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Bloodquest: The Eye of Terror #1-3
Bloodquest: The Eye of Terror Trilogy
Condemned and cast out for losing a priceless ancient relic on the field of battle, Captain Leonatos and a group of his fellow battle-brothers risk everything in their quest to regain the Blade Encarmine, the lost sword of Belarius, former Chapter Master of the Blood Angels, from the dark legions of Chaos, in an omnibus edition containing the three volumes of the Bloodquest saga. Ages 12 - 16.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Gordon Rennie
396 books34 followersFreelance writer for over 20 years – When he’s not being ungainfully employed as a BAFTA-nominated video games scriptwriter, he keeps himself busy writing comics, novels, screenplays and Doctor Who audio plays. Comics work includes Predator, Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Missionary Man, Necronauts, Caballistics Inc and Absalom, and Dept. of Monsterology for Renegade.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 29, 2021
This volume collects the entire "Blood Quest" series. The first part of it was written at an earlier stage and the art and story reflect it. Had that been the entirety of the style then I'd likely have DNF'd this volume.
Earlier versions of 40K didn't really have the lore fleshed out and the overall art and story quality are very poor. In the first story the Astartes seem the same size as normal humans even in power armor and the story is not good. However, it does set the stage for what is to come.
The first part covers a quest by a group of Blood Angels. It's not very good and is rather confusing.
But with the second part, written later, the art and story really pick up. In fact, the second story is a really great rendition of a Chaos world. It is very well done. This second part concerns that same group of Blood Angels going on a quest to retrieve an ancient artifact from the Eye of Terror.
This then leads to the third part where the two surviving Blood Angels return to the Eye of Terror to rescue their Captain.
These stories are much better. The art is good and the story makes sense within the Lore. Are their issues? Yes. But, a drastic improvement. A fun addition to the 40K collection, but I've had poor luck with the comics.
Earlier versions of 40K didn't really have the lore fleshed out and the overall art and story quality are very poor. In the first story the Astartes seem the same size as normal humans even in power armor and the story is not good. However, it does set the stage for what is to come.
The first part covers a quest by a group of Blood Angels. It's not very good and is rather confusing.
But with the second part, written later, the art and story really pick up. In fact, the second story is a really great rendition of a Chaos world. It is very well done. This second part concerns that same group of Blood Angels going on a quest to retrieve an ancient artifact from the Eye of Terror.
This then leads to the third part where the two surviving Blood Angels return to the Eye of Terror to rescue their Captain.
These stories are much better. The art is good and the story makes sense within the Lore. Are their issues? Yes. But, a drastic improvement. A fun addition to the 40K collection, but I've had poor luck with the comics.
March 22, 2013
If there is one comic which can really be named a classic when it comes to space marines it undoubtedly Bloodquest. Running for a total of three volumes and delving deep into the realms of Chaos, the series had everything a saga needed: Crusading heroes in search of redemption, sinister forces thirsting for power, gunfire, swordfights, drama and demons to be slain. It’s likely responsible for the comparative popularity of the Blood Angels over many other first founding chapters and alongside Titan it’s easily the best on-going series ever to use the licence.
Unfortunately the series suffered from the exact same problem as Titan: A horrendously bad beginning.
Set in the dying days of the 41st millennium (because that seems to be where ever story is set) the comic follows the disgraced Blood Angel Captain Leonatos. Having lost one of the chapter’s most holy relics in battle with orks, the Blade Encarmine, he is tasked with finding the weapon once again. Exiled until his quest’s completion, he is joined by a number of similar individuals. But none know how far they will have to travel to retrieve the blade nor the sacrifices which will be required of them before the quest’s end.
The chief problem from the very start is the characters themselves. While the first issue devoted itself to setting the backstory and objectives of the heroes it left no time for its characters, many of who were introduced at the final page. There’s really no disguising that many of them were simple cannon fodder which bulked out the cast beyond what the writers could handle. A good number who die within the first volume are given few to no lines and even those beyond it are only given baseline characterisation. More than once I found myself mentally replacing every mention of “Cloten” with “Wolverine” due to their almost identical personalities.
