Kingsman: The Red Diamond #4

By Rob Williams, Simon Fraser, and Gary Caldwell

Kingsman: The Red Diamond has, four issues in, continued to establish itself as a very action packed mini-series. Of course, that’s what readers have come to expect given the over-the-top nature of not only Mark Millar’s original run, but both movie adaptations, with Kingsman: The Secret Service‘s set piece brawl inside a Church sequence being one of the more memorable scenes from that movie.  Writer Rob Williams continues the action-packed extravaganza of this issue taking us into the aftermath of the wiping out of the world’s computers, sending Eggsy and SASS (South African Secret Service) Agent Kwatio into the mix to attempt to stop the Red Diamond from crushing the world’s global economy.  It certainly has plenty of high stakes and never slows down, allowing for a blockbuster affair perfectly suited to those who know what to expect from the franchise.

What happens after the world has lost its computers? Kingsman: The Secret Service sees Eggsy forced to adapt to the situation once the entire infrastructure of the world has changed, and naturally, things go out of hand pretty quickly with riots happening on a global scale. Much of the issue is spent with both Eggsy and Kwatio, but despite examining the fallout from such an incident effectively, much of this book feels largely like a filler. Its characters have been written well in the past and it helps that fans most likely have grown attached to Eggsy from the previous Mark Millar comic and the movies. Unfortunately, the dialogue is inconsistent this issue and doesn’t quite work as well as it could have done. There’s no sense of unpredictability here, as you know pretty much everything that’s going to happen from start to finish.

The artwork from Simon Fraser continues to add excitement to the series. His character artwork isn’t always the best, but he does have a great eye for crafting some spectacular set pieces which really work in the issue’s favor. The touch of Eggsy’s wingsuit having a National Flag allowed for an amusing interaction between both Kwatio and Eggsy, and their back and forth dialogue worked better in some cases than others. Gary Caldwell’s colors provide a good job at developing the atmosphere and developing the locations fairly well. He uses lighter touches to help make the action sequences as clear and as easy as possible to follow what’s going on, which is especially vital in an issue with a fair amount of fight scenes.



Whilst Kingsman: The Red Diamond #4 may not be the strongest issue of the mini-series, it does have plenty to enjoy; if you’ve liked the first three issues of the series so far this is more of the same. The fast-paced nature of the issue ensures that it remains entertaining from start to finish. There could have been less movie references as they started to get tiresome after a while, and the nod to Wagner’s classic “Ride of the Valkyries” Apocalypse Now scene didn’t feel as effective as it should have done.