A Lot Of Talk And Not Much Else — Reviewing ‘Blood & Thunder’ #15
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
This uneven series delivers a disappointing issue in the middle of a arc that has been re-energizing its story. There’s lots of seemingly random talk and not enough action. Talk is fine if it moves the story along, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.
Overall
7/10It’s rare that a monthly comic book is accused of being too talky with not enough action, but that’s the case with Blood & Thunder #15.
To be fair, there is a bit of action in this issue. About two pages’ worth. Everything else though is dialogue and exposition. Neither are bad things by themselves. In fact, they are critical to storytelling. But in Benito Cereno’s script, they feel more like a filler than actual substance that moves the story along.
It’s too bad, because this story arc was showing considerable improvement from the last, head-scratching set of issues. Bounty hunter Blood was sent to interstellar prison for helping a prisoner escape. Blood herself was able to slip through the law’s arms (without the help of her trusty AI-powered weapon Thunder) and is now trying to find her way though the mysterious Underside. All good stuff in and of itself.
But in this issue, which acts as a transition of sorts, Cereno stuffs lots of seemingly random interactions that don’t seem to have much to do with the overall plot. The cop that’s trying to track Blood down has history with the former police cadet. The AI in Blood’s new weapon offers advice in a way that makes it come off as the old Microsoft digital assistant Clippy. And a new batch of robotic police shows up near the end.
Is it interesting? A little. Is it relevant? It sure doesn’t seem so. And if past issues are an indication, there won’t be much of a payoff.
With only two pages of action, there isn’t much for artist E.J. Su to do except lots of talking heads. The movement he does illustrate is mostly fine, though there’s at least one sequence that doesn’t seem to jive with the script.
It’s understandable when series take an issue to catch their breath. But this is too much without an expected payoff.
Blood & Thunder #15 — written by Benito Cereno, illustrated by E.J. Su, colored by Msassyk, and lettered by Rus Wooton — is now available in comic book stores and on digital platforms from Image Comics.