Even given leeway for its age Bloodquest’s early issues offered little beyond disjointed episodic events, with the only spikes of excitement originating from a few moments of awesome. This was something definitely not helped by the art style which fairly bland and textureless, not reflecting the grittier looks of the universe and only shining at a few points. Usually when a big splash page was required or huge panel with a large amount of objects for artist Colin MacNeil to play with. Even the fights were often brief, unsatisfying events which either ended as soon as they began or went unresolved.
Thankfully this changed by the conclusion of the first volume as Leonatos’ team came to a world’s defence against an ork Waaagh! For the first time there were suggestions of catching up with the Blade, a consistent foe was introduced and significant improvements were made with both the art and the combat. Better yet it introduced a single location for the final novels, warped enough to offer variety but lacking the sparse, underdeveloped nature of previous instalments: The Eye of Terror.
While certain aspects of the canon might have altered for better or worse, the location of the second novel is still one of the best visual examples of a Chaos corrupted location on paper. Warped and mutated beyond recognition, ravaged by constant war, shifting with the altering influences of each god as their champions vied for power, it emphasised upon what the Eye of Terror was. A place just stable enough to sustain moral life but hostile beyond all reckoning.
The story itself was more solid as the Blood Angel’s objective was always within sight, but every just out of their reach. Constantly raising the stakes at every turn with growing threats and more consciously utilising sub-plots introduced within the story: Focusing upon Cloten’s slowly losing battle with the Black Rage and the manipulative presence of a mysterious Dark Angel shadowing the group’s path. The comic also began to make use of the characters’ inner demons as they began to fall victim to their character flaws, many meeting their end as a result of them. Said character deaths frequently held far more focus, with time devoted to seeing how they impacted the characters and furthering the plot rather than suddenly included as a number of previous ones had been. Even when they were refused a heroic sacrifice, the character was at least given more than a panel’s focus as they fell.
The continual story further helped to emphasise upon the climax to events where the remaining exiles finally encounter the blade and its new owner. Ending the arc with far more of a bang than many Warhammer comics were offered with the added twist of the tale continuing for one final instalment.
Having seemingly sacrificed himself to allow the surviving two other Blood Angels to escape with the sword, have fun guessing which two, the final volume turns its attention to searching for Leonatos. Heading back into the Eye of Terror, the Blood Angels now faced an even more perilous task: Successfully infiltrate and search through the ranks of a Black Crusade to find signs of their captain’s survival. The art shifted styles again, this time to better reflect the corrupt nature of environments and the greater risk of the characters falling to Chaos. Often distorting to having strangely airbrushed effects at the points where reality warps or the protagonists are dangerously approaching becoming as bad as the Chaos followers themselves.
While definitely set on a more personal level than the second volume, without quite so many acts such as slaying Banelords, the finale none the less is a satisfying finale. Containing the sort of grim, bittersweet victory which best exemplifies the Warhammer universe. Being a conclusion it is hard to discuss without spoilers but just as the second book escalated from the first one, the third book kept what worked from the second book and enhanced it. Focusing upon themes of betrayal, loss, endurance and finally concluding in an ultimately bittersweet victory against humanity’s foes.
Ultimately the story is very flawed and very much a roller-coaster ride of quality. At its worst it’s early 90s Youngblood, with all the bad writing tropes you’d expect, but when it hits its stride it’s of a quality which still holds up well even against the best of the New 52. It preserves what’s best about Warhammer and while it does have the occasional slip in canon, it’s fairly loyal to the basic facts of the universe and the space marines are clearly space marines.
Is it worth looking up and buying? If you can find it for a reasonable price and are willing to accept its early failings to get to the vastly superior better arcs then definitely. If you’re looking for a perfect Warhammer story from beginning to end, or want a story about the Guilliman worshipping jokes who are featured in the pages of the latest Codex: Blood Angels, look elsewhere.
Unfortunately the series suffered from the exact same problem as Titan: A horrendously bad beginning.
