Comics

[Comic Review] “Grindhouse Drive In, Bleed Out” #3 Dissapoints

Published

9 years ago

March 25, 2015

Grindhouse’s second series, now titled ‘Grindhouse Drive In, Bleed Out’ started off quite strong with Slay Ride. A horrific twist on your good old fashioned yuletide tale, with a totally rad and original First Nations slant. For her next two-parter, ‘Blood Lagoon’ Alex De Campi is returning to the gruesome world of Deputy Garcia. She was the protagonist of ‘Bee Vixens from Mars’, De Campi’s first story in the first volume of Grindhouse. Garcia’s first adventure is still firmly ingrained in my mind and most likely will be forever. It’s exemplary of what grindhouse is all about; extreme violence, sex appeal and the utterly bizarre. Sadly, Blood Lagoon doesn’t live up to the high standards Grindhouse has already set.

WRITTEN BY: Alex De Campi
ART BY: Christopher Peterson
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: March 25, 2015

Blood Lagoon starts out promising enough, Garcia is set to accompany Wayne (one half of the gay couple from Bee Vixens from Mars) to visit his estranged father. Sergei (Wayne’s other half) sees them off and their journey begins. Wayne’s whole quest to give his father one last chance is interesting and something you don’t see all too often in comics, or any media for that matter. If anything it’s the solid foundation, the backbone of the story. It’s what keeps you engaged while the other aspects fall flat, such as the dull monsters.

Deputy Garcia and the ragtag crew she accumulates must face off against what looks like giant pubic lice, giant public that have crawled out of the Blood Lagoon. They basically amount to giant crabs with aardvark like tongues. After the glorious Bee Vixens these crabs come off pretty damn lame, they barely cause any carnage and come off as cartoonish more than horrific. I don’t want to be too harsh because this is only the first part and De Campi’s grindhouse tales always ramp way up in the second issue. Still, this is a poor opening threat and the tamest grindhouse issue to date.

While it is super rad to see Deputy Garcia on the page again it’s ultimately a disappointment. I could definitely see Blood Lagoon improving in part 2 but as it currently stands I cannot recommend it. I’d still recommend Grindhouse itself, outside of this one issue it’s all been fabulous. Even if Blood Lagoon turns out to be a dud it’ll be followed with an entirely new 2-part story that I’ll be wholeheartedly looking forward to, whatever it may be.

Related Topics:Alex de Campi Christopher Peterson Comic Review comics Dark Horse Comics

Torin Chambers

Goals 1. Paid filmmaker 2. Space

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Comics

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

Published

7 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.