Checkmate
Checkmate 25
Art by Kalman Andrasofszky
April 2008
Written by Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann; Art by Joe Bennett & Jack Jadson; Cover by Kalman Andrasofszky.
“Castling” concludes! Taking down Kobra’s mass attack — a bid to bring forth the apocalyptic era of Kali Yuga — requires Checkmate to use their ops team of last resort: The Rooks! A 25th issue not to be missed!
Checkmate 24
Art by Kalman Andrasofszky
March 2008
Written by Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann; Art by Joe Bennett & Jack Jadson; Cover by Kalman Andrasovfsky.
As the edges of Kobra’s plot are discovered, the scale and the stakes continue to rise, jeopardizing millions of innocent lives around the planet. But is this all cover for something far more terrifying — something that even the biggest powers of the DCU may be powerless to stop?
Checkmate 23
Art by Kalman Andrasofszky
February 2008
Written by Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann; Art by Joe Bennett & Jack Jadson; Cover by Kalman Andrasovfsky.
“Castling” begins here! It’s been over a year since Pawn 502 went deep undercover inside the cult of Kobra. Now he’s resurfaced, warning of a plot that will cost hundreds of thousands of lives and ignite a holy war across the planet, a plot that the Royals may not be able to stop in time. But can Pawn 502 still be trusted? This 3-part epic lays bare the workings of the DC intelligence community worldwide — and threatens to destroy it altogether!
Checkmate 22
Art by Kalman Andrasofszky
January 2008
Written by Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann; Art by Chris Samnee; Cover by Kalman Andrasofszky.
“Mademoiselle Marie” concludes. Will Black Queen’s Knight get her target safely out of Bialya, or will she become the latest Mademoiselle Marie to be laid to eternal rest?
Checkmate 21
Art by Kalman Andrasofszky
December 2007
Written by Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann; Art by Chris Samnee; Cover by Kalman Andrasofszky.
The 2-part story “Mademoiselle Marie” begins. Long before World War II, a legendary French spy network was born—and now a kidnapping in Africa has turned the Mademoiselle Marie legacy against its latest standard-bearer, the Black Queen’s Knight.
Checkmate 20
Art by Kalman Andrasofszky
November 2007
Art by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson; Cover by Kalman Andrasofszky.
“The Fall of the Wall” concludes with a bang! Taskforce X marks the spot as the Royals force a showdown with Amanda Waller.
Checkmate 19
Art by Kalman Andrasofszky
October 2007
Art by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson; cover by Kalman Andrasofszky.
“Fall of the Wall” Part 2, the White Queen turns to bare-knuckle blackmail to hang onto her job—and Amanda Waller knows everyone’s secrets.
Checkmate 18
Art by Kalman Andrasofszky
September 2007
Art by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson; cover by Kalman Andrasofszky.
Amanda Waller’s unauthorized Black Ops game is exposed. “The Fall of the Wall” begins here.
Checkmate 17
Art by Kalman Andrasofszky
August 2007
Written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann; art Chris Samnee; cover by Kalman Andrasofsky.
If Checkmate’s powerful enough to have a takedown plan for every hero and villain on Earth, why isn’t its Alpine headquarters under assault 24-7? Well, it is—which is why it needs a Master Jailer to keep it running, in this thrilling stand-alone story co-written by Eric Trautmann (Perfect Dark).
Checkmate 16
Art by Karl Kerschl
July 2007
Art by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson; cover by Karl Kerschl.
In a wrenching stand-alone story, the Black Queen and the White King wrestle with whether to resume their affair—as Checkmate welcomes her former torturer to the Royal Family!
Outsiders 49
Art by Matthew Clark
July 2007
Written by Judd Winick and Greg Rucka; art by Matthew Clark and Wayne Faucher; cover by Clark.
The finale of “Checkout,” the crossover with Checkmate. The White King calls on the Dark Knight to aid the combined Outsiders-Checkmate strikeforce, even as one member is exposed by the events of AMAZONS ATTACK.
Checkmate 15
Art by Matthew Clark
June 2007
Art by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson; cover by Matthew Clark.
Part 5 of “Checkout,” continued from OUTSIDERS #48. They say politics makes for strange bedfellows, and as their mission with the Outsiders reaches the end stage, the Royals are about to discover how many different meanings that has…
Outsiders 48
Art by Matthew Clark
June 2007
Written by Judd Winick and Greg Rucka; art and cover by Matthew Clark and Wayne Faucher.
Part 4 of “Checkout,” crossing over with Checkmate. Pinned down on Oolong Island and losing men, the joint Checkmate/Outsiders force must find a way to hide in plain sight.
Checkmate 14
Art by Matthew Clark
May 2007
Art by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson; cover by Matthew Clark and Art Thibert.
Part 3 of “Checkout,” continued from OUTSIDERS #47. The agency’s locked in a shotgun wedding with the Outsiders. The honeymoon’s on Oolong Island, a mission that nobody else in the DCU will touch, and the combined strike force is about to find out why.
Outsiders 47
Art by Matthew Clark
May 2007
Written by Judd Winick and Greg Rucka; art and cover by Matthew Clark and Art Thibert.
Part 2 of “Checkout,” the crossover with Checkmate. The prison hasn’t been built that can hold the Outsiders for long—and that includes Checkmate’s Alpine HQ, as Nightwing leads an attempt to break free from house arrest.
