Checkmate #25

Checkmate's "Castling" arc reaches its third and final chapter with this 2008 entry from writers Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann, with interior art by Joe Bennett and Jack Jadson. Kalman Andrasofszky's cover assembles a striking ensemble: a heavily armored figure marked "JAKE" strides forward at center, flanked by a woman in a duster with a rifle, an armed soldier wreathed in green energy, and a trench-coated companion at the left, while a grid of supporting characters — including a digital-form figure, a woman in green, and various operatives — frames them above. The tagline "Bring in the Rooks!" promises that this finale is pulling out all the stops for Checkmate's covert chess-piece hierarchy.