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unladylike's review against another edition
5.0
Given the risk of Tom King and Mitch Gerads using mid-00's Baghdad as the setting for a "genre story," they knocked this one out of the park, in my humble opinion. I really want to hear the thoughts of some readers who have lived extensively both in Iraq and the U.S.
The first issue didn't grab me much, but by the end of the second, I was becoming enthralled. The more I read, the more impressed I became with the story-telling capabilities of both the artist and writer.
So far, in my reading of it, I don't see the Christopher character as being the hero of the story. He's more like a pinball bouncing around various points that are both strategically placed and tightly energized. I have a feeling this book is very ripe for readers' projections based on internal biases.
The first issue didn't grab me much, but by the end of the second, I was becoming enthralled. The more I read, the more impressed I became with the story-telling capabilities of both the artist and writer.
So far, in my reading of it, I don't see the Christopher character as being the hero of the story. He's more like a pinball bouncing around various points that are both strategically placed and tightly energized. I have a feeling this book is very ripe for readers' projections based on internal biases.
helpfulsnowman's review against another edition
I was confused as hell. There's a body that we're investigating for some reason, there's a Iraqi mover and shaker who is doing a whole bunch of stuff that I don't fully understand (telecom deal?), and then we've got the guy, who is some kind of investigator soldier fella.
It seems like it was a chaotic time and a chaotic situation, but the narrative didn't solidify enough for me to get the hang of what was happening here.
It seems like it was a chaotic time and a chaotic situation, but the narrative didn't solidify enough for me to get the hang of what was happening here.
jhouses's review against another edition
4.0
Brutal, realista, descarnada, sin complejos. Una historia negra con gran guión, gran dibujo y un trasfondo impresionante. Muy recomendable.
rltinha's review against another edition
2.0
Podemos sempre contar com os (ex) agentes de uma força imperialista e invasora para historietas sonsas sobre a violência extrema, o choque cultural, e a ingovernabilidade quotidiana de uma nação feita em cacos.
Vacões gonna vacãozate.
E ainda há o segundo volume... Valha-me Nossa Senhora do Imperialismo Armado aos Cucos!
Vacões gonna vacãozate.
E ainda há o segundo volume... Valha-me Nossa Senhora do Imperialismo Armado aos Cucos!
frasersimons's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
A slow burn, methodically paced and plotted story about a former police officer who goes overseas to the war, only to get embroiled in a complex murder. With the recruit of a native police officer, they try to dig into it, only to bite off more than they can chew. There’s a lot about the politics and cultural differences between the countries. It shows that there is no simple solution to anything, and the religious undertones thematically suggest a tragedy of all aspects of the story, due to the ignorance of the complexities.
joshgauthier's review against another edition
5.0
I read volumes 1 and 2 back to back, so I'm going to review the series in more depth with the second volume. In brief, I'll say that this series has excellent art along with dark, complex, and emotional storytelling. It's another example of King's ability to cut to the brutal heart of a story with great effectiveness.
bonerbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Top quality book, just not really my cup of tea. I picked this up for the author hoping the writing would be enough to get me into the subject matter, but I've concluded that war stuff really isn't my thing. If it's yours, definitely give Sheriff of Babylon a go.
iffer's review against another edition
4.0
Really good. This book has the effect that certain films and documentaries do, of a seemingly hands-off, detached approach that somehow communicates the complexity of humans how f***ed up things are. I honestly don't know much about what it was like in the Green Zone post-toppling of Saddam Hussein, but I find this believable because of Tom King's characterization and the lack of blatant good guy/bad guy propaganda (and Tom King's time working for the CIA). The art and writing complement each other perfectly, taking full advantage of the contrapuntal possibilities of graphic storytelling. The text advances the plot while the images depict scenes that convey the tone most of the time, except when a conscious choice was made to emphasize something by having the text and images in sync. The layouts are relatively simple, but the rectangular panels convey a minimalist documentary style.
elturko64's review against another edition
5.0
Wow this book was incredible and gut wrenching. I've been a fan of Tom King since his book "Once a clouded sky" and holy crap did he deliver on this one. Easily top three comic books of this year
tdwightdavis's review against another edition
5.0
First of all, I am of the opinion that Tom King is the single best comic writer out there right now. His Vision run is a masterpiece, his book The Omega Men is brilliant, and his Batman run has been spectacular. On top of his comic writing, his superhero novel A Once Crowded Sky transcended the genre and became an absolutely beautiful piece of literature. The Sheriff of Babylon is King's creator-owned, non-superhero, semi-autobiographical work about a contractor in the Iraqi Green Zone just after the American invasion. This story sees King able to work outside the confines of an editorial rigidity and it really shines. The story is compassionate and shows the horrors of Iraq, the ways in which our war there tore a country apart, but its nuanced and careful to show how human and inhuman such a war can really be.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's beautiful. It's brutal. It's compassionate. It's scathing. It's important. Read everything that Tom King does. But definitely read this.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's beautiful. It's brutal. It's compassionate. It's scathing. It's important. Read everything that Tom King does. But definitely read this.