Image Comics 2017
Written by Rob Williams
Illustrated by Simon Fraser
Coloured by Gary Caldwell
Lettered by Peter Doherty
When super-hacker Alias shows up in New York's financial district, Eggsy's the Kingsman agent sent to stop him. But with Red Diamond's henchman pursuing the same target, things are about to get tricky for our novice spy. Will Eggsy save the day and woo sexy agent Kwaito, or will the hackers plunge the world into darkness before he gets the chance?
I do like a spy thriller and while Kingsman certainly falls into that category we do see a bit more humour sprinkled in than in we normally see in them. which is actually okay I mean Eggsy is a cheeky monkey after all and the humour fits him and by extension those around him. It's what makes this rather unique and enjoyable to me. This is my first Kingsman comic and yes I came to the party late but thanks to the movie here I am.
The opening here is a perfect example of that aforementioned humour. Rob does this spot-on thing with Eggys and Ryan picking up kind of where last issue left off. As mum had gone off with a bloke leaving Eggsy to babysit Ryan get sick and what's a barely out of teens with no experience going to do he's going to head to Kingsman headquarters for a cure. Or at least as close as he can get. Rob really does a magnificent job with the characterisation and dialogue during this and it made me laugh almost the entire time.
From there the story begins in earnest as circumstances take Eggsy into action which makes him incredibly happy. I do like the way that Rob structures the story here as he's able to weave the action in with the story and the character development. There's an ease to the way he writes that makes it seem easy when we all know it's not. Just as we know it easy making Eggsy so cheeky as well as being an effective agent. I mean there's old school physical humour here that works nicely and continues to demonstrate the he's not quite the man he thinks he is. It also means there's plenty of room for growth as well.
While Simon demonstrates a solid eye for storytelling I do wish this were more highly detailed and less almost a cartoon version in comics form. That being said that doesn't mean this isn't enjoyable because it totally is. The use of page layouts with their angles and perspective are done very well and he conveys motion nicely. While not used all the time the amount of backgrounds in play here add a volume to the story that is greatly appreciated. Oh and while yes I do wish Eggsy looking a bit more like Taron in his appearance here he does look like a proper bond type spy.
I like both the continuation of what we saw happening with the underwater evil organisation as they send the goon, with a surprisingly soft side, out to kill the hacker. I do hope that once they find a way to stop the virus and stop them from their nefarious plans but I also hope that they don't get found and destroyed. It would be nice for Eggsy and The Kingsman to have a sort rival organisation that is bent on revenge as well as world domination. Just saying it would be fun to see that play out over several arcs.
The introduction of a new player on the board is well done and now that we know they all kind of exist it'll be interesting to see if more show up as well or if it's just the two of them now. Rob has got me hook line and sinker here and there's no hope for me now.