Bad Blood #4 Review

Will Jonas prepare Trick and Lolly for the upcoming war? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dark Horse:

Our heroes finally find the information they need and, with the help of their battle-hardened teacher, they learn the art of fighting vampires. But can they overcome their weaknesses to truly fight the monsters that are after them? Or will they succumb to the battles raging within?

Bad Blood has been taking some enjoyable twists and turns throughout it’s previous three issues and continues to do so here. The unique way that the series deals with vampires whilst also showing some of the key traits that have made them such iconic horror characters is a pure joy, allowing for a much more dynamic experience.

Jonathan Maberry gives us a slightly different tone in this issue, as though the overall tone is the same he decides to focus more on the training of Trick and Lolly, with it feeling more like a set-up issue. Overall this was a brilliant alternative but there were times were I questioned if it was a little too set-up focused. Maberry did however turn this into an overall positive with the cliffhanger at the ending, which though hinted was still shocking. On top of this we also get some interesting and mature dialogue with it really helping to give depth to this set-up issue.

Tyler Crook‘s art is what initially drew me to this series with his quirky style being perfect for this story. Crook has shown a brilliant understanding of impact and how certain layouts and character positioning can help enhance a story, as though this is a trait that most artists have it’s very noticeable in Crook’s. He also adds a lot of tension and drama through the characters body language with certain reactions giving a lot of intensity to the story. Despite all this it yet again remains the amazing colours that impress me with Crook giving a gritty tone to this amazing tale of blood and purity.

Bad Blood is almost over but it still manages to give impressive content and development and I will be sad when it finally comes to an end in the next issue. Highly recommended.