Bad Blood

Bad Blood #1-5

by Jonathan Maberry, Tyler Crook (Illustrator)

Life was hard enough for Trick Croft as a college student and a cancer patient--then the vampires attacked and slaughtered his best friend. Now Trick knows that his blood is poison to the bloodsuckers, and he will stop at nothing to eradicate them.
Collects issues #1-#5 of the Dark Horse original series.

Genres: Horror, Graphic Novels, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Adult

136 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2014

About the author

JONATHAN MABERRY is a NYTimes bestselling author, #1 Audible bestseller, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, comic book writer, and producer. He is the author of more than 50 novels, 190 short stories, 16 short story collections, 30 graphic novels, 14 nonfiction books, and has edited 26 anthologies. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was a Netflix original series starring Ian Somerhalder. His 2009-10 run as writer on the Black Panther comic formed a large chunk of the recent blockbuster film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. His bestselling YA zombie series, Rot & Ruin is in development for film at Alcon Entertainment; and John Wick director, Chad Stahelski, is developing Jonathan’s Joe Ledger Thrillers for TV. Jonathan writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and action; and he writes for adults, teens and middle grade. His works include The Pine Deep Trilogy, The Kagen the Damned Trilogy, NecroTek, Ink, Glimpse, the Rot & Ruin series, the Dead of Night series, The Wolfman, X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, The Sleepers War (with Weston Ochse), Mars One, and many others. He is the editor of high-profile anthologies including Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird, The X-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Out of Tune, Don’t Turn out the Lights: A Tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Baker Street Irregulars, Nights of the Living Dead, Shadows & Verse, and others. His comics include Marvel Zombies Return, The Punisher: Naked Kills, Wolverine: Ghosts, Godzilla vs Cthulhu: Death May Die, Bad Blood and many others. Jonathan has written in many popular licensed worlds, including Hellboy, True Blood, The Wolfman, John Carter of Mars, Sherlock Holmes, C.H.U.D., Diablo IV, Deadlands, World of Warcraft, Planet of the Apes, Aliens, Predator, Karl Kolchak, and many others. He the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. He lives in San Diego, California. Find him online at www.jonathanmaberry.com

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an interesting take on vampires with some twists and turns I didn't see coming. Twist is a young man going through chemo when he is attacked by a vampire. The vamp is poisoned by his blood and goes after Trick's friends in retaliation. So Twist seeks out everything he can find about vampires in order to keep his family safe. That's where he meets wannabe vampire and goth stripper Lolly. Eventually, they team up to fight vampires. Maberry packs in a lot of world building in five issues. Tyler Crook's art is, of course, perfect for the horror seting.

[Václav · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4 of 5 for a grim bittersweet vampire (slaying) tale)
Jonathan Maberry apparently wanted to create his dark romance in the world of evil vampires and it's actually simple but well written. The backbone of the story is a very simple premise. Classic underdog(s) with an unexpected ace in the sleeve against a powerful foe. There are few nice twists, but in hindsight, the plot feels too common. Storywise only, I wouldn't go for more than 3,3/5.
But the art. Crook and his watercolours, that gets me every time. He created a great atmosphere, especially those parts when Trick "investigate" through different underground clubs. If you're at least a little bit fan of Crook's art, this is definitely worth trying.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some very interesting concepts at play here, and they are for the most part well used. Cancer patient Trick inadvertently poisons a vampire trying to feed on him because of his blood. When the vamp takes it out on his friends, Trick decides to turn the tables and try to fight back. With the assistance of Goth Stripper Lolly and hunter Jonas Vale, the fight against the vampires is brought to the fore again.
This book goes some surprising places - it's not a fun/funny/action-oriented vampire story, a la Buffy. It delves into some dark places, and our protagonists are not traditional heroes. Lolly's back story is especially rough, and it informs not only the characters but their route in trying to find the vampires. Jonas Vale sets the story on a more traditional path, but even he plays some tricks, and the finale is very powerful and plays out a bit surprisingly.
The art is also darkly gorgeous, with moody imagery brought to shadowy life with water color work that serves to give a sense of desaturation even while it sports strong colors. It's just as surprising in its effectiveness as the story itself.

