Queen & Country, Greg Rucka's series about British intelligence, is arguably one of the best books that you probably aren't reading.  And you really should be reading it, which is why I'm taking this opportunity to remind you about it.

Declassified is a three-issue spin-off set in 1986, featuring Paul Crocker.  By the time of the main series, Crocker is in charge of the department; at this point, he's a relatively junior field agent in the Cold War, during a particularly bad run of luck for British Intelligence.

Queen & Country's approach is to focus more on the individual characters than on any wider global conflict.  It's about the effect of the job on the characters, and the patriotic title is heavily ironic.  Along those lines, this issue finds Crocker recently married, and unable to actually tell his wife where he's going all the time and when he's likely to be back.  She knows broadly what he does for a living, but isn't allowed to know the specifics. 

A large part of this issue is about the strain of Crocker trying to maintain a normal family life in the face of his completely abnormal job, and not doing very well.  It's a very effective character piece, particularly given the contrast with how he acts in the present day series.  You've got to feel sorry for the poor sod, really.

Artist Brian Hurtt has captured the younger Crocker perfectly, giving him an element of nervousness that isn't in the mainstream series while still keeping him recognisable.  His double page spread of the Berlin wall is crossing is striking, and there's a lovely four page sequence of manhunting in the Ukraine.  If Leandro Fernandez' recent artwork on the main book wasn't to your taste, you should be much more at home here.

Every bit as good as we've come to expect from Queen & Country.

Rating: A

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