Magdalena #3
Writer: Ron Marz
Pencils: Nelson Blake II
Inks: Sal Regla
Colors: Dave McCaig
Cover: Ryan Sook
The Star of the Forthcoming Feature Film Gets Her Own Series!Descended from the bloodline of Christ, Patience is the latest incarnation of the Magdalena. Armed with the Spear of Destiny, she is tasked with destroying any and all evil… even if it takes the form of a little boy. Patience might be able to destroy the boy’s demonic protectors, but can she bring herself to murder a child who could ultimately prove to be innocent?
Ron Marz and Nelson Blake II are back! They’ve returned this month with the continuation of their series Magdalena, now in its third issue. In the third issue of the arc titled “Blood of the Lamb,” Magdalena is hot on the tail of what is thought to be the anti-Christ by a cult who worships Satan’s son. How did it fair? You’ll just have to click the cut to find out!
Well, in all honesty, this book didn’t quite hit me as well as I would have liked. I mean, it’s technically well written and the characters feel three dimensional and interact well with one another. Magdalena and Kristoff have a lovely father daughter relationship that does remind me of Buffy and Giles (in a good way, I promise). They bicker some, but you can tell they actually care about each other, no matter how they feel about the Catholic Church or killing children. Even if those children may bring about the destruction of all life as we know it.
But while I am growing to love these characters (even the huge C U Next Tuesday of a demon) the whole issue felt like filler. Mags tracks the cult and the Anti-Christ to Ukraine to find and save (or possibly kill) this child of the Apocalypse, but instead is met with a particularly nasty and female (!) demon who is harder to kill than the males of the species. When she finishes the fight, she finds out the child of interest is gone, we find out that the child has relocated to Paris. To quote Patience herself:
“We’re no closer to finding the boy.”
That was a frustrating development for sure. A whole issue and you’re not any further along in the story.
But all is not lost. The art, provided by Nelson Blake II, is some of the best I’ve seen in recent times. His pencils are remarkably crisp and beautiful. There are mere panels in this issue I would be happy owning as a poster or work of art. It’s THAT good. And the inks and colors, provided by Sal Regla and Dave McCaig respectively, really add to what Blake has started to make some truly breathtaking artwork. As if you couldn’t tell, this art is stunning and worth the price of admission alone.
Magdalena #3 is a book that mostly felt like filler, albeit filler with some outstanding art. If you’re not terribly invested in the series, I don’t think you would miss much in this book other than “oops, we’re in Paris, not the Ukraine!” however.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – Buy
