CREDIT: DC Comics
Rating: 3/5 – Was Anyone Clamoring for a Return to Bloodlines?
By ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
It was 1993 when DC last released a story arc called Bloodlines. I remember the crossover event and the annuals that it crossed over with, but as far as the story goes I really couldn’t remember too much. What I do remember is the popular, at the time, character Hitman coming out of the event, also the not-so-popular character Argus, and DC’s attempt to create a bunch of new heroes around the same time they were “killing off” others. After doing some research to jog my memory; Bloodlines was about a race of aliens who killed humans for their spinal fluid, but had the rare side-effect of triggering superpowers in some of the victims. So where does this connect to the new Bloodlines series written by J.T. Krul and artist V. Ken Marion? I’m not quite sure.
After a meteor crashes into Earth and infects the wildlife around it, mutating them. Next we’re introduced to the star of the book, Eddie, who has an undisclosed disability that has him using a pair of crutches, and his best friend Graham who’s the popular and “jock-ish” type at their high school. After the two head to a party where there’s drinking and horror movie-like make out scenes, the now mutated wildlife attack and Eddie turns into a blue Hulk-like creature to fight them off.
The writing by J.T. Krul, whose work I’ve never really cared for, continues to miss the mark with me. The scenes where he introduces us to what I imagine will be the rest of the Blooodlines cast never materialize past the awkward introduction phase. For example, we see a mom and her daughter stopping to get gas and the gas attendant leering at the mom’s backside as she pumps gas, then quickly cuts to another scene where two young detectives (I think…but it’s never clear) head to a crack house to literally punch some teeth in as the one detective announces that he’s “from the American Dental Association”. The dialogue can be groan worthy at times. The art by V. Ken Marion is reminiscent of the 90s flashy style and I’d compare him to a Brett Booth. His anatomy seems just a bit off at times, but I appreciated his effort of filling his backgrounds and the blue hulk character is nicely rendered.
I guess this series will be introducing us to a group of new characters in the same way the DC Bloodlines annuals did back in 1993, but except for Eddie whose transformation we see in this first issue, that will have to take place in future issues of this six issue mini series. Although the story of Eddie on his own could have been worthy of reading, the extended cast is full of characters I just don’t like and have no desire to read about in future issues. For me this event will be mostly unmemorable, just like the one that preceded it twenty-plus years ago.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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