Set in the dying days of the 41st millennium (because that seems to be where ever story is set) the comic follows the disgraced Blood Angel Captain Leonatos. Having lost one of the chapter’s most holy relics in battle with orks, the Blade Encarmine, he is tasked with finding the weapon once again. Exiled until his quest’s completion, he is joined by a number of similar individuals. But none know how far they will have to travel to retrieve the blade nor the sacrifices which will be required of them before the quest’s end.
The chief problem from the very start is the characters themselves. While the first issue devoted itself to setting the backstory and objectives of the heroes it left no time for its characters, many of who were introduced at the final page. There’s really no disguising that many of them were simple cannon fodder which bulked out the cast beyond what the writers could handle. A good number who die within the first volume are given few to no lines and even those beyond it are only given baseline characterisation. More than once I found myself mentally replacing every mention of “Cloten” with “Wolverine” due to their almost identical personalities.
Even given leeway for its age Bloodquest’s early issues offered little beyond disjointed episodic events, with the only spikes of excitement originating from a few moments of awesome. This was something definitely not helped by the art style which fairly bland and textureless, not reflecting the grittier looks of the universe and only shining at a few points. Usually when a big splash page was required or huge panel with a large amount of objects for artist Colin MacNeil to play with. Even the fights were often brief, unsatisfying events which either ended as soon as they began or went unresolved.
Thankfully this changed by the conclusion of the first volume as Leonatos’ team came to a world’s defence against an ork Waaagh! For the first time there were suggestions of catching up with the Blade, a consistent foe was introduced and significant improvements were made with both the art and the combat. Better yet it introduced a single location for the final novels, warped enough to offer variety but lacking the sparse, underdeveloped nature of previous instalments: The Eye of Terror.
While certain aspects of the canon might have altered for better or worse, the location of the second novel is still one of the best visual examples of a Chaos corrupted location on paper. Warped and mutated beyond recognition, ravaged by constant war, shifting with the altering influences of each god as their champions vied for power, it emphasised upon what the Eye of Terror was. A place just stable enough to sustain moral life but hostile beyond all reckoning.
The story itself was more solid as the Blood Angel’s objective was always within sight, but every just out of their reach. Constantly raising the stakes at every turn with growing threats and more consciously utilising sub-plots introduced within the story: Focusing upon Cloten’s slowly losing battle with the Black Rage and the manipulative presence of a mysterious Dark Angel shadowing the group’s path. The comic also began to make use of the characters’ inner demons as they began to fall victim to their character flaws, many meeting their end as a result of them. Said character deaths frequently held far more focus, with time devoted to seeing how they impacted the characters and furthering the plot rather than suddenly included as a number of previous ones had been. Even when they were refused a heroic sacrifice, the character was at least given more than a panel’s focus as they fell.
The continual story further helped to emphasise upon the climax to events where the remaining exiles finally encounter the blade and its new owner. Ending the arc with far more of a bang than many Warhammer comics were offered with the added twist of the tale continuing for one final instalment.
Having seemingly sacrificed himself to allow the surviving two other Blood Angels to escape with the sword, have fun guessing which two, the final volume turns its attention to searching for Leonatos. Heading back into the Eye of Terror, the Blood Angels now faced an even more perilous task: Successfully infiltrate and search through the ranks of a Black Crusade to find signs of their captain’s survival. The art shifted styles again, this time to better reflect the corrupt nature of environments and the greater risk of the characters falling to Chaos. Often distorting to having strangely airbrushed effects at the points where reality warps or the protagonists are dangerously approaching becoming as bad as the Chaos followers themselves.
While definitely set on a more personal level than the second volume, without quite so many acts such as slaying Banelords, the finale none the less is a satisfying finale. Containing the sort of grim, bittersweet victory which best exemplifies the Warhammer universe. Being a conclusion it is hard to discuss without spoilers but just as the second book escalated from the first one, the third book kept what worked from the second book and enhanced it. Focusing upon themes of betrayal, loss, endurance and finally concluding in an ultimately bittersweet victory against humanity’s foes.
