Spy Seal #4

Written and Illustrated by: Rich Tomasso

Published by: Image

Spy Seal has been quite the refreshing miniseries from Tomasso. Unlike a lot of other comics on the shelf these days, it takes a lot of queues from European comics from the storytelling, to the layout, and especially the art. It is by far the comic that makes me think of my favourites from my youth, most notably The Adventures of Tintin in its design.

For the past three issues, we have been following Malcolm as he begins his life as a secret agent for MI:6. In this issue, we get the culmination of his escapades throughout Europe as he and MI:6 begin to unveil the secret of the Corten-Steel Phoenix.

We begin the issue with a well-disguised Malcolm trekking his way through what I could only guess are the Scottish Highlands as he is making his way to an underground auction at one of the Scottish castles. Price of entry: one of the Phoenix pins that were introduced in earlier issues. Kes, Malcolm’s partner, also makes her way to this auction. Kes, she gets in pretty easily. Malcolm, no such luck.

However, Malcolm’s misfortune actually turns into a positive as he is able to start to unravel the mysteries happening around him - and it helps that he basically stumbles into the answers.

As with previous issues, the comic has its high, action-packed moments, but also relies on slower, character-driven moments to move the story along. This issue does suffer from the same issues as other miniseries where the denouement happens quick, and a little out of nowhere for my liking, but it does wrap up earlier plot threads which are appreciated.

All in all, Spy Seal was a very fun read that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun adventure. Reading it in single issues was a lot of fun, but this may be one of those minis that is best to read in trade, if only to be able to keep track of who is who from moment to moment.