Son of Hitler

In this firecracker espionage tale, set during the 1944 Allied invasion of Europe, British Special Operations agent Cora Brown maneuvers Pierre, the illegitimate son of Hitler, as a chess piece in an elaborate game to kill the führer. But with his explosive anger issues and a bloodthirsty drive for revenge, Pierre can’t be controlled. The pair’s encounters with spies, resistance fighters, and an evil surgeon lead to a breakneck chase and brutal fight in Hitler’s bunker. Despite its sensational concept, this is a solid historical thriller. Del Col (Kill Shakespeare) and Moore generously pepper the plot with double (and triple) crosses. McComsey (Mother Russia) captures the period and its tension with expressive thick lines colored in dark, monochromatic shades and a consistent three-toned palette that distinctly separates the acts of the story. McComsey uses spot whites in his otherwise deeply shaded art to move the eye across the page, with symbolic, dramatic effect. With its intricate elaboration of secret service work and shocker of a last-act twist, this comic achieves the satisfying web-of-secrets allure that John le Carré and Len Deighton pull off in prose. (June)