Sleeper TP Vol 02 All False Moves

Through acts of violence and murder against his friends and his country, Holden Carver has infiltrated the world's most dangerous super-powered criminal organization. But with the one man who is aware of Carver's true assignment and allegiance in a coma, the undercover operative finds himself trapped with no one he can trust. Now after being captured by his own government, Carver must find a way to prove the existence and validity of his mission or before he is forced to answer for his treasonous crime. Suggested for Mature Readers.

In the second story arc of Sleeper, a spy comic in which the colorfully code-named operatives possess superpowers, the already ambiguous morality of its milieu grows murkier. The emphasis is on the dichotomized life of government agent Holden Carver, who infiltrates a shadowy, all-powerful criminal cartel. The suspense and the series' overarching paranoia are ratcheted up as Carver becomes more uncomfortable with his undercover role and grows more emotionally attached to his beautiful colleague, the amoral Miss Misery. Meanwhile, the mysterious mastermind of the crime cartel learns of his operation's infiltration and comes dangerously close to unmasking Carver. Writer Brubaker's intelligent plotting and gritty dialogue make the story work even when it skirts outrageousness, and Phillips' noirish art and skillful storytelling portray brutal action and talking-heads sequences equally effectively. As in Out in the Cold [BKL Mr 1 04], the protagonists' superpowers, even downplayed as they are, constitute Sleeper's least impressive element. But if couching intelligent espionage yarns in genre trappings makes them viable for today's mainstream comics readers . . . Gordon Flagg
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