Sheriff of Babylon The Deluxe Edition by Tom King, Mitch Gerads

​    I’m a huge fan of Vertigo publications. Which means I’ll read just about whatever they put out (and our library deems ok to acquire), irrespective of the themes. Which is to say normally I might not read a military thriller or military themes fiction in general. But this…I read this. And  glad I did. After all, a good story is a good story. And the fact that the author drew from his personal experiences as a CIA operative in Middle East certainly helped, giving the novel a certain boots in the sand realism.
    The plot follows an investigation into the murder of a local police trainee recruit, which has the protagonist, all American Chris (tailored named and looking exactly like the next serious role for Thor) teaming up with a femme fatale styled Iraqi American woman from a governing council and a well seasoned older local police officer. Together, the unlikely trio uncovers some unsavory secrets, which of course I can’t discuss as to avoid the surprise elements.
    So it’s essentially a murder mystery and a very plot riven story, but for me what worked best was the character writing and art. The art alone here is worth reading the book, it’s absolutely stunning with superb portraiture. The latter is actually a fairly infrequent occurrence in graphic novels, usually it’s all about the grand scheme of the panels, the colors, etc. but here the artist has done an absolutely awesome job of conveying the emotions of the characters. Absolutely spectacular book visually. The story will speak to different readers differently, maybe, depending on their opinions on military fiction. But overall the book is well written, morally complex, interesting, emotionally striking and stunningly drawn. Recommended.