Broken Frontier

Last month, I was fortunate enough to review the Miller Bros.’ first collection of their series Philosopher Rex. My main criticism of the series was a lack of visual consistency, as almost every issue featured a different artist, negating the audience’s ability to truly connect with the cast of the book.

I’m happy to report Redball 6 does not suffer from this same flaw. In fact, quite the opposite from Philosopher Rex, Redball 6 proves just how important establishing a consistent visual look is for a creator-owned comic book property. Jok, who contributed a pin-up to the Philosopher Rex TPB, takes on full art duties in Redball 6 and there couldn’t be a better artistic match for the Miller Bros.' oddball take on the police drama.

Imagine Law & Order set on the outer fringes of Hell and you get the idea. The plot follows Detective Wayne Hambler, who awakens, appropriately enough, on an autopsy slab in the city of Near Dis, a bizarre, dangerous, infernal metropolis on the outskirts of Hell proper. Tapped as a ringer by the demonic Lt. G’Nash of NDPD’s spiricide unit, in an effort to thwart an ongoing conspiracy to take out the city’s politicians, Hambler finds himself in the middle of the worst murder spree in Near Dis’ recent history.

Surrounded by a population of lesser demons, semi-fallen angels, and lost souls all desperately working their way up the spiritual ladder, Hambler quickly takes point on the investigation, even as one of his damned colleagues uses the situation to make a power play for G’Nash’s job.

As in Philosopher Rex, the Miller Bros. once again introduce the reader to a diverse cast of fully developed characters, each with an interesting reason for being in Near Dis coloring their motivations. It’s an intriguing group dynamic, with each member of G’Nash’s squad a former police officer, who crossed the legal line in life, and so ended up stuck between Heaven and Hell patrolling the gutters of Near Dis.

Perhaps the most important character in the series, Near Dis is a fully realized world teetering on the precipice staring into the maw of Hell, peopled by citizens who didn’t quite measure up to snuff to pass through the pearly gates or descend into the fiery pit. The Miller Bros. do a fantastic job building their setting, constructing a refreshing, functional mechanism in the Great Compromise that gives Near Dis its reason for being.

Helping the Miller Bros. bring Near Dis and its inhabitants to life is Jok, whose quirky, exaggerated style perfectly matches the series’ unique setting, while providing an over-the-top counterpoint to some of the quieter character development and plotting undertaken by the writers. Jok packs each panel with a wealth of detail, using every available millimeter of space to showcase Near Dis’ ever-bustling, claustrophobic atmosphere.

Thanks to the visual consistency provided by Jok’s astounding realization of Near Dis and its cops, the Miller Bros.’ newest collection is one of the strongest independent series to come out this year. Redball 6 unfolds naturally without the distraction of a revolving roster of artists, allowing the reader to truly escape into the vivid, visceral world of Near Dis and appreciate the talents of those who laid its foundation.