer to the end, we have less fun. Too bad.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my favorite so far, and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that it has no connection to the movie (at least as far as I can remember.)

[gradedog · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good...

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man, had a bit of a scare.