There’s a lot to cover on Wednesdays. We should know, as collectively, we read an insane amount of comics. Even with a large review staff, it’s hard to get to everything. With that in mind, we’re back with Wrapping Wednesday, where we look at some of the books we missed in what was another great week of comics.
Let’s get this party started.
Blood Commandment #1
Written, Illustrated, & Colored Szymon Kudranski
Lettered by Marshall Dillon
Reviewed by Alexander Manzo
“Blood Commandment” missed out on a spooky season rec for October by one day as Szymon Kudranski introduces this new horror/supernatural story to the world. The story is told slowly as we go moment by moment with this son and father not only living in a small town but specifically living in a wooded area seemingly away from everyone. There’s an underlying feeling of secrecy between the two as the son not only questions why they are isolated from everyone but also why they can’t even talk about the boy’s dead mother. Kudranski balances the questions by keeping the pace slow and giving in-depth moments from the drive into town and even the seconds ticking by as the store manager is alone, building up to the reveal that part of their isolation is because of the father being a vampire. His urges to feed are still strong, but to protect his son, he has to keep it at bay, at risk of losing everything he’s built thus far. It fits this indie movie vibe that’s been building throughout as it ends with a stranger entering his world to shake things up and the lessons he’s taught his son to be put into action.
Kudranski, doing his illustrations, cannot only build tension through the script pacing but also fill the pages with extra panels depicting the second-by-second changes that intensify even the smallest moments. As mentioned previously, the shopkeeper closes up the shop while on the phone with his wife, then a shadowy figure in one panel and mysteriously disappears in the following as he turns around. Kudranski’s decision to reveal the father’s vampire abilities is also made well when the panels start with a jog in the woods at night that showcases the transformation into a more monstrous vampiric state with red eyes, claws, and fangs. There’s also this darkness in his character designs that helps elevate the story to another level of intensity. All of the characters seem grizzled like they’ve lived through a form of hell, even the young man with darkness on his face like he wasn’t living the life a child should be but making the best of the situation around him.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – There are some excellent bones with this story, and the reveal at the end helps with the continuous slow-build, but it seems more open-ended with the debut issue that may keep some readers waiting for how issue two or three will be reviewed.
White Widow #1
Written by Sarah Gailey
Illustrated by Alessandro Miracolo
Colored by Matt Milla
Lettered by Travis Lanham
Reviewed by Gregory Ellner
Yelena Belova has a rather extensive history with Black Widow, both as a person and as a title. Since the return of both of these characters, there has also been a collection of Marvel Cinematic Universe installments directly involving the former, which rather prominently factor into the way Sarah Gailey characterizes the assassin-turned-mentor and suburban neighbor. The eponymous “White Widow” is a bit awkward but focused on her work, trying to find out her identity one “like or dislike” at a time. Sure, there is influence from the wider Marvel universe, such as a brief appearance from Steve Rogers as Captain America, but by and large the disconnect makes the story feel open enough that even those without a basis in anything Marvel can jump right into the relatively low-stakes conflict.
Alessandro Miracolo’s artwork is fast-paced and smooth, making for a very action-based story, from crashing windows to running agents. While it often works, at times it feels too focused on the action for its own good. For example, said window may look good, but the way it is broken, and the person breaking it, feels unnatural and strange. Meanwhile, a jog with a dog seems like a full-tilt run, far more serious than it likely is meant to be. Even the “normal” fight scene action itself at times feels unnatural, like a picture of a twisting spin with two blades that is so improbable that visualizing how it even would happen is difficult. Mind, there are better spots, like a panel using images in place of words to show Belova explaining a scenario to her neighbor, but overall it feels a bit too exaggerated.
The colors provided by Matt Milla help to balance things out, with mixed results. Warm reds make fight scenes feel extra intense, while cool blues calm things down. The white of the eponymous character of “White Widow” #1 is akin to a palette cleanser, when it is used at all. In general, the scenes after the introduction feel almost overwhelming with color variety, though with the exaggerated action it is not too bad by comparison.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – Low stakes and a fun plot are marred by far-too-exaggerated artwork.
