Fall of the Wall

by Greg Rucka, Chris Samnee, Eric Trautmann

Written by Greg Rucka & Eric S. Trautmann Art by Joe Bennett, Joe Prado, Chris Samnee and others Cover by Kalman Andrasofszky The saga of Checkmate continues in this volume collecting issues #16-22... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401217885
• ISBN13: 9781401217884
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.7" x 10.1"

Customer Reviews

The more things change...

I'm not really spoiling anything when I tell you that the "Wall" in the title refers to Amanda Waller, Checkmate's "White Queen." I mean, the cover image tells you that. And you know she'll be back. That gal always manages to land on her feet. One of the major B-stories in this arc is the workplace romance between Mr. Terrific and Sasha Bordeaux, which, for my money, wasn't really necessary, but served as a nice counterpoint to the constant threats to life-death-reputation-career that these characters endure. Rucka knows how to torture his protagonists. This volume ends with a standalone tale focusing on the Black Queen's Knight, Josephine Tautin, a.k.a. "Mademoiselle Marie;" and then there's a coda titled La Vie en Sang, and that alone may be worth the price of the book for some. Stories of heroic sacrifice always get me.

A War of Queens

"The OMAC Project" was one of the more interesting preludes to "Infinite Crisis" as it gave a look at the DCU from the perspective of intelligence agencies and espionage agents. Its' spin-off "Checkmate" continued the story and proved to be one of the best books DC has put out in years. While marked as Volume 3, "Fall of the Wall" is actually the 4th collection as it follows the events of the Checkmate/Outsiders crossover, "Checkout". The book compromises the titular "Fall of the Wall" as well as several single stories. The single stories are character pieces, focusing on the relationship between Black Queen Sasha Bordeaux and White King Michael Holt, a day in the life of the new Checkmate security chief, and the origin of the French agent Mademoiselle Marie. "Fall of the Wall", of course, is a different matter and is the culmination of one of the main subplots that has been building since the first book, "Checkmate: A King's Game". In the aftermath of "Checkout", Bordeaux and the agency are coping with the fallout from their excursion onto Oolong Island. But the wrath of the Chinese government is the least of their problems That honor goes to the White Queen, Amanda Waller. It has been common knowledge since "Checkmate: Pawn Breaks" that Waller's appointment to White Queen had been a compromise. Despite her knowledge and experience, the United Nations was also wary of her history with Task Force X and the Luthor Administration. She was therefore placed in an administrative position and if there was any sign of trickery, she would immediately be shown the door. Of course, Waller is as Waller does and has naturally been using Checkmate resources for her own ends, such as the "Salvation Run" project. But the suspicions of Bordeaux and the others has been aroused and they immediately take steps to bring Waller down for good. But as I said, Waller is as Waller does and Amanda Waller isn't ready to go down without a fight... It's fun to see the Waller subplot come to a head as Greg Rucka demonstrates again why he is a master of political intrigue and realism within the DC Universe. His writing, combined with Joe Bennett's crisp artwork, make for another excellent outing in the "Checkmate" series.

Re: Checkmate's series continues...

This new installment in the Checkmate series continues to maintain the twists and turns readers have come to expect with series writing. A first-rate collection from the DC universe with adequate art work to support the writings efforts.

Words can't describe just how good Checkmate is

Perhaps the most surprising of DC's post-Infinite Crisis and 52 ongoing series' has been Greg Rucka's run on Checkmate, and Fall of the Wall, the third collected volume in the series, takes Rucka's espionage opera to even loftier heights. Amanda Waller finds herself with her back against the wall, and Mr. Terrific and Sasha Bordeaux may prove to be the biggest thorns in her side. Under Rucka's hand, we see just how ruthless Waller, always an underrated and underutilized character in the DC universe, is and can be, and just what lengths she will go to come out on top. Twists abound, and seeds are planted for the final storyarc in Rucka's run that follows this. Joe Bennett provides more very solid artwork, and once again, Rucka's script is compulsively addictive and surprisingly complex. All in all, Fall of the Wall is another brilliant installment in Greg Rucka's Checkmate, and if you haven't checked this series out yet, you are missing quite a bit.