
Dynamite Entertainment 2016
Written by Garth Ennis
Illustrated by Craig Cermak
Coloured by Vinicius Andrade
Lettered by Rob Steen
ONE YEAR AFTER THE CATASTROPHIC EVENTS THAT ENDED THE FIRST SERIES, RED TEAM SURVIVORS EDDIE MELLINGER AND TRUDY GIROUX ARE IN THE DOLDRUMS. CONSIDERED A POLITICAL LIABILITY, THE TWO ARE KEPT BUSY ON SMALL-TIME CASES BY THEIR SUSPICIOUS NYPD COMMANDERS... BUT A CHANCE ENCOUNTER GIVES THEM A CHANCE TO GET BACK IN THE GAME. TROUBLE IS, IT MEANS GOING FAR BEYOND THE LAW... WHICH IS WHAT ALMOST GOT THEM KILLED LAST TIME AROUND.
I’m a fan of good cop stories and more so when they don’t fit into the usual parameters. I also like that while I read the first series you don’t have to have read it to slide right into this one. While that is mentioned you get the gist and it’s easy to pick up what happened and follow right along with what’s happening.
I like that we open with banter between Eddie and Trudy as the sit in the car and wait for a suspect to show their face. It’s a great opportunity for the kind of characterization that Garth is known for. The whole we’ve got a past and we’re trying to keep our noses clean but all the while this new reality is incredibly boring and we crave adventure is spelled out in how the two talk to each other. It’s so fun to see mundane talk be interpreted into something else and whether that’s meant to happen or not is another story.
There’s a great moment here too when the suspect starts running and doesn’t watch where he’s going and runs into a pole. I don’t care who you are if you see that you are going to laugh, only the current mood rears it’s ugly head as a witness speaks up with that current climate of certain relations which kind of killed that mood immediately. I’m sorry though it was straight up funny.
The crave adventure but having to have to keep their noses clean means laying low and going by the book. That is until fate intervenes and a speeding car recklessly driven almost hitting a mother and her children say we’re busting this A-Hole. This turns into a surprising turn of events that draw the pair into a situation that well is going to test the limits of where they sit within the department these days. It’s also a fair bit of excellent writing.
Equal parts cop instinct and privilege asshat suspect make for great stuff. The passengers in Eric’s car are stymied by his behavior and it’s clear this kid well he’s used to getting what he wants and comes from money so his attitude is less than stellar and sets off all kinds of red flags. Also if you are in the situation he’s in then don’t go speeding through city residential areas almost running over kids you’ll be in more trouble than laying low and behaving and you might possibly get away with what you’re hiding.
I’m also a fan of the interiors here. Craig’s linework is really nice, strong, clean and crisp and leaves a great amount of expression coming off the characters. Plus I like that Trudy’s hard and yet sexy and Eddie comes off as ruggedly handsome and damaged in how we see them. HIs use of backgrounds, angles and perspective all work to create the larger picture of what’s going on around the characters so you get a greater feel for them. His flow through the pages and panels is excellent storytelling.
This takes the best of cop stories and brings something with depth and interest so that we like the characters flaws and all and have the desire to see how this all plays out.