Staff Picks (January): Redline #1

Turns out there was life on Mars after all; Earth just didn’t find out until after we set up our first colony.  In the peacetime following a long conflict between the colonists and the natives, a bombing takes out a city block and the Martians are quickly blamed for the attack.  Denton Coyle, the delightfully crass protagonist, finds a clue that might clear the aliens but would put the blame on his own people. Who would want to start the war up again?  Who is that woman Coyle was reminded of at the crime scene?  And is that gut feeling his intuition or just his hangover coming back to bite him?

Redline, written by producer and art director of Archer, Neal Holman, is dark science fiction comedy at its finest.  But don’t go in expecting “Archer on Mars” – which would be amazing – Redline is grounded in reality, but there are traces of Archer’s irreverent wit at the edges of the story, particularly where we see coworkers in the field giving each other a hard time.  But there are other influences here too, perhaps it’s just the red sand or the military uniforms, but when reading this first issue it’s hard not to think about Douglas Quaid racing across the Martian desert or Johnny Rico squashing Bugs on Klendathu.

In other words, Holman’s Redline takes the best parts of his Archer experience and gives us a twisted, hilarious addition to the annals of cult sci-fi in the spirit of Total Recall and Starship Troopers.

— Trevor Richardson

Publisher: Oni Press
Item Code: JAN171893
Release Date: 3/8/17
SRP: $3.99