A review by mikekaz
Garth Ennis' Red Team by Garth Ennis, Craig Cermak
4.0
I'm a big fan of Garth Ennis. I remember fondly his work on HELLBLAZER and PREACHER and PUNISHER. And HITMAN! We can't forget HITMAN. Of course though, all of that was a while ago, specifically 1991, 1995 and 2001. (Plus 1996 for HITMAN) Finding his work now is a bit more difficult. Or probably more realistically with my reduced comic book buying, I just don't see his work that much. That's why I was real happy to find RED TEAM. And why when I was finished reading it, I felt wistful for the "good old days" when his work was more prevalent.
Anyway, RED TEAM. The story is about an elite team within the police department that focuses on taking down higher targets than the street-level thugs and dealers. After being stymied by the legal process and watching their targets escape, the red team decides to bypass the judicial process and execute the criminals. The story follows the events that unfold from that point to their, in my mind, natural end point.
I felt that the story was realistic to what would happen in today's society. The steps followed and decisions made all seemed true to the characters and to what cops might do. And the graphic novel isn't just about following the story to the ending. As with many of Ennis' work, the details are what helps make it. The characters are dealing with life issues, large and small: a failing marriage where the reader can see it slowly disintegrate, a person killed that reveals so much about the cop doing the killing but at the same time the topic is never discussed. We can see how the characters ended up as who they are. And that always makes for a better story.
Anyway, RED TEAM. The story is about an elite team within the police department that focuses on taking down higher targets than the street-level thugs and dealers. After being stymied by the legal process and watching their targets escape, the red team decides to bypass the judicial process and execute the criminals. The story follows the events that unfold from that point to their, in my mind, natural end point.
I felt that the story was realistic to what would happen in today's society. The steps followed and decisions made all seemed true to the characters and to what cops might do. And the graphic novel isn't just about following the story to the ending. As with many of Ennis' work, the details are what helps make it. The characters are dealing with life issues, large and small: a failing marriage where the reader can see it slowly disintegrate, a person killed that reveals so much about the cop doing the killing but at the same time the topic is never discussed. We can see how the characters ended up as who they are. And that always makes for a better story.