The U.S. government has just found out that the Soviets may have agents active in Vietnam in 1971, and they have someone that can prove it. That’s where the story begins, as these government agencies try to coordinate and keep this person in a safe house. As you can imagine, the words “safe house” don’t always work out well in any fictional story (and that goes double for comics.) As the events that surround this asset start to unfold, a crazy series of events follows it. Then there is one agent with the FBI that seems to stand out from the rest. I wasn’t quite sure what to think of him, until you read on and found out what he did to something in the house. It seemed like a small detail at the time, but became far more important at the end of the story. In the last couple of pages, a story that had largely been in three different places quickly converges and you’re left wondering what the next step will be.
I had high hopes for this book, given the premise, but I have to be honest. This book was a little too random and frantic for my taste. Sometimes that is a good thing, but there really didn’t seem to be any sense of structure here. The story just wasn’t together enough for me and I found it really difficult to get invested in any of the characters. There were also times where elements were added for shock value that just seemed completely unnecessary. Without spoiling anything, one of the characters makes a really horrible decision that I just don’t see someone in that position making. Given the circumstances, and who that character worked for, it just didn’t make sense. This book lacked the tension that I was hoping for and, other than the time period, didn’t really capture the feel of the Cold War. That could be harsh for just one issue, but I just didn’t feel like there was much of a reason to stick around for more. The art is good, and I do like how they worked music into the story, but it’s just not enough to save a book that is too random for it’s own good.