Reviews»Comic Books»Bad Blood #5
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Kareem Ali 5

Bad Blood #5

 

  • The good

    Excellent issue and satisfying conclusion to the series. Very interesting vampire mythos I hope to see in another series. Character development is still on point and events unfold in an electrifying way

  • The bad

    Vampires come off as somewhat underwhelming

  • The ugly

  • Bad Blood #5 continues the story of Trick and Lolly after discovering Jonas lied to them about who he was and why he was training them. When Jonas hands them over to Lord Sturge they see that Jonas is actually a vampire and he mocks them for not figuring that out. Trick and Lolly’s attempt to attack him is ended swiftly by Jonas who states he’s doing this to make peace between the vampire houses. Jonas is from a different house than Sturge and since the tainted blood has been a plague on all vampires he was training the two of them and getting their blood clean for the survival of all vampires. And he reveals to them the true history and nature of vampires, who aren’t created from being bitten but are the result of someone dying violently while devoid of all hope, and even in a case like that it’s rare someone turns into a vampire. So they’ve planted agents throughout history to wage war to create these conditions since they’ve always had power but not the individual numbers to conquer the entire world. But their progress was stopped once humans started using synthetic drugs to treat diseases and the air became polluted because the vampire houses started to die off due to tainted blood. And now with this problem close to being solved they can rule once again. How can Trick and Lolly possibly contend with these vampires at this point, and what is Jonas’s real goal?

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    I loved the twist at the end of last issue and even though one could think it was just a ploy it was still very well done and convincing. The only thing that was working against it was the fact that there was only one more issue and there was no way Trick and Lolly could beat a host of vampires and Jonas by themselves.  However there was still some suspense about what could actually occur and the start of this issue not only exceeded my expectations of what could occur because Jonas was immediately revealed to be a vampire, but an entirely new and very interesting mythos concerning vampires was introduced. It’s not a spoiler to say that I’m hoping there’s a series that explores that further because it can result in some very rich story lines and characters. It’s also revealed this issue why the vampires have been weakened as a whole and their connection to each other. And Jonas’s taunt to Trick and Lolly that he only did all those things to get their blood clean added insult to injury, and with the character development of those 2 in prior issues it was easy to feel what this betrayal meant to them. Of course there would be another plan that Jonas would have and his true deception was indeed an impressive story and the reason was just as convincing as the reason for Trick and Lolly to do all they were doing. Now I won’t get into the details of that here but this series started off as a very personal tale where Trick’s struggle even prior to his losses was understood and so his focus on getting back at the vampire was clear. This was doubled when Trick and Lolly started searching together and their search for vampires could have easily been their search for purpose in their lives and a greater meaning of that. This issue does indeed address all of that and perhaps not in the way it could be expected but definitely in a way that is consistent with the series. This issue was very engrossing however the vampires outside of Jonas and the entire mythos were underwhelming in a way despite it being made clear why they were suffering even now. I thought of making a joke about this issue not sucking but it would just be horrible, and besides the final panel in this issue is too great to ruin with a bad joke.

     

    SUMMARY

    Bad Blood #5 is a very satisfying conclusion to a series that didn’t hold any punches in addressing the human condition, suffering and loss, and despite dragging briefly in the middle of the series, ultimately stayed on track and also became an inspirational tale. For a story to take a weakened cancer patient and a drug addict and not only turn them into heroes but show the journey as well is not an easy task but one that Jonathan Maberry pulls off convincingly, and the artwork was perfect for this series. The vampires themselves are somewhat underwhelming again this issue despite a very interesting backstory but when it’s all viewed as Trick and Lolly facing all their struggles and demons together one can appreciate the series even more (and the cover of this issue). I highly recommend this series for its personal story of growth and its refreshing take on the entire vampire genre.

     

    Release Date: 5/7/14

    Writer: Jonathan Maberry

    Artist: Tyler Crook

  • Rating ( 9.5 )
  • Total score 9.5

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