REDCOAT #10, by Image Comics on 3/12/25, finds Simon Pure on a pity party kick when he crosses paths with Annie Oakley. Is Annie’s indomitable spirit just the cure for Simon Pure’s depression?
Credits:
- Writer: Geoff Johns
- Artist: Bryan Hitch
- Colorist: Brad Anderson
- Letterer: Rob Leigh
- Cover Artist: Bryan Hitch, Brad Anderson (cover A)
- Publisher: Image Comics
- Release Date: March 12, 2025
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Page Count: 36
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of REDCOAT #10:
Recap:
When we last left Simon Pure in Redcoat #9, readers were treated to the backstory behind the years-long friendship between Simon and the famous Johnny Appleseed. During a night of drunken story exchanges, Johnny enlists Simon’s help to track down a greedy landowner and arsonist. Unfortunately, Johnny’s magical spell to turn an apple into a divining device to find the criminal went terribly wrong.
Plot Analysis:
In Redcoat #10, Simon Pure gets a much-needed word of encouragement about choosing life. The issue began mid-chase in Missouri in 1890. Simon is on the run from well-armed gamblers unhappy with the discovery that Simon’s recent luck in taking their money during a card game was enhanced by a literal ace up his sleeve. When Simon hops on a train and revels in the inevitability of his escape, he gets killed when he leans too far out of the train to gloat and is hit with a train sign while the locomotive crosses a trestle bridge.
A day later, Simon wakes up downriver in Memphis without any of the money he “won.” Simon begs for food in the local establishments but gets nowhere. He eventually stumbles upon a wagon train in the middle of town where a sharpshooter demonstrates her skills against any and all comers. That sharpshooter is Annie Oakley, and she offers $100 to anyone who can best her in a competition of skill and precision with a rifle. Simon is shoved into the challenger circle by an onlooker, so he accepts the challenge.
Annie is impressed with Simon’s ability to meet her targeting talents. In turn, Simon feels himself drawn to Annie’s adventurous spirit and beauty. Suddenly, the competition is interrupted by a gang of robbers who came to town to free their brother from jail and have since taken a farmer and his family hostage when the escape failed. Annie courageously offers to help by using her shooting talents on the gang from a nearby rooftop, and she insists Simon provide backup.
Annie takes out four of the five gang members, but Simon hesitates to take his shot for fear of missing and harming one of the hostages. The issue ends with second chances, a word of encouragement to play the hand you’re dealt, and a magical bystander taking note of Simon’s exploits.
First Impressions:
Redcoat #10 is… just okay. Geoff Johns’s one-and-done tale builds on Simon’s character as a man sorely in need of self-esteem, but instead of learning the lesson and growing from it, he reverts to his old self. In effect, Johns returns to one of the aspects that made the series tough to get into in the first issues – Simon’s unlikable personality. Where he goes from here may be the tipping point.
Artwork and Presentation:
Bryan Hitch’s artwork is practically stunning in Redcoat #10. Hitch has an uncanny knack for gritty, grounded realism with a hint of whimsy to draw you into the story. You won’t find finer examples of comic art on the shelves than you will with a Ghost Machine comic.
Art Samples:
Story Positives & Negatives:
The Positives:
Geoff Johns’s semi-tall tale about Simon Pure’s first meeting with Annie Oakley plays out exactly how you would expect. Simon’s perennial loneliness makes his instant attraction to Annie heartwarming in the beginning and heartbreaking when he finds out Annie is married. There are impressively strong emotional beats in this issue.
The Negatives:
At the risk of sounding callous, nobody likes a whiner. Simon has had ample opportunities over the years to make something of himself and turn his fortunes around, but he chooses not to. His sad sack outlook on life made him so hard to root for in the first issues, so returning to the personality traits that made Simon so pathetic early on is off-putting.
The Bigger Picture:
Series Continuity:
Will Redcoat cross over with other Ghost Machine titles? Technically, it already has. Simon Pure recently made a brief cameo in Geiger as one of the hunters tasked with capturing the Glowing Man.
Final Thoughts:
(Click this link 👇 to order this comic)
REDCOAT #10 regales readers with the first meeting between Simon Pure and Annie Oakley during an especially low point in the immortal’s life. Geoff Johns’s script is a wild tale about sharpshooting adventure, but some readers may be put off by Simon Pure’s endless “woe is me” routine. Nobody wants to pay money to attend a pity party.
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com
As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.