'Redline' by Neal Holman with art by Clay McCormack and Kelly Fitzpatrick is a graphic novel about an out of control soldier investigating a crime on Mars.

Denton Coyle is a soldier on Mars just trying to get by. Then a bomb goes off in a crowd and Denton and his guys start investigating. They don't have very clean hands, and their methods are a bit unorthodox. Before long, Denton realizes that the bomb is linked to something in the past.

I almost gave up reading this, and perhaps I should have. It's over the top, kind of gross and the main characters are kind of unlikeable. Maybe I'm just tired of this kind of cynical story. The art is passable, the story feels like it doesn't really care.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

The setting is Mars, the object is to discover how a body got tossed into garbage. The team investigating is a cross between a police team and a military investigation squad. Unfortunately, the head honcho is a long-timer who has ties to some suspects, his replacements has questionable links to corporate interests, and the poor private has really bad luck. In an twisty, interesting way this is an existential investigation in that the answers found do not answer the major question. And the answer becomes clear only as the head honcho gets his final reward.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title.

Redline is a fantasy story about a colony of humans on Mars and a man's (Supritendent Denton Coyle) search to find out the truth behind a conspiracy that is causing deaths and destruction.

WHO WOULD ENJOY READING IT?
This graphic novel has all the hallmarks of old-fashioned 1980s detective story all about it, hence people with such background might enjoy this. If you like your comedy dark and direct, you will love this particular story. People who detest nudity and crude jokes might want to skip this one.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT
Though it started quite slow, the story is good. Very good. The authors placed the cliffhangers in the right spots and kept surprises hidden so well that you sometimes have no clue about what is going on until it blows up in your face. A nice, fun read.

This was an interesting read, and not at all what I was expecting. I think my biggest issue is that I went in expecting more aliens than I got. At heart, it’s a grimdark conspiracy-theory military procedural, with some scifi underpinnings.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy what it was – I liked the main characters and really enjoyed the dark humor. I’m pretty sure the humor won’t be for everyone; for example, most of the comic relief in the second chapter is provided by a dismembered penis. There’s a couple of “sleeping with the (female) boss” jokes that I found utterly annoying. On the whole, though, I loved the snappy dialogue and the art style, which fit well with the intense pacing. Everything has a gritty feel to it, and it read more like a contemporary war movie than science fiction. From the first page, you’re dropped right into the story, without any expository backstory. Things are not explained explicitly – it was pretty much a given that after reading a new chapter, I’d go back and reread the previous ones so I could get a better handle on the story.

I’m not sure if there’s going to be more issues in the series, as issue #5 was released back in July, and there’s been no new issues yet. Given how this one ends, though, I’m pretty curious where it’d go from here, though I do feel like I still have a ton of questions.

Overall, while I enjoyed reading it, it’s not quite my taste.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Sheriff of Babylon crossed with the dark, caustic humor of Full Metal Jacket set. Full of gallows humor and conspiracies, set in a gritty, seedy war torn version of Mars. A military unit is investigating a bomb that appears was set off by the local alien life, uncovering much more than they ever expected. I gotta say, I didn't see the end coming.

Dammit! I hate it when a story jerks you around.

But I also love it.

A different - kind of story, with different kinds of characters. Intense and interesting, with some twists and turns. I liked it.

Worth taking a look at if you want something a bit different.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>

Great art work but with a complex story which I found hard to follow.

I was unable to read this / review this because there were no pictures, just text bubbles.

The biggest surprise here was almost the end, but actually managed to be the comment on the back about it being funny. This is not a funny book, whatsoever. Instead it is one more of those countless books that tries to portray gritty soldiers in a gritty war in a gritty way, so they're using hookers, they're getting the shits, they're getting wounded and giving wounds, and the pages are full of "funny" "banter". That said, this isn't too bad an example - it's set on a Mars that is a little ill-defined as regards what's going on, but has enough shenanigans and mystery to keep people interested. With an ending such as we get here, any future books are going to be interesting... Three and a half stars (and zero laughs).

Redline is a graphic novel centered on adventures in a colony on Mars. It's filled with lots of military action, aliens, strip clubs, and bombs as well as quite a bit of juvenile humor. Despite the bright bold colorful art, it did not turn out to be the right choice for me and failed to hold my interest plotwise.