(This review may contain spoilers).
Ideally, I’d give this comic book 3.5 stars. While I struggled somewhat to get to know the characters, I did like the artwork in this. It was very graphic in places, but the concept was a pretty interesting one.
I didn’t really know what to make of Gilad at first. I thought he was an intriguing character, but I was disappointed not to have the opportunity to see more of his relationship with his son and daughter. In the first comic, it didn’t really seem like he cared about either of them… and although there was a flashback to him with them as children later on, I didn’t get the impression that he considered them anything more than tools.
It was good to see that Gilad had his own morals and ethics, even though he was clearly a killer. It would have been good to see more of his past… how he became immortal and what brought him to serving the Earth. I was a bit disappointed to see the cliche of the god of death being the villain, though. It would be nice for that to be different for a change.
There was some very nice artwork in this graphic novel. It was good that the violence was shown… even if it was a bit graphic in places. I really didn’t like Xaran’s character. While there seemed to be some attempt to give her a well-rounded background, the very first few scenes involving her made it clear I wouldn’t like her at all. And I kind of thought Gilad should have let her die.
I liked the fact that the Earth goddess did appear, though it would have been good to get some more detail about her and the other gods. I couldn’t really understand exactly why Gilad was obsessed with killing the gods… or why it needed to be a particular place in order for it to happen.
Although there were some flashbacks in the comics, there was a lot that was confusing and seemed almost disjointed. I did like seeing the different variety of artwork at the end of this comic book, though. And I think there’s the potential for Mitu to be a well-rounded, intriguing character.
I’m not sure I’ll read the other volumes in this comic book series. I’ll have to wait and see what the blurbs of the others are like.
Ink of Blood 