(I received a free copy of this book, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Ideally, I’d give this comic book 3.5 stars. It doesn’t quite hit the four-star mark – mainly because I wasn’t that keen on the characters for most of the chapters. I did like seeing that Chloe had grown up by the end of volume one, though. It was interesting to see how the responsibility she had matured her quite a bit as a character.
I felt that only a few of the characters were really explored with any depth… and I struggled to see how the rivalry between George and Sheldon had changed so much, considering their relationship in the past. I couldn’t help but feel for Sheldon later on, though.
I was a bit unclear as to what kind of powers the children inherited from their parents… and out of the children, only Chloe and Brandon seemed to be properly developed.
It was interesting to see how the superheroes dealt with their family matters and that they were still normal families, despite having powers. I would have liked to see more of the relationships, because when I was reading this, I didn’t really feel much in the way of emotions; and I should probably have been affected by at least some of the things that happened in this.
I did find George to be a really creepy character. Even early on in the book, the way he spoke to people he used his powers on made my skin crawl. To be honest, I found it hard to see them as the ‘good guys’ even from the start. And Brandon just annoyed me more and more.
The artwork was quite good in this, though Chloe looked almost… anime at times. She was probably the only character I could really understand and get behind. Her husband was an intriguing character, but I didn’t really know enough about him… and I assumed he was a proper bad guy when he transported someone to shark-infested waters.
I’m not sure I’d read the next volumes. I would like to see a redemption-style storyline, but it doesn’t seem likely to happen. At the same time, this volume did end on a bit of a hopeful note… and if redemption comes in later, I’d be interested in seeing more of the storyline.
Ink of Blood 