The most amusing aspect of Endgame, The Losers’ finale, is how much Diggle fails and betrays the series’ context, but still manages to bring off a nice ending. Some of the characters die--and the ones that live aren’t even neccesarily my favorites, or ones I like... In fact, one of Diggle’s worst-written characters survives, even has the last line, but Diggle pulls it off... which is a heck of a surprise.
I’ve always been a reserved Losers reader. While I love Jock’s art, Diggle’s writing runs cold most of the time. I think in every post about The Losers, I point out the series didn’t even get good until around issue 10. Diggle introduced an American imperalism conspiracy in those issues, along with a cog-in-the-machine who becomes aware of it. In this conclusion, Diggle totally sells out that concept... the United States emerges benevolent instead, all its sins forgotten. The Losers, for all its noise, is as establishment as a James Bond movie (which was probably the idea, they did sell it to Hollywood after all).
Maybe Endgame succeeds because Diggle manages to make the stupidest idea ever--making an island nation out of an earthquake or something--work. Diggle is not a particularly good writer, just a little bit better than average. His limited series tend to end terribly and The Losers remained readable only after a certain amount of commitment to the characters. So, Diggle acheives quite a feat but returning the series to solid ground for the finale. While I would not read The Losers again--if I had to experience it again, I’d prefer a collection of Jock’s best panels--Endgame was an engaging read, much better than what I expected.