Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Sheriff Of Babylon #1
Vertigo Comics (DC)
King & Gerads
This is a great comic book. Not good, not very good, but great. If you have any interest in political dramas or war-aftermath stories then I urge you to pick this comic book up. I don't believe you need to be familiar with any of the details around the US-Iraqi war or the time period that this takes place in. This is a fantastic first issue.
The book's primary character is named Chris. He is training an Iraqi police force while still dealing with his own problems in the aftermath of the war. However, Chris is thrust into a dead body he's got to deal with that puts him in contact with two other characters (either directly or indirectly) in the comic.
Sofia, is an Iraqi council member that deals with difficult problems in difficult ways. She is not as politically correct as regular politicians and she uses her power several times in the comic while making sure to keep up the political face to the other politicians. She is a fantastically constructed character.
Nassir is a man that's lost his family. While looking for some revenge he finds himself under the thumb of Sofia. The threads all come together in a perfectly executed dovetail at the issue's end.
The book is great from start to finish. We get the dead body in the beginning, some intro to Chris followed by the political dealing of Sofia then some heartache from Nassir before bringing it all in. The book also constructs scenes in very clever ways. The two pages where Sofia works her political interactions to four different parties is simply brilliant. The cafeteria standoff is a punch in the gut and seems to come out of nowhere. The Nassir scene in the basement is so powerful that you can't help but side with the criminal's side. The book just doesn't have a misstep.
The artwork is brilliant. There are several scenes with a lot of tension and the artwork punctuates each scene incredibly well. I'm not sure the comic would have been so dramatic with another artist. The style that Gerads brings is one of grit, but with careful facial details. The comic book looks tremendous.
"The Sheriff of Babylon" launches with one of the best comics I've read all year. The comic book introduces three characters and ties them together by the issue's end. In between are three unique, but equally dramatic mini-stories that tell the reader a lot about what the character's motives and backgrounds are. The comic is supported by tremendous art that brings a higher level of tension with the finely detailed facial features. Whether you like war and/or political comics or not this is a series that simply shouldn't be missed.
5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
