28/01/2026
26.01
3.96/5.0 Stars
Rating if the Book Were a Movie: R
Creative Team
Writer: Nigel Lynch, Kamaria Connell
Art: Francesco Mazzoli
Colors: Marco D’Alessandro
Letters: Pete Moss
Cover: Francesco Mazzoli, Marco D’Alessandro, Tristan Roach
Editor: Jabarie Ahmed Osman
Publisher: Wise Acre Comics, Beyond Publishing Caribbean
Ratings
Story: 4.3 Quills
Interior Artwork: 4.1 Quills
Cover Artwork: 4.1 Quills
Dialogue: 3.9 Quills
Mechanics: 3.6 Quills
Editing: 3.8 Quills
About the Book:
Critical Ops Task Force is a mercenary force sent in on missions paid for clients who can pay the price. The group is sent on a rescue mission for a high price target who has been captured by a criminal organization. Discovering a bounty in the process of the rescue as they take the intended target to the person who paid the price for the rescue.
Reviewer’s Notes:
Set within the universe of Stray Dogs, this story is based on the Critical Ops Task Force, which ties to Stray Dogs directly. The group itself are sent on a rescue mission in the city of El Carno, and are in regular communication with a coordinator as they move through the building their cover is blown and they end up taking out the majority if not all of the criminal organization itself just to rescue a high priced target.
Once they reach the target they discover another person who has a bounty on their head at the same time, completing two missions at once. Once the rescue of the target is achieved, now the goal is to survive the escape as they take the target to the person who paid for the group to complete the rescue in the first place.
The cover shows two of the prominent characters of this story on a background of swirling color, not knowing anything about the story the cover itself can catch the reader's attention. However it relies a lot on the title and the image of the two characters. Meaning that you might not pick it up if you are not already a fan of Stray Dogs or the creative people behind these books. The pencilling does look a little rough but I think it adds to the mystique of the book itself.
The interior artwork is a bit more rough than the cover, but again it adds to the mystique of the book. The actions of all the characters are shown in all their glory in terms of actions against each other both in and out of combat, making sure that the reader is understanding exactly what is happening, and to a certain degree ensuring that the story is understood both visually and in the text in the pages.
T
his story is definitely rated for a more mature audience, while nothing sexual happens, the verbiage and the visual aspects of the combat make it something not for the faint of heart, or for those that cannot handle the site of blood and violence. But the verbiage and the depiction of violence is not over done, and not done just because. What is shown is done with purpose and with intent. Driving the story where it needs to be driven.
I do not think that it is over done, it is a nice blend that makes the reader understand exactly what is happening and what is at stake. Good mercenary stories can sometimes be hard to find, however I would consider this book among them. It is story driven, not graphic driven allowing the reader to enjoy what is presented without being turned off about the visuals being presented on the page. I look forward to more stories from this title!
I hope you enjoyed this escapade into the archives. If you like this review, support the creators of this story. Thanks for reading!
