Quick Rating: Afternoon doubleheader
Title: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spyguy

Writer: Peter David
Pencils: Pop Mahn
Inks: Norman Lee
Colors: Dan Jackson
Letters: Michael David Thomas
Editor: Dave Land

Spyboy faces off with Spyguy and then must deal with the trauma of high school. Bombshell and Spygirl engage in their usual rollicking exchanges and dating is discussed. Pop Mahn does some of his best work here. And that’s saying quite a lot.

The local news here had a spot about changing the minimum age for some indulgence or another from 18 to 19. While listening to the story on the radio, I was reminded of when I was in college and co-produced a news special about raising the drinking age. It mattered to me then. Now, far removed from the matter, I simply don’t care.

So, here I am faced with a comic book that focuses a great deal on high school life. I remember high school, instances mostly of adventure, worry, and change. But I seem to be weel past caring about it. At least, I think so.

Even so, I care about Spyboy. It’s fun. It’s a good read. It’s nothing like I remember high school and I can’t ever recall hearing about spies as teachers in the real world. Nowadays, the whole youthful spy thing has been done to death (Spykids, Agent Cody Banks, many cartoons, etc.). I don’t know if Spyboy came before all of them. Somehow it’s different. And I think that spies work great in comic books. I don’t know why, but you can really tell a great Matt Helm-esque story and get away with it. For homework, compare and contrast the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comic with its subsequent movie.

June, 2004