dark and bloody #1 Reviews 

“The Dark and Bloody” #1

By | February 12th, 2016
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This week, Shawn Aldridge and Scott Godlewski take us to the backwoods of Kentucky in “The Dark and Bloody” #1. Read on for our spoiler free review of Vertigo’s latest.

Written by Shawn Aldridge
Illustrated Scott Godlewski

Guns, moonshine, monsters-there’s a lot going on in the backwoods of Kentucky. Iris Gentry is a war veteran who returned from Iraq to find his options for supporting his family limited. Since they live in a “dry” county, Iris has turned to running moonshine for his former ranking officer-meaning the men now share crimes at home and abroad. You see, back in their combat days, Iris’s regiment got involved in something they shouldn’t have, and now a deadly, otherworldly consequence has come looking for vengeance.
THE DARK AND BLOODY is a haunting new horror series by writer Shawn Aldridge (Vic Boone) and artist Scott Godlewski (Copperhead), with covers by Tyler Crook (Harrow County).

“The Dark and Bloody”, like “Southern Bastards” and “Harrow County” takes into the rural part of the United States. Most people have established views on what the people who live here believe in but what these series do, particularly “The Dark and Bloody”, is focus on specific people and how they relate to the world that they live in. “The Dark and Bloody” #1 is not as scary and the premise promises (yet) but it does feature a strong protagonist and a killer atmosphere and does more than enough to hook you in for the rest of the series.

“The Dark and Bloody” tells the story of Iris Gentry, a war veteran who grew up in Kentucky. From a young age he’s had to learn harsh lessons about life, death and more importantly, survival. When Iris got older, he enlisted and went to fight in the war in Iraq. After his time in Iraq he’s come home to be with his wife Sarah and son Shiloh and live a “normal” life. To make extra money Iris sells moonshine and while the town allows it, an accident happens that puts Iris in a bad position.

The first issue of a new series should hook you. It doesn’t need to give you a ton of information at once but it absolutely needs to find something to make you stay for another month. Writer Shawn Aldridge uses Iris and Scott Godlewski uses the setting to accomplish this goal. Iris could not be more different than say, me, given his life experiences but in bigger ways, he’s relatable and the way he’s presented, he’s someone you want to root for. Iris wants to do right by his family but Aldridge uses the culture of this region to illustrate it in a unique  way. Iris is a family man and the relationship with his wife is very cute without sacrificing any of the rural toughness that exists in so many of the women who live here. Aldridge throws in little things like the two of them watching television together and even a butt grab (by Sarah) and it really accomplishes a nice level of comfortable romance. They’re in love, and you can tell, but they’ve been together a long time and they’re comfortable with each other.

Instead of coming right out the gates with huge horror scenery, Godlewski and Aldridge take time at building the world around all of that and it’s what makes “The Dark and Bloody” stand out from many other horror titles. I could see how this lack of scares can turn someone off who might have been expecting more based on the solicitation. However, it’s important for the comic book medium to take things further and offer actual human interaction and analysis and that’s what “The Dark and Bloody” is getting at and why it has so much potential going forward. You know something is coming but you’re pulled in through the people in the story and not the scares.

Scott Godlewski, who’s work in “Copperhead” is some of my favorite stuff from 2015 (please come back soon “Copperhead) handles the art on this series and it’s every bit as great as you would expect. The visual world building is stellar. This feels like being transported to Kentucky thanks to detail and lush scenery. The way the characters are situated in these outdoor scenes almost make them feel lost, because that’s how vast the woods are. It adds a certain creepy factor that the books needs to establish itself as horror. There are some excellent panel layouts during the early pages that allow for a lot of mood setting and movement.

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Godlewski does something here that he does in “Copperhead” to great effect. He uses closeups during action heavy scenes to not only convey something on a deeper emotional level but it’s also used to keep things a little secret. Without spoiling anything, there is a big action heavy scene in the later part of the book and with the tone already set, the not seeing what caused it makes things feel a bit more tense and scary. What works so well about these close ups is the way Godlewski draws expressions. None of them feel static and there’s a wonderful sense of humanity in each one. Patricia Mulvihill really helps bring everything together. She gives depth to Godlewski’s pencils and brings in just the right amount of darkness when it’s called for. She captures light wonderfully in the nighttime scenes and balances the moonlight with the right amount of shadowing.

“The Dark and Bloody” is off to a very nice start and I’m excited to see things get creepier and scarier as time passes. This has a ton of potential and I can’t wait to see it all unfold.

Final Verdict: 8.2 – Great set up, even better art. Now let’s see if the momentum can be kept.


Jess Camacho

Jess is from New Jersey. She loves comic books, pizza, wrestling and the Mets. She can be seen talking comics here and at Geeked Out Nation. Follow her on Twitter @JessCamNJ for the hottest pro wrestling takes.

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