Image Comics 2017
Written by Rob Williams
Illustrated by Simon Fraser
Coloured by Gary Caldwell
Lettered & Designed by Peter Doherty
The world's computers have been wiped out. Civilians are rioting in the streets, desperate for food and turning on their neighbors. Meanwhile, somewhere in China, superspy Eggsy's fighting to stop the Red Diamond from crushing the global economy, and he's trying to seduce the beautiful agent Kwaito in the process. His cocky British charm can only get him so far, though, and it doesn't help with his sexual prowess. Issue number four of this action-packed miniseries contains chaos, sex, violence, and crisps.
Alright so I like that this keeps going in a direction that feels so true to the original source material and those that have branched off from it. Granted Eggsy looks much older than I think he should be hey it’s all about perspective isn’t it? I do like the story and how it opens with Eggsy’s mum and brother, showing off how his mum always picks the wrong sort of bloke. I mean what the hell is he thinking that screaming from it from the balcony all that’s going to do is bring trouble to their door the moron.
Meanwhile Eggsy and Kwaito are plunging to their deaths in that cramped elevator. Or are they I mean seriously of course they find a way out of there they wouldn’t be superspy’s if they couldn’t! I do like all the gadgets and techie stuff that we see. it’s the crux of what makes spy stories like this as much fun as they are and what would a British spy be without them? James Bond has Q and Eggsy has Le Fay.
The action here is high octane and what the heck throw in a sex scene and we’re good to go. Eggsy is a member of the younger generation and it’d be nice to see that he’s willing to swing both ways if the situation is right. The womanising spy has been done to death let him be an equal opportunity shagger it would certainly add more depth to him that’s for sure. Otherwise the characters that we do see are very well rounded and eclectic in nature. I think that the characterisation that Rob does is pretty darn good and he certainly knows his way around a good story.
Ah Simon how nice do your interiors look! The attention to detail is very nice to see and the surprises, the flag on the crotch bit for instance, are little things that are noticed and appreciated. The use of page layouts with their angles and perspective are well done and demonstrate his eye for storytelling. Backgrounds in many cases here can be hard to realise but honestly I think what he brings to this is amazing stuff that really expands the scene and the story. Also it does wonders in giving off emotion and such so we can see the collapse of society happening and don’t need a lot of words.
I do like the way this story is structured, the ebb & flow between story and plot development interspersed with the action sequences are done extremely well. Rob is a man who can write this seemingly in his sleep because we see things happening in a nice sequential kind of way the impact of which is mean to hit hardest in this order. From the opening to the last page this story is chock full of those moments that define not only the story but the creators as well.
Fun, cheeky and full of both the expected and unexpected this is the kind of rumpus that we love to see. Solid storytelling alongside some very nice expressive interior artwork this keeps the childhood spy dream alive and well.