Redcoat vol. 2

Before I get into the review of “Redcoat” vol. 2 proper, let me tell you a bit about “Revenger.”  This was an anime series that Steve and I watched a few years back that has generally been forgotten by anime fandom.  It was about a group of bishounen in a port town in feudal Japan who took jobs to punish the guilty from the local Catholic church.  We decided to give it a shot because it stood out from the usual round of high school and isekai-related shenanigans of the season, and the involvement of Gen Urobuchi (of “Madoka Magica” fame) promised at least some modicum of quality.

The first episode made it clear that the series intended to take its “What is the nature of evil?” meditation seriously, but not in a way that felt intelligent or even bad enough to mock.  We gave it a second episode to see if things would get any better or worse and things played out much the same way.  Right up until one of the characters flexed his shirt right off his body as he prepared to use his signature weapon, a giant bow.  We laughed our asses off at that sight and promptly decided to keep watching in the hope that the series would deliver more of that kind of silliness.

Which it did:  We had hanafuda Gambit.  The first use of the Curly Maneuver I’ve seen in anime.  A big bad who was a total Bond Villain with his pet monkey and shark-filled (or was it piranha?) pool.  Most everything else about “Revenger” was pretty mid, but I don’t think I’d be talking about it now if it wasn’t as silly as it was.

This brings me back to “Redcoat” and how its first volume had immortal British mercenary Simon Pure teaming up with young boy genius Albert Einstein against fellow immortal Benedict Arnold and his plan to destroy America!  It was an enjoyably silly story that benefitted greatly from writer Geoff Johns’ ability to keep the action unfolding at a steady pace, and artist Bryan Hitch’s ability to give it all some epic scale and style.  There were moments when the story took itself a bit too seriously, which caused me to wonder whether or not the creators actually knew that they were delivering something just a little ridiculous.  Still, I vowed to come back and see if things would get more or less so in vol. 2.

Here we are and the answer is unfortunately “less so.”  The good news is that “Redcoat” doesn’t become entirely po-faced in its depiction of Simon’s adventures, and there are glimmers of the silliness that drove the first volume from time to time.  A fateful encounter with Johnny Appleseed for one, and a glimpse at George Washington’s magical power for another.  Everything else, though, is played more-or-less straight.

You’ve got an encounter with a murderous family that doesn’t really have any suspense to it.  An encounter with Annie Oakley tries to show a more romantic side to Simon.  He helps Dolley Madison save a piece of art after the White House is set on fire during the War of 1812.  In the volume’s longest story, he meets up with the time-traveling Northerner who is trying to prevent a future where the Confederacy wins the Civil War.  The Northerner also winds up being the link to the wider universe of “The Unnamed” as it’s revealed that he knows Geiger as well.

Are any of these stories bad?  No, I think they’re perfectly fine.  They unfold well enough under Johns’ writing even as they show that the basic storytelling formula for “Redcoat” is that Simon meets a historical figure, has an adventure, and learns a valuable lesson.  That last part is a big potential issue for the series as it feels like there’s only so many times Simon can learn about the need to care for others while maintaining his whole selfish yet likable rogue persona.  All of this still looks great coming from Hitch and he demonstrates that he’s also quite good at making the smaller action pieces stand out here.  It’s the big stuff that’s the most memorable, however, particularly that two-page spread featuring Geiger and Barney.

Not bad, but not really great is how I’d describe this second volume of “Redcoat.”  Johns is clearly laying out a larger story to be told here and it’s still in the early stages without much payoff to be had at this point.  Which means the series is going to have to get by on the stories being told in each volume and they’re just okay so far.  I certainly think that more silliness would help them stand out, even though I get the feeling that Johns and Hitch believe that they’re telling a serious story about an immortal British mercenary who slowly becomes a better person over time – after he’s met up with a time traveler and rides a giant worm while George Washington the warlock lurks in the background.