Checkmate #17 - DC

This is a fantastic book. I love what Greg Rucka is doing with it. And look at this cast of characters. We have individuals from all across the spectrum. Mr. Terrific, Amanda Waller, the Thinker, Fire, King Farraday, Count Vertigo . . . just to name a few. This issue we focus on Checkmate security. And they bring in a character that's just as controversial as the rest . . . Carl Draper aka Deathtrap. His previous experience, both on the good and bad side of the fence, have made him the perfect candidate for the job of Castellan. That's head of Castle security for us civilians. We get a little of his background story. And we see how he has his system set-up, and interfaced with his own brain. One of his tests is to go toe-to-toe with the Thinker. If anyone could hack in to his systems . . . it would be him. And . . he actually holds his own. There's two main things that come out of this story though. The first is the Code Zoo. " . . . a repository for Artificial Intelligence. Every AI that checkmate has ever encountered is locked away in the zoo. They're either in there as complete self-aware constructs or captured fragments of code. All of it trying, relentlessly, to break free." That is one of the main things that Draper's been assigned to protect and watch. The second important thread is the attack that follows on the castle. It's very systematic. They use magic, and the League of Assassins, and strike in the exact spots that would cause him to have to redirect power. It's so exact to the way he would've done it, that it becomes obvious to him that it's someone trying to pick up his criminal career where he left off . . . his daughter. The part that isn't addressed though, that I'm worried about, is that in the final gambit he used some boom-tubes to capture the threats. In order to do that, he had to divert some energy from the generator that runs The Zoo's security systems. So I'm thinking that maybe even though they're confident that they stopped the attack, maybe the intended item was actually obtained. And that's what I really love about this book. Stories within stories. This really is a great series. I wasn't to thrilled with the artwork this issue. But that's a minor complaint.