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Red City #1-4
Red City
In the wake of a system-wide civil war, hard-nosed interplanetary investigator Cal Talmage is given a simple mission to find a missing ambassador's daughter in Mars Central, aka RED CITY.
The routine case quickly complicates as Cal finds himself in the midst of rival alien mobs, street vendettas and political conspiracies. He struggles with personal demons as he discovers that another war is brewing, and the lives of an entire race hang in the balance.
Includes an all-new ten-page MORIARTY story!
The routine case quickly complicates as Cal finds himself in the midst of rival alien mobs, street vendettas and political conspiracies. He struggles with personal demons as he discovers that another war is brewing, and the lives of an entire race hang in the balance.
Includes an all-new ten-page MORIARTY story!
120 pages, Paperback
First published November 11, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 18, 2020
A sci-fi noir that doesn't work. Corey gets too ambitious and introduces way too many story elements in this. I couldn't follow the story at all other than the main character is looking for a missing woman who actually has very little to do with the actual plot. It was also odd that all of the solar system's planets were colonized by a different alien race on each one. Plus, they were on Mars and one of the guys he meets was Cajon. Just too many disparate elements.
March 13, 2015
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Interplanetary investigator, Cal Talmage, is given a job to find a missing girl, the daughter of an important diplomat. Mars Central, the Red City, is being used as the focal point for a new treaty between Venus and Mars but if Cal doesn't put the pieces together quickly the treaty may be used to sanctify genocide.
This is an entertaining mix of sci-fi and PI noir with lots of twists and turns in the story to keep you guessing about who is really behind the conspiracy. Cal is an engaging enough character and his feisty sidekick, Angel provides some nice support and also adds into the mystery of what is happening as she seems to have her own agenda.
The art was a bit mixed, I liked it but issues 3-4 look very different to 1-2. It was a bit jarring and did pull me out of the story but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the read.
A nice mix of hard boiled noir and sci-fi. The art should have been more consistent but it didn't spoil it for me.
Interplanetary investigator, Cal Talmage, is given a job to find a missing girl, the daughter of an important diplomat. Mars Central, the Red City, is being used as the focal point for a new treaty between Venus and Mars but if Cal doesn't put the pieces together quickly the treaty may be used to sanctify genocide.
This is an entertaining mix of sci-fi and PI noir with lots of twists and turns in the story to keep you guessing about who is really behind the conspiracy. Cal is an engaging enough character and his feisty sidekick, Angel provides some nice support and also adds into the mystery of what is happening as she seems to have her own agenda.
The art was a bit mixed, I liked it but issues 3-4 look very different to 1-2. It was a bit jarring and did pull me out of the story but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the read.
A nice mix of hard boiled noir and sci-fi. The art should have been more consistent but it didn't spoil it for me.
October 14, 2015
(review of collected issues) RED CITY is a cool concept let down by the complexity of characters and conflicting plot threads all vying for a slice of the readers attention. There is just too much going on too soon with the chief pitfall of RED CITY being the decision to cram, what actually is, a very interesting story into a 4 issue arc.
The plot revolves around Cal Talmage, a former Mars PD Officer and decorated war veteran who has fallen from grace and is now seen as an expendable solution to a budding political problem between the Mercurians and the Neptunians. He's tasked with tracking down Talia Jalen, missing daughter of Ambassador Jalen and pivotal spokesperson for the Mercury / Neptune peace treaty. Sound the dime-store PI routine.
Cal's diagonal is pure pulp and Angel, his sexy sidekick is the femme fatale stereotype true to form in pulp/PI novels. The chemistry between the two didn't leap off the page despite some good but fleeting moments. As for the broader cast - each individual issue provided a run down of the key players which certainly helped but it was still too difficult to get into a story where there are many rival factions both political and military as well as underworld organisations all vying for the readers attention in a 4 issue story arc. Again - a great premise, just executed too quickly.
The art from #1 and #2 are great and compliment the story nicely. Cal, Angel and the supporting cast are drawn well while the backgrounds are detailed and make the reader feel like they are on another planet. Anthony Diecidue tool over for #3 and #4 and it just didn't work. Each panel lacked background, preferring to focus on the character which is okay but too big a switch from the opening 2 issues.
