Red Team #4 Review


This tale of these corrupt cops continues here as the series dances a line between corny and interesting, but after four issues is this concept still working?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

Red Team’s latest target could land them in very hot water, protected as he is from on high. Meanwhile, Trudy’s late night encounter with an amorous newcomer spells trouble of a different kind- the kind that could finish the entire team for good.

At this point it may seem a tad bit unfair to pass harsh judgment on a franchise that’s barely begun, but that’s exactly what I’m going to do here.  My reasoning behind that is simply because what we get in this outing is, on face value, compelling but when it needs to it fails to capitalize on its own strengths making the comic book seem lackluster.

The script by Garth Ennis is chock-full of some solid word play that’s sure to make even the most bored reader feel a slight sense of awe.  But the problem therein is because of that there’s an overabundance of text that just feels like it fails to become anything more than a distraction.  Information is given out in handfuls, but there are times where I honestly felt over burdened with unnecessary exposition.  By the time I reached the final page my interest was slightly peaked but the journey on the way there left me disenchanted with the whole experience.

Craig Cermak handles the art and the skillful hands of the talent do a lot to compensate for any narrative shortcomings.  I found his depictions of the characters to be somewhat stiff but nonetheless expertly detailed and properly positioned in a way that elevated the quality of this affair.  I can’t say enough how impressed I was by it, but there were some hiccups with regards to some lightly rendered panels that left me underwhelmed.

Red Team #4 is a product of an overly used methodology of the corrupt cop epidemic that feels like it needs to be more than what it currently is.  Not recommended.

2.5/5

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