I waited a long time to read this book. Now that I have completed it, I really wish that I had kept on waiting. The Sheriff of Babylon is based on writer Tom King's experiences in Iraq as a member of the CIA. Because a lot of his work is still marked as Top Secret, this is less of a direct biography about King's post 9/11 stint in the middle east and more of a Impressionist painting of that period of his life. The scenery is right. Characters involved reflect the complicated mission of making a country free for democracy in whose citizens don't want American involvement. The beliefs and covert centrifuge is accurate. But the story is completely made up. Oh, God, please let this story have been made up.
Remember the first 15 minutes of Saving Private Ryan and how that realism of the invasion of Normandy was such a gut punch for the viewers? Well, that's what The Sheriff of Babylon is like. Only the abuse of the reader lasts for 12 whole issues.
The story begins when American soldiers discover the mutilated corpse of an Iraqi citizen who's been training to become a part of Baghdad's police force. The victim's American supervisor, military consultant Christopher Henry, is tasked to return the body back to his family. Calling in a favor from an influential member of the interim government, Christopher is assisted in claiming the body by Nassir, a former member of Saddam Hussein's secret police who continues to work as an enforcer of the law in Baghdad despite a price that hangs eerily over his head. Once the body is claimed, Christopher and Nassir fall into the middle of a giant CIA quagmire that will result in the deaths of innocents, miscarriage, conspiracy and torture.
Adding to the stark realism of this book is the art of Mitch Gerads. A frequent collaborator with Tom King, Gerads' artwork always looks photo-realistic. His scenes are worthy of a portfolio review in National Geographic. His characters evoke a myriad of emotions. To the point you get connected to many of the characters, which makes it even harder to absorb when they're mercilessly killed off.
There was an aspect of this book that felt anything but realistic that got on my nerves: the dialogue. I understand why superheroes and the villains always wax poetic. Super-hero comics are a form of melodrama. But why do non-cape comics and graphic novels have to fall into that same trap? There's a complex mystery being kept under wraps by spies, double agents and shadow governments. I don't need every character speaking in riddle like the Sphinx on crack. Just tell me what you want to say without making allusions to some ancient fable that maybe only 2% of the entire population of human history has ever heard of.
Sometimes a cigar is just a freakin' cigar!
A tough story. Harsh on the stomach. Cancerous to the human spirit. Full of dialogue that needs assistance from the Encyclopedia Britannica. At least I should be able to get some trade credit for something else that is more fanciful and family friendly.
Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.
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