Checkmate #1 Preview

[Agent Z]

I'm not buying it, or really, the whole logistics of somehow sweeping up government agencies, all their employees and assets alongside a religious terrorist group. I mean, did Frank in accounting just decide to leave everything behind for a bounty hunter?

Honestly, it feels like Bendis is gonna smoosh all the DC agencies and evil organizations together so that we'll have DC's version of Shield vs. Hydra.

Frankly, I liked how different organizations had different mandates and identities. Shoving them all into one group is underwhelming, at best

Sadly, DC's various spy and law enforcement agencies were all starting to act rather samey before this happened. Bendis's decision, as much as I may not like it, seems like the logical conclusion.

[Factor]

The funny thing is that D.E.O. is already back. Bones seems to be running it concurrently with his involvement with Checkmate, which is more confusing than the the previous status.

[Seth_Brower]

Ok, yeah as a fan of previous Checkmates, and some early Bendis work, and ... not a huge fan of recent developments in the DC Espionage space lately and Bendis' more current work this was ... more of the same.

I'm honestly not even sure I would call this issue table setting.

[Frontier]

I'm not buying it, or really, the whole logistics of somehow sweeping up government agencies, all their employees and assets alongside a religious terrorist group. I mean, did Frank in accounting just decide to leave everything behind for a bounty hunter?

Honestly, it feels like Bendis is gonna smoosh all the DC agencies and evil organizations together so that we'll have DC's version of Shield vs. Hydra.

Frankly, I liked how different organizations had different mandates and identities. Shoving them all into one group is underwhelming, at best

Yeah, Leviathan just feels like discount Hydra.

[Marvell2100]

After Event Leviathan, I'm kinda leery of Bendis right now. It was a great start and an anti-climactic ending.He's been hit and miss lately with more misses and the Bendis-speak needs to be dialed back on this one. I like the mystery and the cast is interesting. I'll probably pick this up anyway but I really hope it's worth it.

And I'm waiting for Amanda Waller to show up again.

[BatmanJones]

Man, that was bad. DC, please get rid of Bendis. Everything he’s written for DC has been awful. His JL is worse than Hitch’s I can’t remember when it’s been so bad. This issue was even worse than Leviathan.

[numberthirty]

Accounting for the break that this was coming off of and the fact that readers might not know anything about the series it is spinning out of?

This was pretty "Blah..."

While there were a couple of mildly interesting moments, it just seemed like it burned right though what will be a set number of pages.

[Captain Nostalgia]

I think people who are interested in this book should pick Event Leviathan and the follow-up special prior to this.
Those books are where the current team was assembled and the new Leviathan threat was established.
I think I'd be pretty lost reading Checkmate #1 if I hadn't read the rest.

All in all, #1 was ok, but as usual in Bendis's books, it felt like reading a 10 pages comic. Not a whole lot happened but at least the art is pretty.
I hope this picks up and we get a proper Checkmate run soon.

I guess I was so gitty to see The Question (Vic) finally back in action that I forgot about the whole Event Leviathan premise & other members.

...but your right...if you haven't read Event Leviathan it would be a dry read and you'd be totally lost.

From a personal standpoint, I guess it was to much to ask to see some of my favourite heroes assembled on a team that would have a complete fresh start, but I'll take what I can get, and see how the story develops.

[Lee Stone]

Hmmm... If we could drop everyone but Green Arrow, Question and Manhunter, then add in Bronze Tiger and Huntress...
Then maybe swap out Bendis for Dixon or O'Neil, and keep Maleev.
Or even swap out 2021 Bendis for 2001 Bendis.
Then it would be poifect.

I'm willing to give it a shot, though, since I do DCUI and it won't cost any extra to read them.
But I guess I'll have to back and read Leviathan which I had dropped the first time Lois used bad grammar.

[Captain Nostalgia]

Hmmm... If we could drop everyone but Green Arrow, Question and Manhunter, then add in Bronze Tiger and Huntress...
Then maybe swap out Bendis for Dixon or O'Neil, and keep Maleev.
Or even swap out 2021 Bendis for 2001 Bendis.
Then it would be poifect.

I'm willing to give it a shot, though, since I do DCUI and it won't cost any extra to read them.
But I guess I'll have to back and read Leviathan which I had dropped the first time Lois used bad grammar.

The Question, Green Arrow, Huntress and Bronze Tiger, (That's would be four of my all time favourite super heroes right there on one team!)

Written by O Neil or Dixon two of my favourite writers of all time!

Alas you ask too much my fellow comic fan! DC isn't run like a business, if it was perhaps something as magnificent as that would happen....

but we can always dream!

[NaVi]

I guess that dark figure in the background is superman, I don't know why they put Superman in this comic, when he will surely be a simple guest.
I hope that this time the protagonist above the other characters, is Lois, after all, we superman fans had to swallow the publicity of the first event in the superman comics.

[Robotman]

After Event Leviathan, I'm kinda leery of Bendis right now. It was a great start and an anti-climactic ending.He's been hit and miss lately with more misses and the Bendis-speak needs to be dialed back on this one. I like the mystery and the cast is interesting. I'll probably pick this up anyway but I really hope it's worth it.

And I'm waiting for Amanda Waller to show up again.

Yeah I felt similar. I liked Event Leviathan at the start so I’m gonna wait and see with this. Bendis has had some ok moments but overall his time in DC has been mostly negative.

The colorist clearly doesn’t know the difference between The Question and Rorschach. It’s annoying that editorial didn’t catch that.

In Event Leviathan, Mark Shaw kind of resembled David Bowie. Now I’m seeing shades of Bowie in King. I guess he’s the go to look for mysterious figures.

[Korath]

I'm trade waiting it (in fact I'm waiting for the translation even ^^) but I think it'll be off to a great satrt per the preview. Plus, now that the mystery of who Leviathan is, the stakes will be higher and better established for me.