Review:  Alright.  Fair to say I enjoyed Redball 6 in its serialized form.  That being the case, I loved it once it moved into a longer format and had the chance to spread its wings a bit.  However, that's more for my benefit in being able to read more of the story in one shot.  To the eternal credit of the brothers Miller, their work stands just as well when it's chopped into individual issues.

I made the mistake upon first reading this story in its original form of seeing it as some incredible hybrid - combining the procedural touches of those Law & Order reruns with the supernatural and a pretty straightforward action comic.  While it manages all of that in the longer story, I had certainly lost sight of the forest for the trees.  When it came time to review issue 2, I was somehow disappointed that it seemed less groundbreaking.  What I was able to properly see as the plot unfolded is that these interesting hybrid elements remain, but become so subtle and transparent that it's easy to ignore them, which is pretty awe-inspiring given the number of comics, mainstream or otherwise, which make such noise about their "groundbreaking" nature without actually putting the proof in the pudding.  This is one of those striking examples of a well-assembled comic which would rather show you than tell you how great it is.

There isn't much to say about the characters and plot that isn't covered in the description and wouldn't somehow spoil the read for a newcomer.  I will say that the members of the Redball 6 unit are an interesting bunch.  All of them are from different regions and historical eras (one main character isn't human but, in a number of ways, comes across as moreso than the others).  The designs and concepts are incredibly entertaining, not least of all when you watch them interact.  To a point, it's unfortunate that they don't get much more background exposition or time for dialog in the course of this book, but that leaves it open for subsequent installments and this plot picked up steam so naturally it seems as if it would have lost something had more space been created in between the more frenetic bits.

While you could easily float a comic on the strength of its characters, the setting proves just as memorable and involved in making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.  As I probably mentioned in the reviews of issues 1 and 2, the concept of a "not quite hell" where the threat of spiritual death is real provides an engrossing sandbox in which to set up these personalities and events.  In many ways, Near Dis is an unsung character of the series.

In my selfish heart of hearts, I find myself hoping there's not a ton of downtime before book 2 is released...

Overall: 5 stars.

Alex Haas