Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

The Sheriff of Babylon #10

By Hervé St-Louis
September 11, 2016 - 12:18

Sending children to scare your opponents is not the way of honourable combatants, says the man as he entered the home of the woman who used the Americans to take down Saddam Hussein. So he threatens her in person, ready to explode at any moment, while she tries one last time to pull the strings. This was my introduction to The Sheriff of Babylon.

I was not able to read the previous issues before reviewing this one but the introduction was not abrupt. A lot of other things happened and we get the American perspective of how it feels to be tricked into killing innocents. Many people are pulling American strings.

The parallels between the current hostage situation where the mastermind is trapped and tries one last time to escape and the one where the American sheriffs tell their stories of being duped is visual. Invert the brown of the Iraqi hostage situation with the green of the American attack on the wrong enemies and you have the same colour. It’s effective. Mitch Gerards understands storytelling.

My favourite thing about him is how he starts the comic without any introduction panel, showing the new reader where it all happens. He just jumps into a nine panel grid focused on people’s faces. Closes shots that show their emotions and leaves just enough room for dialogues.

Tom King surprisingly is not talkative. It would have been easy for him to overburden the story with elaborate speeches that did not go anywhere. Many writers deemed great are too wordy. I don’t like King’s Batman but this story, one he crafted on his own gives him a more solid grounding. Having never read this Sheriff, I was not confused at all. I just know that I need to go back and catch up in order to fully experience what I was read today.

I like that the Americans are not the heroes and all knowing. I like that they are the pawns of other forces who are much older and used to wielding power. Here the Americans look like action figures with their little guns. They are menacing in the same way a Star Wars storm trooper brigade is. King is not afraid of depicting his people as just that, people with gear who are clueless about the subtleties of a conflict that has been waged for centuries.

Rating: 10 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12