BUSHIDO #1 Review


Is this piece of fiction worth the price of admission?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

VAMPIRES IN FEUDAL JAPAN!

Kichiro is an outsider in feudal Japan. Lacking the Japanese blood that would allow him to become a samurai, Kichiro must fulfill his dreams of serving the shogun in a less traditional manner… by eliminating every foreign supernatural threat that rears its fangs!

This Halloween month, treat yourself to an issue of BUSHIDO each Wednesday! All FIVE issues of Top Cow’s and Heroes and Villains Entertainment’s latest series will be released in October.

It’s hard not to fall in love with the basic idea for this series.  The creative team has brought together so many popular elements, that they had my attention from the first page to the final panel.  It wasn’t perfect but it was hugely entertaining.

Rob Levin pens the script and the author turns in what could easily be described as a stereotypical action yarn combined with horror elements.  There were some details here and there that succeeded in being interesting but for the most part the scribe elected to focus in on the set-up rather than the organic journey.  Despite that the overall context carried clear details while delving out a lot of wonky dialogue.  That may sound like a net negative but trust me it’s actually a positive feature, which highlighted the strong heritage this comic uplifts.

The art by Jessada Sutthi is brilliantly executed, as realistic panels birth a visceral life that’s sure to please.  I found myself, as soon as I opened the comic, instantly enthralled by what I saw.  The talent from Studio Hive does a tremendous job not only creating vampires but also bringing the world of feudal Japan to a level that makes the intersection between these divergent genres not just believable but inevitable.   There were some stumbles where the forms seemed a bit rushed, as edges came off shaky but in the end the summation of the pictures turned out pretty.

Bushido #1 is a glorious start to what should be a very enjoyable mini-series.  Recommended.

4/5

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