Doug and his team continue their TV success as they run their first mission in Argentina. The manipulation of Multicorps runs even deeper as Doug may be getting in for more than he's ready for. Also Doug's past may have finally caught up to him.
Long Version
It's a typical mission for Doug's team; they go into a city that's supposed to be deserted, having already been cleared out by a black ops team. As they scout the city they find signs of blood and what seems like a gruesome scene. Multicorps CEO's make sure that Doug's team is given easy missions to limit his risk since they have so much invested in him. The mission goes south as a sniper takes out one of the soldiers. The team scatters into nearby woods only to find a massive grave... a familiar massive grave. The CEO's freak out and send an immediate extraction for the team. Doug, his team and the TV audience have all seen too much this day.
After almost being killed yet again, Doug and his wife Tatiana get into a fight as she begs him to quit and find other work. Doug doesn't feel like he has any other choice but to stay. Perhaps it's a sense of duty or the fact that he wants to get down to the bottom of Multicorps operations and expose them if need be. They hang up on bad terms and Doug heads down to the bar with the rest of his team. Unfortunately for Doug, his room is bugged by Multicorps and they don't like Tatiana's increasing nagging. They devise a plan to keep him married and yet limit the conversations he has with Tatiana.
At the bar Doug is coerced into joining Anderson and the others. They shoot the shit for a bit and Anderson actually talks about his life outside of the "job", which puts a human face on his "bad ass" attitude. Doug calls it a night and heads back to his room where he's meet by Lizbeth one of the top people at Multicorps. She begins undressing in front of him and quickly seduces him. It's starting to be clear that Doug is in way over his head.
After his night of passion Doug connects with Fuentes the reporter again. Fuentes gives him the coordinates for the village he was at for Doug to check out on his own. After bribing another officer Doug takes off to the site of the massive grave. He can't shake the feeling that it's the same one that he filled on his second mission.
They should have called this story the "Onion Weave", because it has so many layers of stories at work and yet intricately woven together. I literally found myself yelling at the page telling the comic book that it couldn't end there. That's four times in a row that I couldn't see the ending coming because the story telling is so good. It just doesn't seem possible for the issue to end the way it does and yet it does. It leaves you wanting to read more of that issue, not the next. Because the next issue always jumps a little further ahead making you wonder "what happened" while you were away.
Matz's addition to just how far Multicorps will go to control their people is brilliant. They use not one, but two people and in doing so they keep one quiet and reward the other. In this case they keep Doug from talking to his wife and from acting out, while they reward Lizbeth by giving her the man she wants. Also the implication that Multicorps are giving its troops chemical altering alcohol is scary and yet genius, but you'll probably have to read into the story a bit for that one. Matz continues to tell a fun war story with sex and violence on the surface while rewarding those that are willing to dig deeper.
Jacamon's art style continues to be progressive with each issue. No two issues have the same layout or flow and yet all of them flow within the context of the issue. It's almost as if he's experimenting with each issue and with that he reinvents sequential story telling... each issue. I can't gush about the color enough as they are a very strong part of Jacamon's art style. He never really uses shadowing or dark colors to convey night or poor lighting; he actually changes the color pallet to get the message across to the readers. A perfect example is when Doug's team runs into the forest. The sun is obviously blocked out by the canopy of trees, but rather than slap black all over the page he uses dark blues and greens to establish the absence of light. In fact, that is the brilliance of Jacamon's art there is no black ink filler it's all color and that is truly impressive.
This is the fourth issue and frankly "Cyclops" has made it to the top of my read pile. If you're not on board with this comic then you're just cheating yourself out of one of the best books to be released in North America this year. With the series half over one thing has become sure... whatever Matz and Jacamon do next I am there day one for it... with bells on if need be.
Overall Score - 10/10
If you're for some reason on the fence about this series then read the reviews! Here's issue one, two and three for you to dig into and keep in mind my review stops about half way through the issue meaning you're not getting the whole story.
At the bar Doug is coerced into joining Anderson and the others. They shoot the shit for a bit and Anderson actually talks about his life outside of the "job", which puts a human face on his "bad ass" attitude. Doug calls it a night and heads back to his room where he's meet by Lizbeth one of the top people at Multicorps. She begins undressing in front of him and quickly seduces him. It's starting to be clear that Doug is in way over his head.