Ultimately the story is very flawed and very much a roller-coaster ride of quality. At its worst it’s early 90s Youngblood, with all the bad writing tropes you’d expect, but when it hits its stride it’s of a quality which still holds up well even against the best of the New 52. It preserves what’s best about Warhammer and while it does have the occasional slip in canon, it’s fairly loyal to the basic facts of the universe and the space marines are clearly space marines.
Is it worth looking up and buying? If you can find it for a reasonable price and are willing to accept its early failings to get to the vastly superior better arcs then definitely. If you’re looking for a perfect Warhammer story from beginning to end, or want a story about the Guilliman worshipping jokes who are featured in the pages of the latest Codex: Blood Angels, look elsewhere.
June 12, 2017
A very strong story taking in an unusual idea - loyal Space Marines divided from their chapter and fighting For The Emperor from the edges of the Emperor's realm - working with pirates, hiding amidst their renegade/heretic foes and dealing with 'Fallen' Space Marines in pursuit of their noble aims. Great and moody artwork, filled with little details that rewards repeated viewing complement a story not afraid to be subtle and ambiguous in a way a lot of game-based fiction avoids.
September 30, 2021
There's some fantastic imagery in this one. Some of the art is really good. I also enjoy the story and the various characters. Warhammer 40K is a weird beast in that most of the characters are kinda monsters (the Space Marines are straight-up evil...the Empire is totally evil), yet they're capable of grand heroics and can be fascinating to read about.
This one is all about battling the forces of Chaos which are, of course, not chaotic but Evil.
This one is all about battling the forces of Chaos which are, of course, not chaotic but Evil.
May 10, 2022
First glance at the blood angels, an exiled captain on a quest to recover an holy artifact.
Good enough story for the first interaction with the WH 40k saga....
Good enough story for the first interaction with the WH 40k saga....
October 8, 2011
When I bought the complete collection of Graphic Novels that the Black Library published in 2005 this was one of the books that entered my mind and I didn't forget it. Why? Because the drawings are excelent and most of them are not at all confusing. The letters are not confusing as well. Daemonifuge failed in that part. The images are spectacular. Some of them didn't left my mind and when I read a Black Library book depicting Chaos I usually imagine them from this book. As the Summary says Leonatos is tasked to find the sword or else he won't redeem himself. Some other space marines go with him. In this tale they fight Orks and all kinds of Chaos Scum from the lowest caste to daemons. The first two novels are that retrival of the sword and battle throughtout the world full of chaos soldiers. They encounter some interesting allies and in the end they are able to retrieve the sword with a lot of pain. After the retrival the survivors return to the world to search for Leonatos. This last part is probably my favourite. Very good read. The book is of course out of print but you can buy this book instead. It compiled these three graphic novels, Space Hulk (a novella), four short stories and Heart of Rage a prose version of a audio drama. The price is very small compared what would you pay for each indiviual piece.
June 19, 2011
The first part of the trilogy is plain childish: mighty Space Marines that conquer all troubles on their quest for the sacred blade. Also, the story progression is too "american speed-comic" for my taste; first they beat down a fullscale Ork invasion while two pages further a Bloodthirster of Khorne is kept in check. Only at the last pages of the first part, the story starts to become interesting.
The second part is much more entertaining because the story suddenly gets more adult. Inherent flaws of the "superwarriors" are revealed, and the reader sees them dropping to their weaknesses one by one.
The third part maintains the adult storytelling, and adds some real plot twists to the overall story.
Overall, I was really impressed by the story, and the way it translated into a comic book.
Recommended for readers that are new to the Warhammer 40K universe and lore
The second part is much more entertaining because the story suddenly gets more adult. Inherent flaws of the "superwarriors" are revealed, and the reader sees them dropping to their weaknesses one by one.
The third part maintains the adult storytelling, and adds some real plot twists to the overall story.
Overall, I was really impressed by the story, and the way it translated into a comic book.
Recommended for readers that are new to the Warhammer 40K universe and lore
September 14, 2016
It is the Warhammer 40K comics classics! The first part of the trilogy is somewhat simple. But starting from the second one things get for the BEST EVER! It is Epic incarnate.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews