Blog

Publisher: Top Cow
Writer: Ron Marz
Artist: Nelson Blake II
Cover: Ryan Sook

“Blood of the Lamb pt 2”: Just as the current Magdalena is being asked to come back and fight under the watchful eye of the Vatican again, she and her mentor are attacked by a demon. Now everyone knows that demons and dinner just don’t mix, but this guy just didn’t get the memo and attempts to kill them both; probably thinking it to be easy because Patience is without her Spear of Destiny. However she is able to make short work of him with a wooden stake that is covered in her very special blood.

We only get  a glimpse of the bad guys while a sacrifice must be chosen to summon a demon to replace the one killed earlier. We are taken to Vatican City where a lengthy conversation gets pretty tense between Patience and her former masters.  It’s being made perfectly clear where the line is drawn, and since it seems like Patience isn’t willing to come back into the fold, her mentor is being ordered to do what must be done so another Magdalena who is more willing to follow orders can take her place. It’s a good thing things aren’t always what they seem as they find out at the end of the issue…

Nelson Blake II must have put some serious time into this issue as it looks even better than the first, especially the part I like to call “Magdalena Hall” which showcases two rows of statues depicting the women who have served the role in the past. The level of detail there was great along with the angles he chose to help show the scale of everything. He just made that entire section stand out and in an issue that didn’t have a lot of action it was great to see an artist put forth the effort to make the entire book look good and not just the fights. Though I will say that Cardinal Innocent really needs some sun…really.

Ron Marz eases back a bit on the action to move the story with dialogue, and though I’m eager to see Patience cut loose, this is a necessary part of the story to validate what’s going to happen later. We know the relationship between Patience and the Vatican is a shaky one, so it was good to see her and her mentor go back and forth regarding her issues with the Church, along with the mission they want her to undertake. Establishing all of this and character building in the first few issues is paramount, and when the dialogue is smart and witty it just makes for a great read.

So with yet another great cover by Ryan Sook this series is exceeding my expectations as I’ve never cared for Magdalena in her past incarnations. So I’m quite thankful I don’t have to go back and read past issues of her appearances to be familiar with the story going on here. Now if you’re one of those people who say “nothing happened” in this issue, than I’d suggest going back and reading it again because the “action” is in the dialogue and it was damn good!

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