The Secret Service (comics)

The Secret Service
The Secret Service (2012) #1 Cover art by Dave Gibbons.
Publication information
Publisher	Icon Comics
Format	Limited series
Genre	Spy
Publication date	April 11, 2012 – April 10, 2013
Number of issues	6
Main character(s)	Gary London Jack London
Creative team
Writer(s)	Mark Millar
Artist(s)	Dave Gibbons
Colorist(s)	Angus McKie
Editor(s)	Nicole Wiley Boose

The Secret Service (later renamed Kingsman: The Secret Service to tie in with the film of the same name) is a 2012 spy comic book series written by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. It deals with a super-spy recruiting his young nephew to the secret service, channeling the classic James Bond films, and other famous spy thrillers.

An unknown group of terrorists abduct Mark Hamill, a famous Hollywood actor, who is held against his will at a cabin in the mountains in Switzerland. A man shows up and identifies himself as a British secret service agent, and rescues Hamill. They are unsuccessfully pursued by terrorists on snowmobiles. As Hamill and the agent reach the edge of a cliff, they jump off with a parachute, but it turns out to be a misfortune as the parachute opens up too late and both of them crash to their deaths.

Sir Giles, the head of MI6, discusses the matter with one of his agents, Jack London, as there have been several kidnappings of famous celebrities which are believed to be linked to each other. Suddenly, Jack receives a call from his sister-in-law, who tells him that her son, Gary, was arrested by the police for smashing up a stolen car, and that Jack needs to bail him out. Jack, at first, opposes the idea, but reluctantly uses his national security card to get the boy out of prison.

Meanwhile, in Hawaii, a massive murder takes place during a wedding ceremony when brides and grooms slaughter each other. This is later revealed to be controlled by Dr. James Arnold, a very wealthy cellphone entrepreneur, as a test for his upcoming evil schemes. Jack is briefed about the assignment hours later, which he declines temporarily in favor of a "family reunion."

Jack, seeing the potential in his nephew, Gary, takes him under his wing and reveals his true occupation, which he has lied to his family about all along, pretending instead to be a Fraud Squad officer. He offers Gary to come along and do something useful instead of wasting his life in the back-alleys and hanging out with thugs. Gary accepts, but they both decide to keep it between themselves. Jack takes Gary to the training facility, where he is introduced to his training officer, Rupert Greaves. Gary resides in the facility for three years to train as a secret agent.