See a story connecting with the early life of the famous Living Vampire in this new, visceral story of blood and betrayal.
Written by Ralph MacchioCover by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Erick Arciniega
Illustrated by Tom Reilly
Colored by Chris O’Halloran
Lettered by Ariana MaherMORBIUS, THE LIVING VAMPIRE, FACES A GHOST FROM HIS PAST: HIS FIRST KILL!
• Emil Nikos was Morbius’ research partner…until the bloodlust made Emil the first victim to Morbius’ vampiric urges!
• Now, Emil’s son is dying from a new rare blood disease and only Morbius can save him!
• But at what cost?
On the surface, the story of “Morbius: Bond of Blood” #1 is one that can be easily jumped straight into, as many a one-shot story should in order to be accessible as possible to as many people as possible, especially around particularly famous characters. Ralph Macchio’s writing not directly imply that it should be seen as much more, and on the surface, that may be enough. How does Macchio’s writing for ‘Bond of Blood’ handle itself in relation to a slew of other Michael Morbius stories?
Unfortunately, not as well as it perhaps should, especially with no currently ongoing comics for Morbius to continue his journey. Ironically, within its ease of entry lies the problem: its lack of complexity is okay enough on the surface, and nothing more than that, avoiding sinking its teeth into the meat of a lessw past-centric story or style. As it is, “Morbius: Bond of Blood” #1 seems less like a new tale, and more like an addendum on to his origin story, by now nearly fifty years old (having been released in late 1971). If it is meant to take place in the modern day, the writing surely does not indicate that well, and the overt connection to his first victim (the second familial one in two years) makes for a story that seems like something out of another time. Such a story may have been acceptable for a newcomer, an all-new figure in the Marvel Universe, but for one with decades of history and repeated retellings related to his angst and guilt, it just comes across as more of the same, not even enough to justify its own existence. As a result, ‘Bond of Blood’ feels completely forgettable as soon as it is put down, blending in with countless other Morbius stories. As such, it may work as a shorthand version of the Living Vampire’s origin, but feels rather dime-a-dozen otherwise.
Granted, Macchio does a good job of emulating the dialogue style of the 1970s, and it, coupled with the artwork and colors, is somewhat entertaining on its own. Still, such a style seems mostly aimed at older audiences, and not at new arrivals who could potentially benefit with the overview of the Living Vampire’s history.
The antagonist of the one-shot does seem, much like the rest of the story, as though he could be interesting on a surface level, and seems the closest thing in the entirety of ‘Bond of Blood’ to a direct connection to a modern time frame. However, the parallels between him and Morbius are too overt, too blatant, to be taken entirely seriously, coupled with him being so obviously antagonistic that having even a desperate Morbius agree to work with him feels a bit ridiculous. The Living Vampire’s trust, coupled with the deliberate connections akin to a “starter” antagonist, continues to further the aforementioned feel of it being a continuation of an origin, rather than a story on its own. Even the antagonist’s last-minute talk about being driven by compulsion, much like Morbius’s bloodlust, feels far too overt, lacking any real nuance.
If Macchio’s writing feels out-of-time in a bad way, then Tom Reilly’s artwork helps to balance the scales by presenting a similarly nostalgic approach in a more positive manner. The style is oddly comforting, relying heavily on thick lines for most of the scenery and figures, as if to indicate that action is always slow and easy for people to get accustomed to, particularly in calmer times. Once the action ramps up, Reilly’s linework thins out, at least when it comes to objects (or people) in motion. The intensity seems palpable on some level, single-minded and direct as the obsessions of the protagonist and antagonist.
Continued belowSadly, there are still times when the artwork feels a bit poorly handled. When Michael Morbius lands, the pose is always exactly the same, as is the angle of his landing. This may be intended, but it overall comes across as though it were the same image copied from one place and put in another directly. Such similarity is not a grave issue, and in fact may be repeated by many an artist in any field, but it is still noticeable as a repetition of past work within the same product, especially visible for how it is a pose of motion rather than just standing still.
Chris O’Halloran’s use of color fits well into the “old timey” art style, filling the blanks well and using rough shading, with the backgrounds often either very simple or having splashes of color behind individuals to indicate their emotion. The overall use of color is decidedly “rough,” as if O’Halloran wanted to give as much of a feeling for an older time as the rest of the book, as opposed to other, more intricate work he has done in the past. The result is a rather cohesive illustration-and-color unit that seems almost directly plucked from the 1970s.
Final Verdict: 6.0– While the artwork is fun in a classic way, there isn’t enough in this one-shot to really justify its existence as a truly new plot. On the contrary, readers may be left wondering why they should even care about what they just read.
