Comic Review: Redball 6 #1 & #2

Redball 6 #1 and #2

Written by: Ian and Jason Miller
Pencils and Inks by: Jok
Colors by: Estudio Haus
Letters by: Kurt Hathaway
Published by: Atomic Pop Art Entertainment

“Six Dead Cops. One Hell of a Town.”

That’s the byline of Atomic Pop Art Entertainment’s new series Redball 6. I’ll admit, as an evil genius, Hell and demons and such make my skin crawl. I mean, after Lord Toutouncomstatch the Forsaken comes to visit, I have nightmares for a week. The guy’s head is on fire! It’s hard to have a polite dinner with a guy whose head also provides mood lighting. Anyway, I decided to give Redball 6 a look, because while it can be creepy and the smell of sulphur permeates your clothing, there are amusments to be found in the infernal regions. Uh, I didn’t mean that in a dirty way…

Redball 6 follows Wayne Hambler, recently diseased police officer who finds himself in Near Dis, a city between Heaven and Hell. It turns out that there are many places you can find yourself after you die. Near Dis isn’t the worst, but it’s not the best, and it has laws, which is where the Near Dis Police Department comes in. Lt. N’Gash of the Redball 6 Unit makes Hambler the new head of the unit. Their job is to solve the most violent crimes in Hell…well, in Near Dis…namely, Spiricide, the murder of a spirit in the afterlife.

The Miller Brothers’ concept is an interesting one that could be rife with story ideas between the crime dramas and the comedic missteps of Wayne Hambler as he learns about Near Dis and the afterlife. Adding to the interest in this title, the Miller Brothers have given us an interesting cast of characters: N’Gash, the demon, looking to run his Redball unit as well as he can by recruiting Hambler; the gruff and violent Valentine; the mysterious Kameko Ma-Ji seeking to earn back her honor; the Old West Sheriff Slam Suttles; and Pytor Koslov, former political enforcer in Stalin’s NKVD; not to mention Wayne himself working as head of the Redball 6 in hopes of reuniting with his wife.

Jok’s art wonderfully shows us the Miller Brothers’ story using some creative techniques such as a crime scene appearing in the steam off of N’Gash’s coffee. Jok doesn’t limit his panel sizes and arrangements, as well as scene angles and set-ups, making for a visually exciting comic.

Redball 6 is also written in such a way that the reader shouldn’t get comfortable with a tone for long as the Miller Brothers give us gory serious scenes of murder and violence, humorous conversations with darkly sarcastic comments, and the strangely surreal life within a city between Heaven and Hell.

Redball 6 is one of those comic ideas that is unique that makes you think, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It’s a fun, intriguing, and thought provoking series, and one worth the price of admission.

Well, I guess that’s it for now. Bloggy wants to find out what he can do to become a member of the Near Dis Redball Unit. He thinks a case of Red Bull will help grease the wheels, but I think it may take more than that.

Rrrrrrrr

We’ll find out, big guy. Oh, and don’t tell Lord Toutouncomstatch what I said. The last person who pissed him off became a Sasquatch suppository.

‘Til next time, Live Evil, or Not at all.