Posted in: Comics, Indie Comics, Review | Tagged: alejandro giraldo, cyberpunk, mad cave studios, Mark London, midnight task force, sci-fi

Midnight Task Force #1 Review: A Detective Team of One

Major Aiden McCormick is the squad leader of a unit colloquially known as the Midnight Task Force. On their final mission, all but McCormick is killed, and he loses an arm in the disaster. Now, he is a detective in the Detroit PD, and the year is 2055. A brutal murder calls his attention. McCormick is now outfitted with a cybernetic arm in a society that has disdain for cyborgs, and he still has the accompaniment of a squad.

Midnight Task Force #1 has some interesting ideas to put out for its detective story. The twist of McCormick hearing and speaking to voices is something not often done in this kind of story.

Unfortunately, the drawbacks are many and extensive. The opening military sequence is heavily telegraphed, it is mired in detective story clichés, and there are some plot turns that are downright baffling.

The main murder is cartoonish in its gore. The disdain for McCormick's cybernetic arm feels like a token attempt at making this character victimized. He's also insanely good at his job to the point where he spots the perpetrator of a crime during the press conference concerning it.

McCormick himself isn't an awful character. He is a mixture of unique traits and noir detective tropes. He could be intriguing with some development.

There is a sleekness and texturing to the artwork that adds some appealing personality to the visuals. It emphasizes the ugliness of the city and the world. It has a 3D-rendered aesthetic to it that adds to the appeal. There's not much of note in the style of the world. It's not bad, but it is a fairly generic cyberpunk environment.

Midnight Task Force #1 has a decent lead character and some interesting ideas pushing the narrative forward, but the book has far too many problems to recommend. The story relies too much on cliché, a lot of the dialogue is spotty, and the plot itself isn't especially interesting. I look forward to what Mad Cave Studios can bring to the scene in the long haul, but I can't recommend Midnight Task Force #1.

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