The saga of Manor Black (Cullen Bunn! Brian Hurtt! Tyler Crook!) continues in Manor Black: Fire In The Blood #1 from Dark Horse Comics.
This is the second miniseries in the ongoing saga of Roman Black. He’s a grumpy old guy, the ‘patriarch’ to a family of sorcerers. There’s a wickedly cruel battle going on around the aging Roman Black as his kids’ bicker and mutter behind his back. Who will take over the reins after Roman dies? Well, it becomes more complex than that, when Roman adopts a young person, an outsider, and begins to work with her instead of his own blood.
The story is a good one. We get glimpses into Roman Black’s back story when he returns to his small town from his enlistment in fighting the Second World War. It seems as though the Blacks are no strangers to family dysfunction and tension. Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt’s smoothly written transitions keep the reader involved and oriented between the two time periods.
The black and white wash drawings by Tyler Crook play well in contrast with his full colour renderings of ‘today’s’ scenes. And I like how the colouring is done: it looks hand-rendered, organic, and somehow ‘personal’. The drawings are atmospheric, with thick line and colour/wash shadows adding nuance to the already creepy dark tones.
There’s plenty of spooky supernatural drama, lots of backstabbing bitterness, loads of bloody, fire-filled scenes of horror, so jump in and grab a copy before the hourglass runs out!
Dark Horse Comics, Manor Black: Fire In The Blood #1, $3.99 for 24 pages of content.
Newsdesk