Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist & Cover Artist: Ken Niimura
Publisher: Image
Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 14, 2023
Thirty-five years ago, a judge let Aaron "Crusher" Birdsall walk after he killed a child. At least James Sergeant believes he murdered the girl. He’s kept her file and tiny shoe in his glovebox ever since. Now, on the eve of his retirement and with his son Michael at his side, he's tracking Crusher’s brother outside his jurisdiction. Is what he’s doing even legal? Let’s investigate Immortal Sergeant #6 and find out!
Story
Instead of attending his retirement dinner, James and Michael followed a bus into Mexico. Now they’re at another bus stop. James learns the bus will stop next in Atlanta. Michael worries James won’t stop until he kills Crusher. Michael's use of the F word in the Men's room provokes a tapping foot from the man in the next stall. His father suggests that he inherited his gay inclinations from his mother, who left him for a woman. In frustration, Michael grabs his car keys and runs to let Harold escape.
After last time's family drama involving Michael's mother and wife, Immortal Sergeant #6 focuses on James and Michael’s complicated relationship. Ensconced in his jurisdiction, James surrounded himself with others who understood and accepted his faults. Now he stands on Michael's turf. People see James from Michael's perspective. It’s an epic confrontation, and the tension doesn’t relent until Michael learns why James always made his birthdays a misery.
Art
Ken Niimura injects drama, trauma, and action in this thirty-seven-page Black-and-White Politically Incorrect cartoon. Dinosaurs tower over the unnamed bus stop. Michael’s billowy hair stands tall when he’s shocked. Like Mr. Fantastic, his face swells, and his arms lengthen when he strikes his father and runs. Movement lines accompany the action. Yet a stream of white gushes from Michael's bent silhouette to show he’s not as fit as he claims.
Uppercase words inhabit spherical and spiked dialogue balloons. Except for the lowest voices, the words are easy to read. Sound effects help us feel Michael slam into his father, hear James step in his son’s vomit, and shock us when Harold's bus roars away.
Final Thoughts
Immortal Sergeant #6 reminds us of the toll fighting crime places on families. It helps us understand why police stand by each other when their actions bend the rules or break the law. What wrongs might we do if we saw villains harm the innocent daily but couldn't intervene because of laws and regulations?
Rating 7/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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