A Mind Spiraling Downwards In Bloodborne #15
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The man’s visions worsen. In his hotel room, he believes he has killed the prostitutes whom he hired. Then he recalls his hometown burning a mystic in a ritualistic “cleansing,” and he sees the people of Yharnam burning a beast. He then sees the Cleric Beast killing hunters. He sees Eileen the Crow, and she speaks to him. Finally, he sees the Hunter and the Paleblood Child surrounded by the Amygdala.
Bloodborne #15 provides another spiral through the mind of this man who has found himself in Yharnam. His mind weakens, and he sees every horror the city has to offer and even peers into previous stories from the Bloodborne comic.
Like previous issues of this story and the story prior which centered on Eileen the Crow, Bloodborne #15 attempts to depict someone descending into insanity with the imagery of Bloodborne. Like Eileen, this man is experiencing enormous guilt. However, this man is a veteran and regrets the bloodshed of war as opposed to Eileen’s guilt about letting a childhood friend die.
As much as I do love this story and the comic series overall, it’s an increasingly difficult comic to write about. There’s only so many ways you can say “this is a compelling depiction of a mind slipping into madness.” That said, the next issue looks to be providing an interesting conclusion to “The Veil, Torn Asunder.”
Piotr Kowalski continues to provide unspeakably beautiful visuals for this comic series. His rendition of Yharnam is as beautiful as the graphics in the original game, and he knows how to make the monsters look just as grotesque and unnerving on paper. Brad Simpson’s color work is ominous and engrossing, making the world Yharnam even more captivating.
Bloodborne #15 is another gripping issue for this series. Ales Kot blows me away with his deep understanding of the source material and all the ways one can extrapolate that into more compelling narratives. This comic once again gets a recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
Bloodborne #15 comes to us from writer Ales Kot, artist Piotr Kowalski, color artist Brad Simpson, letterer Aditya Bidikar, cover artist Abigail Harding, and variant cover artist Yoshioka.
Final Score: 8.5/10