‘Bloodthirsty #2’ Review (Titan Comics)
Written by Mark Landry | Art by Ashley Witter | Published by Titan Comics | Format: Paperback, 48pp
The first issue of this new series showed a lot of promise, even though to my mind it threw too much at the reader in too short a space of time. We got plenty of back story, character motivation, and development of the ongoing plot but some of that was lost amongst the sheer amount of detail thrown at us. The balance in those first issue’s is indeed a tricky thing, and Bloodthirsty came up a little short for me. On the plus side, I knew enough to want to come back and see how things developed from here, so clearly Mark Landry and Ashley Witter are doing something right.
If the theme of the first issue was loss (the loss of New Orleans innocence, the loss of parents, friends, and finally Virgil’s brother) then the theme of this issue was rebirth. A rebirth of both person and purpose. The first half of the issue is taken up by Virgil deciding how to deliver that package of his brother’s (that led to his death) to the mystery person seemingly responsible for both Virgil’s brothers death, and for beating Virgil himself, badly. As Landry writes in the first person, we hear Virgil’s voice, fully understand his motivations and thought processes, and why he decides to cook up a bomb rather than deliver the real package.
Virgil delivers the package to Mother Taneesha, a very dangerous cross-dresser, at a club in a former church, where he finds his brothers ex-girlfriend too. Mary reveals that Trey was set up by her, after discovering the real purpose behind something he was working on. Mary hadn’t intended for him to die, but was clearly terrified of the people she was involved with. Virgil and Mary escape as the bomb goes off, though it looks as though Mary won’t see the next issue. There is a nice sub-plot also around rookie cop Arnaud, keeping tabs on Virgil, and who seems to be the only non-corrupt cop in the whole city. He may have bitten off more than he can chew, unfortunately for him.
Overall a much better issue than the first. A nice mix of exposition and action, with both gaps filled in from before, and new developments opening up for the future. The one word that sums up this issue for me is ‘atmosphere’. Both Landry’s words, and Witter’s pictures, combine to give this issue a fantastic atmosphere, a colourful environment peopled by colourful people, both good and bad. The art by Ashley Witter is slick, laid out nicely and with a few nice large panels and splashes. Figure work is good and needs to be, as parts of the story need characters to show real emotion, and the faces are hugely important to convey those emotions to the reader. The bright colours in some scenes, and subdued shades in others, also add to the overall atmosphere of the issue.
A much better issue than the first, in that things feel as though they are allowed to develop naturally. A dash of action here, some plot development there, and enough new elements thrown in to want us to come back for more. This issue had me excited for the next one, so roll on next issue.
**** 4/5
Bloodthirsty #2 is out now from Titan Comics