I've read RED CITY a couple of times now because I like where writer Daniel Corey was going with this, unfortunately the compressed storytelling and almost too easy path to Talia let down what could've been a very good read.
http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
The plot revolves around Cal Talmage, a former Mars PD Officer and decorated war veteran who has fallen from grace and is now seen as an expendable solution to a budding political problem between the Mercurians and the Neptunians. He's tasked with tracking down Talia Jalen, missing daughter of Ambassador Jalen and pivotal spokesperson for the Mercury / Neptune peace treaty. Sound the dime-store PI routine.
Cal's diagonal is pure pulp and Angel, his sexy sidekick is the femme fatale stereotype true to form in pulp/PI novels. The chemistry between the two didn't leap off the page despite some good but fleeting moments. As for the broader cast - each individual issue provided a run down of the key players which certainly helped but it was still too difficult to get into a story where there are many rival factions both political and military as well as underworld organisations all vying for the readers attention in a 4 issue story arc. Again - a great premise, just executed too quickly.
The art from #1 and #2 are great and compliment the story nicely. Cal, Angel and the supporting cast are drawn well while the backgrounds are detailed and make the reader feel like they are on another planet. Anthony Diecidue tool over for #3 and #4 and it just didn't work. Each panel lacked background, preferring to focus on the character which is okay but too big a switch from the opening 2 issues.
I've read RED CITY a couple of times now because I like where writer Daniel Corey was going with this, unfortunately the compressed storytelling and almost too easy path to Talia let down what could've been a very good read.
http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
December 20, 2014
'Red City' combines SF with noir/cop genre and does it quite well, unlike the hybrid science fiction/fantasy story I read that not long ago. It's got lots of familiar tropes that work pretty well.
Ex-Mars cop, Cal Talmage, is given a simple job to find a missing girl. Of course, if it were that simple, it would be a pretty short story, wouldn't it. Things go awry as Cal runs into old informants who seem to have agendas. Along the way, he gets framed for a murder, finds himself in the midst of a potential war between alien races, and meets up with an old partner who may have her own agenda. Can he find the girl and maybe stop an interstellar war?
The book has a good introduction by James Cotten of Dark Highway Films. The book works well as a kind of B-movie cop film. Think Red Heat meets Total Recall. I'm not sure why different alien races would inhabit the planets of our solar system, I'll go with it for the sake of the story. It's fun. The artist changes from issues 1 and 2 to issues 3 and 4. I prefer the artist in the first half and found the change mildly jarring. If I'd read it as individual issues, I likely wouldn't have noticed. Still, it was a fun read.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Ex-Mars cop, Cal Talmage, is given a simple job to find a missing girl. Of course, if it were that simple, it would be a pretty short story, wouldn't it. Things go awry as Cal runs into old informants who seem to have agendas. Along the way, he gets framed for a murder, finds himself in the midst of a potential war between alien races, and meets up with an old partner who may have her own agenda. Can he find the girl and maybe stop an interstellar war?
The book has a good introduction by James Cotten of Dark Highway Films. The book works well as a kind of B-movie cop film. Think Red Heat meets Total Recall. I'm not sure why different alien races would inhabit the planets of our solar system, I'll go with it for the sake of the story. It's fun. The artist changes from issues 1 and 2 to issues 3 and 4. I prefer the artist in the first half and found the change mildly jarring. If I'd read it as individual issues, I likely wouldn't have noticed. Still, it was a fun read.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
April 7, 2020
Could not finish this. Cliche after cliche. Plus this story is very confusing.
January 11, 2015
This read briskly, looked fine, and played out quite well, but I have no idea what was going on. If you want a noir set on Mars where everyone is introduced too quickly for their real motives and behind-the-scenes machinations to register at all, welcome on board. I had the sense throughout of just watching, as I couldn't engage with, these proceedings. At times I found myself enjoying a few pages here and there, before I remembered I had no idea to whom they referred, such is the complexity of the story. For not allowing me to keep track of who was who and what was what, this has to be called an interesting failure. Check Antony Johnston's The Fuse instead.
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October 5, 2015I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'd like to review this, but several pages are blank, and I simply cannot read it. I tried re-downloading it, but to no avail.
If Netgalley and the publisher will fix this problem, I'll be happy to read and review. Until then, it goes into the abandoned book pile. :(
I'd like to review this, but several pages are blank, and I simply cannot read it. I tried re-downloading it, but to no avail.
If Netgalley and the publisher will fix this problem, I'll be happy to read and review. Until then, it goes into the abandoned book pile. :(
February 1, 2015
*** Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ***
Spoilers, maybe? I honestly don't know how much is a spoiler and what's ok to say in this case. It's not like it was all unexpected.
