Advance Review — ‘Blood & Thunder’ #1 Kicks Off Largely As Expected
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
This new series starts off largely as expected, with an introduction of the main characters as well as a future threat to them. The artwork, at times stunning – should be enough to keep readers coming back to see if the story pays off in the long run.
Overall
8/10An interstellar bounty hunter. A talking sidearm with a personality of its own. The most dangerous criminal in the galaxy. A mystery involved some unexpected contraband.
The premiere issue of Blood & Thunder may contain some familiar elements, but the creative team has done a fairly good job of putting them together.
Set in a far-flung future where humans have integrated several alien species into society, Blood & Thunder centers around Akeldama “Blood” Bledsoe, the beautiful bounty hunter who has a cloud of blood floating around her head in place of hair. (Full disclosure: I thought it was hair, not blood, until I read the issue’s afterward.) Blood’s best friend is her gun, a sentient sidearm named Thunder. Ironically, it’s the AI-driven gun that shows more humanity than Blood – at least for now.
When the two capture a low-level crook on a futuristic asteroid-turned-colony, they discover some illegal imports that could be more dangerous to the establishment than illicit drugs or weapons. That discovery has the potential to set the series off in a different direction.
That’s probably a good thing, because the writer Benito Cereno’s initial story (Robert Kirkman is credited with the original story concept and creative consulting) serves as little more than an introduction to the main characters. It’s a typical opening chapter for a series like this – introduce the location, key characters, and tease the future to keep readers coming back – but it really doesn’t do more than that.
Artist E.J. Su – whose illustrations are more than ably augmented with colors from MSassyK – gives life to Blood. His action sequences are clear, and some of his pages are downright gorgeous. In a few images, he even seems to be channeling the legendary Brian Bolland.
This first issue isn’t going to set any records, but it’s good enough to keep readers’ interest piqued and have them seeing what misadventured Blood and her gun are heading into.
Blood & Thunder #1 will be available at comic book shops on May 7th, from Image Comics.
