Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Checkmate Vol. 1 | 2007 | Greg Rucka | Buy |
| 2 | Pawns In The Bishop’s Game | 2019 | Greg Rucka | N/A |
| 3 | Checkmate Vol. 3 | 2008 | Greg Rucka | Buy |
| 4 | Till The Sun Dies | 2019 | Greg Rucka | N/A |
| 5 | Outsider/Checkmate Checkout | 2008 | Greg Rucka | N/A |
| 6 | Castling The Rook | 2019 | Greg Rucka | N/A |
| 7 | Playing For Keeps | - | Greg Rucka | N/A |
| 8 | Rise Of The King | 2019 | Greg Rucka | N/A |
| 9 | Sacrifice The Knight | - | Greg Rucka | N/A |
| 10 | Winner Takes All | - | Greg Rucka | N/A |
| 11 | Checkmate | - | Greg Rucka | N/A |
Checkmate ran for eleven collected volumes and features Greg Rucka’s take on DC’s spy organization. The series uses a chess-themed structure, with characters filling roles like King, Queen, Bishop, and Knight within an international intelligence apparatus that deals with superhuman threats through strategy rather than brute force.
Rucka’s espionage writing background made him a natural fit for this series. He brought the same attention to bureaucratic detail and political maneuvering that he used in Queen and Country, applied to a universe where the threats include aliens and metahumans alongside conventional enemies.