Sunday Splash Page #110

"Oh Look, a Fight Between Two Characters Nobody Cares About," in Checkmate (vol. 1) #16, by Paul Kupperberg (writer), Rick Hoberg (penciller), Al Vey (inker), Julianna Ferriter (colorist), Gaspar (letterer)

I own three issues of the 1980s version of Checkmate (and none of Greg Rucka's early mid-2000s version, before you ask). All three are part of the Janus Directive, the crossover that ran between a bunch of the vaguely espionage-themed books DC had going for a few months. Checkmate, Suicide Squad, Manhunter (and did I see Bendis brought back Mark Shaw as some crazy cult leader? Jesus Christ), as well as Firestorm and Captain Atom, for some reason or another.

Well, Captain Atom is generally related to the military, and Ostrander was writing Firestorm at the time, so maybe that's reason enough.

Honestly, Janus Directive is kind of a mess. By design, since the whole thing is Kobra pitting all the various intelligence/national security groups against each other. Everybody keeps running around attacking each other constantly. This issue picked up after Checkmate attacked General Eiling. He sends Major Force after them, at the same time they're attacking Belle Reve to get at Waller. The Squad goes after Checkmate later about that. It's hard to keep track of whose on which side or who they're attacking from one minute to the next.

Checkmate appears to be "espionage" in the '80s superhero comic book sense. Everyone still runs around in brightly colored outfits. At least it's more visually interesting than dark suits or generically "realistic" outfits.

Things I Think About #32

Something's been gnawing at me for a few days about Checkmate #1. Specifically the cover. First, let me say I like that cover. I think it's awesome. The black and white, the kinght chess piece, all very nifty. It also very cool that they seem to have given each character at least a somewhat different lighting. As an aside, I like that Alan Scott has that greenish tint, does it mean he's merely put the powers away for now?

But there was something about Sasha that kept picking at me. I couldn't figure it out, but I knew she looked familiar to me. "Well, you've probably seen this cover for months in the Previews, and in the advertisements in DC books, that's why," you might say. But,I was positive there was something else to it. Yesterday, while thinking ahead to Adult Swim that would be coming that night, I finally occurred to me. Something about that picture makes her look a lot like Major Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex to me.

This is not a problem for me in any way, nor do I think it's intentional, though if Bejermo is making an homage, that'd be pretty cool. More likely it's just my brain making weird connections. For all I know, I'm the only person who thinks this. I'll show you a picture of Major Kusanagi, and you can tell if you think there's something to this. I tried to pick the wallpaper I had that I thought did the best job demonstrating this.


But there are similarities between the two when I think about it.

Kusanagi: Human mind in entirely prosthetic body, one of the best available no doubt.
Sasha: Nearly went full OMAC, which would have made her one of the most high-tech things on the planet, no doubt.

Kusanagi: Has demanding boss.
Sasha: Has demanding boss.

Kusanagi: Dozens of successful campaigns in war and for Public Security Section 9 earns her respect of her colleagues/unit.
Sasha: Dozens of succesful campaigns for Checkmate, including smashing Brother Eye, earns her respect of her colleagues/unit (I'm inferring some of this based on her standing in Max Lord's Checkmate).

Kusanagi: Works for mostly unknown (by public) national security agency, which has to deal with risks of being shutdown by those with more clout in the goverment it's responsible to (Japanese goverment).
Sasha: Works for mostly unknown (by public) global security agency, which has to deal with risk of losing approval from those with the clout in the goverment it's responsible to (U.N. Security Council).

Kusanagi: Has enemy who uses influence within the governing body of her agency to shield himself (Gouda - No, not the cheese!).
Sasha: Has enemy which uses influence within the governing body of her agency to shield themselves (Kobra).

Kusanagi: Appears to be heading for conflict with boy she's loved since childhood, doesn't even know it (doomed romance).
Sasha: Appears to have been romantically involved with Batman (definition of "doomed romance").

Again, I'm not saying they used Kusanagi as a basis for the character Sasha Bordeaux. It's just that cover image tripped something in my head, and when I figured out what it was, all these similarities started to occur to me. And I don't even know much about Sasha beyond what I listed up there. And most of this is from Checkmate #1 and the OMAC Project Special.