The Recount #4 - Scout Comics

THE RECOUNT No. 4, April 2021

There’s a definite sense of Jonathan Hedrick ‘closing in for the kill’ with his narrative for Issue Four of “The Recount” as the American author basically boils down his United States wide uprising to a somewhat self-contained, action-packed assault upon the White House by a team of mask-wearing assassins. Happily however, that doesn’t mean for an instant that this mini-series’ final chapter lacks the sense-shattering surprises of its earlier instalments, courtesy of Special Agent Barto’s desperate attempt to ward off the President’s would-be killers with any household compliance which comes to hand, and the brains behind America’s so-called revolution finally revealing his true identity to Meredith McDearmon.

Furthermore, this twenty-eight page periodical does occasionally manage to throw a brief spotlight upon the rioting in Downtown Macon, Georgia, and show that despite the current Chief of Police’s traitorous behaviour, your average member of the public thankfully won’t “point those weapons at each other” and irrationally commit cold-blooded murder. Indeed, despite being highly emotional and armed with automatic weapons, Hedrick illustrates through the compassionate behaviour of ex-Vietnam veteran Abe, that the American people can not only tell the difference between right and right, but also make a stand against those in authority who would either try to blur or cross those lines; “All my mistakes are in the past, Seth. I’ve moved forward. While you’re crawling into the bottomless pit.”

Easily this comic’s biggest draw though, is Barto’s aforementioned battle against a cadre of colourfully-costumed weapon-wielding contractors who prove utterly merciless in their mission to execute President McDearmon. Garfield, Teddy, Lady Bird and Kanaan’s fight sequences are as pulse-pounding as they are bloody, and certainly make for a plethora of memorable moments - not least of which concerns Meredith gunning down the “modern-day sneak thief in the mold of Nezumi Kozo” as the skull-faced hitman attempts to saw his way through the Oval Office’s unprotected ceiling.

Perhaps therefore this book’s sole disappointment lies in Joe Bocardo taking over the artistic duties of Gabriel Ibarra-Nunez. Admittedly, there isn’t anything actually wrong with the illustrator’s proficient pencilling, especially when it comes to such bouts of pugilism as Barto going hand-to-hand with Teddy underwater in a swimming pool. Yet, the discernible difference in technical style to their predecessor is debatably a little disconcerting, and as a result takes some reading time to acclimatise to some of the slightly different looking leading cast members.

Writer: Jonathan Hedrick, Artist: Joe Bocardo, and Colorist: Sunil Ghagre