Review: ‘Redcoat’ #1 Delivers On The Art But Not Always On The Script

One of three new debut issues launching Image Comics newest creator-owned imprint, Ghost Machine, this week is Redcoat #1 from Image Comics, writer Geoff Johns and artist Bryan Hitch. A story of a British Revolutionary War soldier accidentally made immortal when he stumbles upon a secret magical ritual designed to make Benjamin Franklin immortal, and not some cowardly idiot and roguish sap like Simon Pure. Your classic scoundrel of a man who’s spent the intervening years working as a mercenary for anyone who’ll pay for his services. 

Billed as a character who is supposed to evoke famous legendary folklore characters like Paul Bunyon and John Henry, I couldn’t help feeling this was also a throwback to a simpler time in comics when daft heroes like Redcoat were ten a penny and often didn’t last much past the odd Silver Age appearance or two. But, with the highly detailed, contemporary art of Bryan Hitch. An artist whose involvement in this project certainly elevates the whole concept beyond just a silly Silver Age storyline. Hitch’s hyper-detailed, realistic style offers the requisite maturity, but at times Johns’ script is no better than a throwaway story from a more naive era. Our hero is too much of a walking stereotype at the moment. Think Han Solo but in period dress. A wardrobe he still wears some 100 years later as the main action picks up again after his corny origin story has been recounted, but seems rather redundant in 1892 America. 

That’s not to say the writing is poorly executed throughout the debut issue. There are some signs of hope as the Founding Fathers are set up as potentially the main villains of the piece. After all, they must have gained their magic from somewhere, which is suggested very subtly and quickly as having come from the indigenous tribes of America. Could Johns be plotting an anti-colonial storyline to unfold across this series?

What also makes this an interesting read – enough to have me pick up the next few issues at least – is the introduction of a very young Albert Einstein into the mix, who needs Redcoat’s help to stop “a great evil”. This is a comic that has a good deal going for it, but lacking in a lot of places. And don’t even get me started on the accents attributed to the British soldiers. We don’t all come from London, y’know. It’s a great example of some of the more lazy writing present in this debut issue.

On reflection, overall this is a fun, frothy read which doesn’t take itself too seriously but does fall back on some lazy narrative tropes nonetheless but with stunning art that does a lot of the heavy lifting on behalf of the script. 

Redcoat #1 is out on Wednesday 3rd April from Image Comics/Ghost Machine