Bloodborne
Publisher: Titan Comics
Writer: Ales Scott
Artist: Piotr Kowalski
Colors: Brad Simpson
Letters: Aditya Bidikar
Cover: Jeff Stokely
In the decrepit gothic city of Yharnam, a mysterious hunter wakes up from a dream. Failing to remember his purpose he aimlessly hacks and slashes his way through the plague torn streets. The denizens of the city have turned into living demons and attack at a moment’s glance before being cut down by the hunters sawlike sword. The hunter, inexplicably drawn to a burning church, gets the sense that he has done all of this before. He is invited into the “safety” of the church where other hunter’s have gathered and presented with that which he has searched. Paleblood, a substance fabled to be able to cure any affliction, is flowing through the veins of a seemingly malnourished child. As the church falls under siege from the hordes of living demon denizens the hunter abandons the child and attempts to join the defense. In face of a large creature his sword fails him and he is immediately killed only to reawaken the same way he’d done before. Time has reset and the hunter repeats each event in an identical fashion until being reunited with the Paleblood child where he is given the opportunity to change his fate.
With a property like the critically acclaimed Bloodborne, a game with an incredibly cryptic story, Ales Scott has done something narratively that may have been extremely difficult for anyone who has not spent extensive time playing the game. He’s nailed the feeling and the mystery of Bloodborne in just a few pages. Bloodborne is a tough game and death is impossible to avoid for even the best players. Ales has taken this fact and fully incorporated it into the narrative as just a factor of life for the Hunter. All of the important characters make their appearance in this single issue without slowing down the story or trailing off on unimportant tangents.
Piotr Kowalski and Bran Simpsons interpretation of Yharnam is beautifully ugly. The infected denizens have a zombie like esthetic as their flesh hangs loosely from their bones. Not quite dead but not truly alive either. There is clear pain in their expressions and hysteria in their eyes. Kowalski manages to convey emotion through the hunter’s eyes as most of his face is hidden throughout the book. In collaboration with the desaturated colors, the artwork induces a sense of hopelessness and despair which does a great job to convey the tone of the book.
As a fan of Bloodborne myself, even though I wasn’t a good enough player to finish it, I would opine that this is probably my favorite video game adaptation in years. This team has fully realized what the world of Bloodborne would be like fully interpreted through the thoughts of the Hunter instead of using the detached narration that sometimes accompanies stories of this style. It’s apparent by the end that Scott’s Bloodborne story will probably ignore the original story set forth by the game and that’s a great thing. There is something here for both those like myself who haven’t taken the time to piece together the story and those who’ve spent hundreds of hours exploring every nook and cranny of Yharnam to enjoy and discover. This is a title I am happy to recommend and I hope that Scott and his team can continue to provide quality storytelling with issue 2. 4/5
Eric Snell
esnell@comicattack.net
