This issue has been over a year in the making and it was definitely worth the wait. If you’re new to the series than you’ve chosen the worse possible issue to begin with just so you know. This series really sets itself apart from all other comics and makes the Call of Duty tie-in comics look like an even bigger joke than they already were. Of course we haven’t seen any of those since the disbanding of Wildstorm, but The Activity is still here and going strong. The last issue took a break to establish some relationships and build back story for Switchfoot. We begin this issue with Switchfoot picking up a girl in the bar. After a passionate night he ends up having to bolt on her when he gets a call from an old friend. His character seems to be getting to the age where he wants to settle down and come home to the same person every night, so he asks the woman to give him a shot to prove he’s not a one-night stand. We’re filled in on the phone call as Switchfoot and Team Omaha go over the job. They’re basically going to Brazil to save a private contract worker from Israeli that’s been taken hostage by coke dealers in honor of the special ops code.
It’s not a sanctioned job so anyone that helps understands what they’re apart of and the risks. They take it since they’re grounded anyways. Meanwhile, we check in Sergeant Doyle who was arrested in the last issue and he’s being questioned as if he was a homegrown terrorist. He denies everything and suddenly they flip on the two-way glass so he can see into the other interrogation room… Oh the shit that goes down.
This was a great issue and there is a huge amount of plot payoff for anyone that’s been reading the series prior to this. My goodness I didn’t expect this outcome and it’s made the story going forward even more interesting. There’s still more moles to be questioned and I’m really wondering what will come from these developments.
Edmondson has done a great job of developing the plot to this point. My only concern is that there wasn’t a larger plot revealed in this issue since, which is kind of the norm when one plot is wrapped. I’m sure that there is one or it could very likely be that this original plot still has some life left in it, but it suddenly feels as if there is a finite amount of story rather than a potentially endless series. Otherwise, this was a great issue. There is still going to be ramifications to the fallout of this issue on Team Omaha and that’s going to be a fun read.
Gerads returns to the art and damn what an issue to return to. He captures the emotion on Doyle’s face perfectly and the entire interrogation scene is intense and emotional in general. In fact Gerads does a fine job of capturing the heavy amount of emotions in the issue. Especially on the faces of the team as they pretend not to be bothered or affected by anything, when really they’re racking their brains for answers. The action was as smooth as always and very realistic.
I’ve been waiting for this issue and usually when that happens you can be left with a bittersweet feeling, but that’s not the case here. This was a rewarding read and it was worth the time invested in the series. I’m looking forward, as always, to next month’s issue which is sure to be a great jumping on point for new readers. If you’ve been missing out, take that as an opportunity to jump on board.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Nathan Edmondson Artist: Mitch Gerads Publisher: Image Comics Price: $3.50 Release Date: 5/22/13