Image Comics reviews 12/26/24 – GI Joe Real American Hero #313, Void Rivals #15

Redcoat #8

The beauty of an immortal hero is he can literally get killed in any issue and it fits into the flow of the story without feeling like a gimmick.

For this issue, writer Geoff Johns and artist Bryan Hitch have Simon Pure encounter the Bender family, a notorious group of murderers posing as a hospitable family that rent out rooms for weary travelers.

The Benders have run this horrible scam for months and have a growing mound of bodies to show for it. Simon is the latest to join their victims, but unlike the others he can avenge his own murder.

Johns continues to make Simon a very intriguing lead. He’s a bit of a scoundrel, but he’s not an outright villain and is written with a strong sense of self-awareness to make him sympathetic enough.

Hitch, with inker Andrew Currie, continues to do a phenomenal job illustrating Simon’s adventures. There’s so much detail packed into every panel and Hitch has truly established the visual tone of the series as both an intimate and larger than life spectacle given the mess Simon finds himself into.

Colorist Brad Anderson adds a special touch to the issue with lush colors that contrast with the darker, intentionally murky settings. Letterer Rob Leigh keeps Simon’s script simple to read with clean dialogue arrangements.

Redcoat remains an essential read of both the Ghost Machine brand and Image Comics in general. The concept isn’t showing any signs of getting old.

Johns teases the arrival of a seemingly big player in Ghost Machine universe with another appearance from The Northerner, who has a knowledge of the larger timeline including references to characters far off in the future. If anything, this first year could just be the appetizer for an even grander main course in 2025.

Rating: 10 out of 10