It Was Fun While It Lasted

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 1-5 (2004)
CrossGen Entertainment
Tony Bedard, writer
Mike Perkins and Andrew Hennessy, artists

CrossGen is where I first became aware of Tony Bedard. He had some writing and art credits on comics before then; but it was while he worked at CrossGen that I learned his name and knew that I liked what he wrote. First it was through his work on the excellent — albeit short-lived, as most CrossGen titles ended up being — work on Negation. And then later with his writing on this 1960s super-spy title.

The majority of the CrossGen titles took place on other worlds that often shared characteristics of various Earth time periods, but it is never explained within the pages of this title if it takes place on Earth in the 1960s or simply another CrossGen universe planet whereon life closely imitates the British Empire in the 1960s. The agents in this series do, however, work for MI6, lending credibility to the idea that this is, in fact, Earth.

Wherever Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is set, the top agent at this MI6 is Charles Basildon; however, Basildon is a fictitious name assigned to whichever agent happens to be the agency's top operative at the time. Should that agent be killed in action, another moves up and assumes the name and rank, making use of the ongoing reputation.

At the outset of the series, the current Basildon is a highly accomplished and skilled agent, but one with a very narcissistic personality. He accomplishes his missions but has a penchant for getting his partners killed on a disturbingly regular basis. Stephanie Shelley, a very capable young field agent just coming up in the ranks, is to be Basildon's latest partner and possibly the first female agent to assume the Basildon identity, if she lives long enough.

The art by Mike Perkins is perfectly suited to such a story. His figures and settings look realistic enough to feel like you're watching an afternoon action movie. He is quite adept at having his characters convey their emotions through various facial expressions, adding to the context of the writing. And he draws some incredible larger-than-life explosions when the action turns more heavily to the "bang bang" part of the title.

In these early issues, Basildon and Shelley are assigned to track down a mysterious figure named Lazarus Bale, someone about whom little is truly known but who seems to often be at the center of criminal goings-on. Bale turns out to be an albino with ties to an ancient civilization and has a penchant for underlings who appear to be clones of various world dictators from the past.

As bizarre as all that sounds, these issues offer some great action mixed with equal parts humor and mayhem. It's too bad this series was cut short by the demise of CrossGen, as it would have been interesting to see where Bedard and company would have taken this series.