Redcoat #5 // Review
George Washington is the Grand Architect of the Founding Fathers, but not in the way anyone might have suspected. Simon Pure has discovered that there’s something fundamentally wrong with the world...again. And this time things might get so bad for him that he could lose Albert Einstein. The weird twisting of history continue in Redcoat #5. The writing team of Geoff Johns an Bryan Hitch continue in another issue drawn by Hitch with the aid of inker Andrew Currie and colorist Brad Anderson. It’s a weird look back at a fantasy of altered history, but it’s still missing some fundamental appeal.
An immortal Simon Pure finds himself escaping a secret society known as the Founding Fathers in 1892. He and little Albert Einstein are on the run when they find themselves running through the catacombs only to find themselves face-to-face with Benedict Arnold. Evidently the head of the Founding Fathers is none other than George Washington. So things are considerably darker than they might have appeared at first. Simon may not know exactly what to make of anything, but Albert’s getting progressively more upset about everything and there’s almost certainly going to be some danger in THAT.
Johns’ alternate history fantasy action adventure misses so much potential that rests in the margins of so much history. Washington was a villain, but...he was on THIS side of the comics page too for reasons which could have been explored in the world of Redcoat a bit more. And they still MIGHT be explored, but focussing another history on a bunch of white guys in 1892 still feels a bit weak. There were so many others who the pages of history didn’t explore...so many more that would be a lot more fascinating to runt into in the pages of a comic book like this than some kid destined for a patent office on his way to genius and a bunch of names out of a textbook.
Hitch and Currie have a good grasp of the intricate interplay between physical violent action and more deeper emotional drama. The story itself may not be a terribly original framing of alternative history, but the drama between these particular characters is actually kind of interesting. And while the more interesting aspects of a very young, Albert Einstein aren't necessarily explored all that well in the script. there's enough going on between the fantastic elements and the earthbound history elements of the story to create a very interesting visual world for the late 19th century. Anderson’s colors also develop a wonderful sense of atmosphere.
Theoretically Redcoat could turn into something more dramatic. But the attempt at some kind of shock in turning George Washington into an unseen villain is not a terribly good sign. in order to make an ultimate history, really feel sharp. It needs to genuinely shock and jar of the reader into a alternate world. Washington's going to be the big villain, it’s’ clearly misguided. Einstein isn’t as interesting as he should be. Everyone else is kind of dull. And doing an alternate history of America of this sort without addressing oppressed multiculturalism makes the whole thing feel kind of tedious
Grade: C+
