There have been many tales about cops going rogue and dispensing their own brand of justice, but is there enough within these pages to warrant your attention? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

At Eddie’s insistence, the Red Team expands its area of operations to cover a certain unexpected target, but they may have made a fatal misstep. Meanwhile, another of Eddie’s initiatives causes Trudy no small amount of trouble. Everyone’s limits are tested as our heroes move further down their dangerous path!

To be honest this series to me has been fine up to this point, but it hasn’t really done anything to make itself stand out.  The basic elements one would expect have been there while being accompanied by some stereotypical appendages, but with this particular release I can say things are starting to head in a very positive direction as the parables of this lifestyle come into play.

The script by Garth Ennis is still plagued by the issues it’s had since the inception of the series.  But something clicks here that allows the flow of the tale to pick up speed while delivering some juicy plot elements that certainly allow things to evolve a bit. There’s an overabundance of text that right from the get-go feels like it’s slowing down the pace but around the half-way point it just starts to come off as rather smooth.  Especially when a moral quandary is put into play, that if handled right, could shake up the trajectory of this yarn.

Craig Cermak lifts his pencil to illustrate what can only be described as some of the best panel work in modern comics.  His characters are lavishly layered with believable elements that give them the war torn feel that fits this hard-hitting narrative.  There are however a couple odd things here and there, as rigid movements ultimately rob this saga of a kinetic realism that’s found in several other monthly titles.

Red Team #3 is not perfect but it’s an altogether sturdy purchase that might just be setting the tone for the rest of this journey.  Recommended.

3.5/5