Checkmate 13
Art by Matthew Clark
April 2007
Art by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson; cover by Matthew Clark and Art Thibert.
Now’s the time to make the first move as Checkmate hunts the Outsiders. Jump aboard for “Checkout,” as the DCU’s top spies throw down with their most troublemaking hero team.
Checkmate 12
Art by Jesús Saíz
March 2007
Written by Greg Rucka, Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir; art by Steve Scott and Nathan Massengill; cover by Jesus Saiz.
A score gets settled when Judomaster’s son faces Bane, his father’s murderer. Meanwhile, the Black King discovers the meaning of “Corvalho”—long hidden by his own Knight, Fire.
Checkmate 11
Art by Jesús Saíz
February 2007
Written by Greg Rucka, Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir; art by Steve Scott; cover by Jesus Saiz.
Part 1 of “Corvalho” with guest art by SHADOWPACT’S Steve Scott. Fire tries to break free from blackmail in a move that shakes the agency from top to bottom.
Checkmate 10
Art by Jesús Saíz
January 2007
Art and cover by Jesus Saiz.
“Pawn 502″ concludes. Only Checkmate has Shadowpact—but even magic may not stop a survivor of Luthor’s Everyman Project from blowing this op sky-high.
Checkmate 9
Art by Jesús Saíz
December 2006
Art and cover by Jesus Saiz.
The Black Queen deputizes the big guns in an all-out bid to keep Pawn 502’s mission alive.
Checkmate 8
Art by Jesús Saíz
November 2006
Art and cover by Jesus Saiz.
Checkmate clashes with a rival agency on American soil.
Checkmate 7
Art by Jesús Saíz
October 2006
Written by Greg Rucka, Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir; art by Cliff Richards and Dan Green; cover by Jesus Saiz.
An original member of SUICIDE SQUAD returns but there’s more to it than meets the eye as this founding father’s outnumbered by his own prey.
Checkmate 6
Art by Jesús Saíz
September 2006
Written by Greg Rucka, Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir; art and cover by Jesús Saíz.
The return of SUICIDE SQUAD; a 2-part thriller that puts Amanda Waller’s pet project back in action with a CHECKMATE twist.
Checkmate 5
Art by Lee Bermejo
August 2006
Art by Jesus Saiz; cover by Lee Bermejo.
Three candidates compete to become Black Queen’s Knight in the sensational stand-alone tale “Selection.”
Checkmate 4
Art by Lee Bermejo
July 2006
Art by Jesus Saiz; cover by Lee Bermejo.
A Kobra traitor is revealed and an international metahuman battle joined as “The Game of Kings” concludes.
Checkmate 3
Art by Jesús Saíz
June 2006
Art by Cliff Richards; cover by Lee Bermejo.
It’s White Bishop’s move as Checkmate tries to crack Beijing’s secret metahuman project.
Checkmate 2
Art by Lee Bermejo
May 2006
Art by Jesus Saiz; cover by Lee Bermejo.
The race is on to become the world’s most super-powered nation—and when that nation is China, the new Checkmate faces its biggest challenge ever.
Checkmate 1
Art by Lee Bermejo
April 2006
Art by Jesus Saiz; cover by Lee Bermejo.
Checkmate holds the line. Cross it—and they’ll take you off the board. Permanently. Infinite Crisis has changed the DCU, and Checkmate has shaped its hard-learned lessons into a new game plan. It’s all about the balance of power. Between Black and White; between human and metahuman; and between the familiar faces who have become its new Kings and Queens. It’s also about the propaganda wars, black ops combat, and political manuevering that fuel Checkmate’s critical missions—missions that take a grueling toll on the agents’ day-to-day lives.
In this debut issue, Checkmate must prove their right to exist—to the U.N.—and they only have hours to do it!
Collections
Checkmate Vol. 3: Fall of the Wall
Art by Kalman Andrasofszky
May 2008
Written by Greg Rucka & Eric S. Trautmann; Art by Joe Bennett, Joe Prado, Chris Samnee and others; Cover by Kalman Andrasofszky.
The saga of Checkmate continues in this volume collecting issues #16-22! The espionage and intrigue continue as Amanda Waller — Checkmate’s White Queen — resorts to blackmail to protect her own covert op interests.
Checkmate Vol. 2: Pawn Breaks
Art by Lee Bermejo
September 2007
Written by Greg Rucka, Nunzio Defilippis and Christina Weir; Art by Jesus Saiz, Steve Scott and others; Cover by Lee Bermejo.
Collecting Checkmate #8-12, action and intrigue abound as Checkmate clashes with a rival agency on American soil and The Black Queen deputizes the big guns in an all-out bid to keep Pawn 502’s mission alive. And Fire, the Black King’s Knight, tries to break free from Amanda Waller’s blackmail in a move that will shake the agency from top to bottom.
Checkmate Vol. 1: A Kings Game
Art by Jesús Saíz
February 2007
Written by Greg Rucka; Art and cover by Jesus Saiz.
A collection of the first seven issues. After the explosive events of INFINITE CRISIS and THE OMAC PROJECT, the U.N. formed Checkmate to bring down heroes and villains that get out of line. Now they use unique ability to deputize human and metahuman forces throughout the world in pursuit of its goal to hold the line.