Immortal Sergeant #6 // Review
It’s Michael’s birthday. He’s turning 35 years of age. He’s doing so on the road with his dad. (It’s a long story.) It’s a nice little father-and-son moment. Then, Michael’s dad pulls out the gun to make a point, and things start to get ugly in Immortal Sergeant #6. Writer Joe Kelly continues the road trip with Michael and Sarge that is gracefully scrawled across the page by artist Ken Niimura. The art may be breezy and vague, but there’s a sharp, distinct, and coherent energy about it that moves into the final few chapters of the mini-series.
Sarge is being racist. Michael is trying to keep him from making a fool of himself, but that’s going to be very, very difficult work. Michael can confront Sarge, but can he deal with the intensity of the situation between himself and his father when things start to get really serious? Possibly. It won’t be pretty, though. And there’s little doubt that someone will get hurt. There’s definitely going to be a fight. There will be an audience of strangers for that fight. But what happens when the police show up? Things will definitely be said when father and son find themselves in jail.
Kelly’s pacing is primal and impressive. The conflict between father and son and what they are about to go through is clearly defined from the first page of the issue. Sarge and Michael are rendered with remarkable depth given how little they’re actually saying. The aggression between the two men is palpable as the two continue to be forced to confront each other--this time outside a convenience center somewhere across state lines. It’s going to be a tough time for both of them, but Sarge is well within his element among the police. It’s a really cleverly-rendered encounter.
Niimura’s graceful scribbles amplify the action beautifully. The style that Niimura is using for the series wouldn’t work terribly well with anything more fantastic than what is being presented in Immortal Sergeant. The vague and swift arcs of the rendering feel perfectly at home in a very realistic family drama on the edge. Niimura’s rendering of the fantastic and surreal tends to be a bit more clearly defined. THAT style is generally preferable to the one he’s using for Immortal Sergeant. The breezy style amplifies the larger-than-life emotions of the series quite well, but it lacks the appeal of Niimura’s most accomplished art.
The journey continues. And one wonders if it might not be the case that Sarge is a bit more savvy about the nature of the situation than he’s letting on. There’s wisdom in his craziness that feels compelling enough to carry the series through the next couple of issues. It’s a fun, well-modulated walk into earthy madness on the road. The visuals seem pleasantly erratic. A slightly tighter visual presentation would benefit the series, but the loose lines of the action keep it feeling fluid and wild.
