Trust noone is pretty much the name of the game here.
Creative Staff:
Story: Troy Brownfield
Art: Fritz Casas
What They Say:
Desperate to prevent a war, the lands call together a Council of Kings (and we know that didn’t go well last time). Meanwhile, Jon Hunter and Sir Ferenc investigate a murder in the castle, the trail of which leads to a new conspiracy. As the conflicts escalate, Elizabeth leads Helena and Sara on a mission to uncover the secret of the burning fields. This leads her to a startling revelation and the specter of a new threat rising. And when she’s confronted with a harsh reality, how far will Elizabeth go in the name of blood and magic? Dynamite’s latest fantasy epic is building to a fever pitch in “Reign in Blood”!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Blood Queen has been weaving its spell for a few issues now and it’s playing at a couple of different areas in rather decent ways. We get some simple fantasy politics, there’s some sexual material going on from time to time and there’s a decent bit of magic in the mix as well. The focus on Elizabeth has been the strongest, but we also get plenty of material where we see other characters and their motivations, which will figure into whatever the larger plot of revenge is all about here. I also like that we get various characters interacting that just deal with the issues at hand. The trio of women in this issue don’t spend time talking about the men in their lives and the men that are both bedding Elizabeth don’t get all up in each other over her – or even have much to say about her.
Elizabeth’s journey with Helena and Sara has taken them to one of the blighted areas that have cropped up and it’s a real doozy there. Things are significantly bad to the point where Elizabeth really can’t believe what she’s seeing. Of course, the locals talk about how it’s caused by a demon that flies over it and pisses on it, but that’s what you get with drunken peasants. The information they do get has the trio heading off to see the local abbot, the one that had blessed the king and queen’s daughter, as he’s now taken seriously ill and is not intent on being seen by Elizabeth for help. The two do end up having a curious conversation, one that has him revealing that he knows a whole lot more about her and about Leona as well as he knows Leona’s secret of being old and young at the same time. With Leona being tied to what the abbot is going through, it’s got a dark undertone to it in showing how far Leona will go to create a situation that allowed her to insert Elizabeth as solidly as possible in the court. What the abbot is going through is related to the blight of course, and having her tie that up will raise her stock a little more. But it comes at a price of newfound distrust towards Leona.
Kingdom politics finds its way into the book this time around as well as the attacks that are going on have turned worse and that means a council of kings has been called, which will be at castle Varrano as the king has no intent of going elsewhere after the recent trap. What makes this side of the story work well is that we get Hunter and Ferenc together to figure out what happened with murder that happened in the dungeon cell. The two do a little sparring over Elizabeth, but it’s no different than their normal sparring in a way and doesn’t feel like it’s two men butting heads over a woman but rather just needling each other for a general weakness. The change in circumstances though with what’s going on, the acknowledgement that the murder must have happened through magic, puts them on the same page as defending the king and castle is paramount. That such a thing could happen in the walls as it did in the dungeon has them setting aside the larger squabble to try and work towards a solution, which is welcome to see.
In Summary:
Blood Queen continues to build its overall plot with what Elizabeth and Leona are up to and we get a bit more of the manipulation of kingdoms going on as well, which Leona likely has her hand in as well. There continues to be a number of things being juggled, but Brownfield again keeps it narrowed down in each issue to smaller focuses that tie and connect elsewhere. The blighted lands are well dealt with here, though the real results are going to take place off page, and we see Elizabeth getting more information and dealing with Leona in a new light while keeping her own, true counsel to herself. Ferenc and Hunter are moving along well in their own investigations and work with the main singular focus of protecting king and castle, so it’s good to see that their own potential pettiness can be put aside to deal with the real issues. It doesn’t feel like things are going to come to a head anytime soon, but there’s potential for some smaller game changers coming up that I hope we’ll see soon to really make the book engaging.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: October 1st, 2014
MSRP: $3.99
