Alpha Vol 3. The List. Mythic (Writer), Y. Jigounov (Art), Jerome Saincantin (Translation). Cinebook Ltd (2010)

Fast paced and very enjoyable spy thriller. A high-ranking secret police officer flees the collapse of East Germany with a list of US citizens who had covert dealings with the communist regime. When he offers the list to the CIA in exchange for relocation to the US and safety for his family, the list attracts the attention of a number of competing groups. An Israeli team as well as one of the people named on the list are desperate to get the information and the CIA team, headed by Alpha have a considerable struggle on their hands. The action is superbly paced, the reveals are clever and sharp, the resolution has bite.
To a large extent plot and action dominate over character in the story, not exclusively as the cast are given enough definition to make the action engaging. The plot is very well structured, the action makes sense and the pace is cleverly managed. The cast and their various contexts are introduced in a effective and compressed fashion that sets them up for the turns of the story very well. They never feel like they are plot bound, they are responding to events and trying to get ahead of them with credible vigour.
The art has to carry a great deal of the story and does so beautifully. The panels are nicely designed to vary the pace and to put a lot of information on the page in an unfussy and effective way. The human cast are strongly individual, their body language and expressions pick up the nuances of the story. A first rate story and a great comic.

Alpha Vol 2. Wolves' Wages. Mythic (Writer), Youri Jigounov (Art). Cinebook Ltd. (2009)

This is a very enjoyable sequel to Alpha: The Exchange, it would be nearly incomprehensible to anyone who had not read that book first. The story is picked up directly from where it left off in the last book and races to a very satisfying conclusion. Unlike the first book this one is packed with action all the way as the plot driven by the botched exchange from the first book continues to unwind. The Russian Government acts to assert itself after the attack it suffered, revenge is executed against the German gang who had tried to force their hand to recover their money. The Russian Mafia family are also concerned to find out who is plotting against them. On the run are CIA agent Alpha and his lover Assia, they are being hunted by Assia's husband and an unknown ally. The threads of the plot are cunningly twisted together and the truth about the exchange is revealed just ahead of a savage climax.

The cast are well written, even the minor players are imbued with a individual identity that ensures that the story never looses it bearings and descends into a simple shoot 'em up, there are always human actions driving the plot and believable agendas clash violently. The art is superb, the detail in each panel is extraordinary, they are never busy, they have a solid realism that adds great weight to the story. The cast are clearly differentiated and they move very nicely. This is an excellent action comic, written to take advantage of the structure of a comic.