Advance Review — ‘Blood & Thunder’ #5 Gets Back On Track, Sorta
by Tom Smithyman
Initially, it seems as though the latest issue of Blood & Thunder is about to make the same mistake as the previous chapter: telling a tangential story with no sign of the established heroes.
Issue #5 starts off with characters readers were introduced to last time, though not all of them make it out alive. Not that we care, mind you. Most of them seem to serve as comic relief – or lunch. Then, just as you think that the creative team has wasted yet another issue – not to mention your time – Akeldama “Blood” Bledsoe shows up. The damage is done though: we’re already halfway through the issue.
What’s most upsetting about Benito Cereno’s script for this chapter, is the confirmation that the creative team squandered the last issue. What took an entire installment could have been relayed at the beginning of this issue. It still wouldn’t have been a strong chapter but considerably better than the one that came out last month.
The best part of the story – aside from actually seeing the heroes again who were missing from the entire last issue – is the mystery around printed books. It’s been a recurring theme since the sci-fi series started. No one has printed books in this far-flung future, and there is something about forbidden knowledge that is intriguing. It just better pay off eventually.
Fortunately, artist E.J. Su has a bit more to illustrate this time around. There’s a lot of humanoid faces to depict, but at least he can lean into a few monsters. As seemingly irrelevant the first half of the issue is from a story perspective, it looks pretty good, thanks to Su.
This uneven series needs to find its footing – as well as its main characters – fast, or it risks becoming little more than a tangent itself.
Blood & Thunder #5 will be available at comic book stores and on digital platforms on September 10th from Image Comics.
Overview
On the plus side, this issue rediscovered its heroes, who have been missing from its pages for far too long. There is also some cool artwork, particularly in the first half of the issue. On the downside, a lot of damage has already been done to readers.
