Keeping It In The Family

Protocol: Orphans 1-2
BOOM! Studios
Michael Alan Nelson, writer
Mariano Navarro, artist

Once again, the advance solicitation information did its job and caught my eye for this series a few months ago. I'm not familiar with either creator attached to the project, but the four-issue limited series was described as a fun espionage tale in the vein of "Mission: Impossible." (I assumed they meant the ensemble-cast original television series and not the so-so Tom Cruise movies, but then I try to assume the best.)

Two issues in, I'm glad I decided to give this series a try. The action centers on a group of five -- oops, make that four -- young espionage agents and their handler. No specific ages are given, but assume the agents are the cast of a WB drama and all in the 18-24 range. They fall into the expected categories with a tech person, a natural leader who doesn't know his own potential, the fun-loving one and a shady character completing the mix.

One of the interesting hooks for this series, however, is the fact that each of these agents is an orphan, taken by this agency and trained for this work from a very early age. And the entire organizational structure of the agency these kids work for is based on a family. The orphans answer to Dad, who in turn gets their missions from the shrouded-in-secrecy grandparents. This team of orphans has inherited a Dad with a past, however, and they aren't too sure how far they can trust him after his previous team of orphans all wound up dead.

With a cast of characters like this one, the creators could easily fall into the stereotype traps, but Nelson writes each of the characters we are allowed to know as being three-dimensional people who are more than their most dominant traits. And Navarro is able to make the large cast of young, pretty people (remember, beyond the orphans, we also have bad guys and bystanders and extras) each look distinctive and recognizable from panel to panel.

I'll have to read the second half of this mini before pronouncing a final judgment on it, but so far, I'm very glad I decided to give this series a try and am looking forward to the conclusion and possibly more from this crew in the future.