What to say about Red City. It's a very good comic book combination of science fiction and cop drama with a noir feel to it. The main character, Cal, has been many things in his life and now he's been ordered to find a Venus' ambassador's daughter. And because nothing can't be easy in the Red City, he gets himself in the middle of a complicated plot to stop a political treaty being signed.
Like I said, it wasn't unexpected. It's actually quite stereotypical story. But it is well written and it's set into well build and fairly complicated future so it doesn't feel too much like Sin City (only a little, I swear).
What I appreciated was the raw style of illustration. I don't always like it but I feel like in this case it fit perfectly to the story.
Spoilers, maybe? I honestly don't know how much is a spoiler and what's ok to say in this case. It's not like it was all unexpected.
What to say about Red City. It's a very good comic book combination of science fiction and cop drama with a noir feel to it. The main character, Cal, has been many things in his life and now he's been ordered to find a Venus' ambassador's daughter. And because nothing can't be easy in the Red City, he gets himself in the middle of a complicated plot to stop a political treaty being signed.
Like I said, it wasn't unexpected. It's actually quite stereotypical story. But it is well written and it's set into well build and fairly complicated future so it doesn't feel too much like Sin City (only a little, I swear).
What I appreciated was the raw style of illustration. I don't always like it but I feel like in this case it fit perfectly to the story.
December 22, 2014
Set on Mars, this is a bit like the old fashioned PI stories, but with a sci-fi twist. Nothing stunningly original, but it is well put together and is a fun read.
An ex-marine and ex-cop is tasked with finding a missing girl in the lead up to some critical (and political) negotiations. As our hero follows the leads, everyone has their own agendas and some of those agendas include killing our weary hero. Lot of pace and snappy dialogue help push this along and some fun twists and turns. Graphics are nice and clear and the introduction of various aliens and backstory was presented in an interesting way. I enjoyed this…
An ex-marine and ex-cop is tasked with finding a missing girl in the lead up to some critical (and political) negotiations. As our hero follows the leads, everyone has their own agendas and some of those agendas include killing our weary hero. Lot of pace and snappy dialogue help push this along and some fun twists and turns. Graphics are nice and clear and the introduction of various aliens and backstory was presented in an interesting way. I enjoyed this…
March 10, 2015
An mix of sci-fi and noir detective fiction set on a Mars populated by an amazing variety of alien races. Unfortunately, how they got there and why is never explained. The story tends to get a bit formulaic as it unfolds - the plot details have been set out in several other reviews so I won't repeat them - but the story was still a fun read. books 1&2 had a different artist than books 3&4. The change was a bit jarring at first but I got used to it and it really didn't detract too much from my envy,net of the book. It just was something unexpected.
I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
December 20, 2014
I received a copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
This is an independent graphic novel. It is a mix of sci-fi and hard boiled detective tales. Talmadge is assigned a mission to locate a kidnapped girl somewhere in Mars Central also known as Red City. He discovers that he has been set up to fail. It is a standard detective tale that tries to be different but doesn't really succeed at that. It's not bad but not the best of this type. A little predictable at times.
This is an independent graphic novel. It is a mix of sci-fi and hard boiled detective tales. Talmadge is assigned a mission to locate a kidnapped girl somewhere in Mars Central also known as Red City. He discovers that he has been set up to fail. It is a standard detective tale that tries to be different but doesn't really succeed at that. It's not bad but not the best of this type. A little predictable at times.
December 21, 2014
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It was alright. The art style wasn't my favorite, and the story didn't really go anywhere. It was hard to keep track of all the different people and who was fighting who. There were a couple of clever bits, but by the end, you were just left saying 'That's it?'
It was alright. The art style wasn't my favorite, and the story didn't really go anywhere. It was hard to keep track of all the different people and who was fighting who. There were a couple of clever bits, but by the end, you were just left saying 'That's it?'
February 11, 2016
It felt like there was a lot of potential, but the plot tried to do too many things at once, and none of them were completely thought out.
I loved the 'Moriarty' teaser at the end thought. I was way better than the whole Red City comic. If that ever comes out as a book, I am totally reading it!
I loved the 'Moriarty' teaser at the end thought. I was way better than the whole Red City comic. If that ever comes out as a book, I am totally reading it!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews