Comics

Review: ‘Bad Blood’ #3

Published

10 years ago

March 6, 2014

Jonathan Maberry’s “Bad Blood” #3 continues in the same vein of the previous issues, utilizing hyperrealism, meta elements, and ordinary tropes of our daily 21st century lives (mixed with a mild fantasy bent) to make this vampire comic nauseatingly lifelike. It’s going to be the drugs floating through blood that kills off the vampire race. It’s going to be the irresponsible club kids, the partying college kids, the terminally ill who will be their ultimate demise. This concept is so brilliant, it reminds me of T.S. Eliot’s famous line: This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.

WRITTEN BY: Jonathan Maberry 
ART BY: Tyler Crook
 PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
 PRICE: $3.99
 RELEASE: March 5, 2014

Issue #3 picks up right as a vampire attacks Lolly. Much to the chagrin of said vampire, it’s not just Trick’s chemotherapy drugs that hurt and potentially kill vampires but ALL drugs (see also: whatever it is that Lolly is pumping into her veins). The wounded vampires stew over the fact that the world changed while they slept—“The living are different now, they pollute their own blood.” But Lord Sturge—the vampire initially almost killed by Trick’s blood—feels more shame; he sees this as being “defeated by children.” If vampires are to survive as a race, they must study these Bad Bloods and find out how to prosper in a drug-soaked 21st century.

Meanwhile, Lolly and Trick take to Craigslist to find a vampire hunter. After sifting through a ton of crazies, they find one who appears to be legit. Thus begins the hunt, on both ends.

Maberry is killing it with this role reversal which is turing out to be so crucial to the plot and character development of “Bad Blood” #3. Old world vampires are having to learn how to acclimate to the 21st century to survive, while these millennials are seeking out centuries-old techniques and lore such as “vampire hunters” to survive. Instead of going with what they know, all parties involved must step outside of their comfort zone in order to defeat their enemy.

This is a crucial turning point. No one has the advantage here. In most vampire lore, the vampires are drenched in advantage. What with their ability to live forever, their superhuman strength and speed, their ruthless killing machine nature. But not now, now they are reduced to a scared puppy state, realizing they are coming up against starvation if they don’t figure something out very soon. Because this isn’t their ancestors’ world. And it’s this role reversal that makes “Bad Blood” so damn interesting to follow.

Maberry peppers in jokes about Van Helsing, Buffy, Angel, and Hellboy, among others. Adding a snarky meta element to the comic draws the reading in even more because, hey! we relate to those things. We watch those shows. We see those movies. It’s material like that, combined with the reality of Trick’s cancer and Lolly’s abusive childhood that keeps us firmly planted in the now, with present day pop culture and present day issues—despite the fact that a fantastical vampire plot is woven throughout.

4/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – Bree Ogden

Lonnie Nadler

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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

6 days ago

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.