[Bernie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never tire of Jonathan Maberry's work. He always finds a way to put a new spin on a genre--in this case, it's the vampire genre. (If you're into zombies, then check out his other books.) This graphic novel has a fresh and interesting story line featuring an ill, young man named Trick, who tasks himself with the burden of fighting vampires. He seeks the truth about vampires when one threatens his life and the lives of those he loves; however, he only knows vampire folklore and Hollywood's interpretation of vampires so he's not sure how to go about locating them or killing them. His journey in seeking the truth is a page-turner and you will not want to put this graphic novel down. My only issue with this book is the type of illustration that was used. The drawings appear as though they're still in their rough stages and overall, it's very dark in terms of both mood and colour. Having said that, perhaps the illustrations are meant to be a reflection of Trick's sickness and the darkness he is forced to face inside and outside of his body.

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't expect much from Jonathan Maberry. And as much as I enjoy a GOOD vampire story, I know that there is an almost limitless supply of BAD vampire stories out there. But the art looked really cool, so I gave this a shot.

Glad I did.

This is a blast.
And yes, the art is amazing!

[Jason]

Great concept but it wasn't supported as well as I'd have liked. Too wrapped up in warring vampire clans, maybe?

[Francesca Giardiello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Racconto molto interessante, pieno di colpi di scena.

La lettura è molto scorrevole e coinvolgente, il punto di vista in prima persona permette di comprendere maggiormente il protagonista e il contesto immergendosi nel contesto.

I disegni sono favolosi e nel loro essere "delicati" per gli acquerelli, riescono ugualmente a trasmettere tutto il dramma e l'orrore necessari.

Una storia di vampiri come non ne ho lette fino ad ora, cruda, senza giustizia, dove non esistono "happy" o "bad ending", ma esiste solo "ciò che rimane" nel bene e nel male. Un racconto completo, soddisfacente e in grado di non soffermarsi solo sull'horror o su aspetti scontati.

[Valéria. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first thing I have read by Jonathan Maberry, and I'm not sure I'll try anything else. Don't take me wrong, it was not that bad, but it was not enough for me. Chemo boy and junkie girl fighting vampires, poisoning them with their bad blood. Vampire hunter who's not a vampire hunter. Depressing stuff. I mean, good read but nothing I'll remember for a long time. Crook's illustrations are amazing.

[Shawn Ingle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm generally not a big fan of vampire stuff, but with artwork a little reminiscent of Jeff Lemire, a premise just different enough to be intriguing and short enough to know it wouldn't be an undertaking, I decided to give this a try. I'm glad I did. Solid dialogue and a couple of twists towards the end had me entertained.

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well. That is not how you do a happily ever after.

[Greg Trosclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was better than I thought that it would be. I should just trust that Maberry writes good books.

[Wes Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jonathan Maberry's Vampire stuff. I wish he would do more non-zombie horror.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent vampire story. There's a plot twist. The artwork was so-so, kind of murky and blurry.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampires are one of those subjects that make me not want to read a book. But this was actually an interesting take on a potentially stale idea, and I really enjoyed it. The end was GRIM though – don't read this if you want angsty romance vampires.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

yes! next issue stat!

Merged review:

loved the twist on what the vamps do when staked.... ewwwww & awesome

Merged review:

read #5 as well, but it's not listed yet on GR. the whole series.... so twisted! what an ending! loved it! lots of social commentary and pop culture digs in the series! loved it! sad it was so short!

Merged review:

Awesome! Sad start but I'm sucked in! Another Maberry win!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is very interesting: kid with cancer gets bitten by a vampire, and because of his tainted blood, the vamp slaughters his best friend... Definitely NOT the vampire I'm used to reading/liking (much more demon-like/horror). Quite a lot of blood, pretty serious/depressing vibe, and definitely mature content. I'm just not really a fan of the artwork...

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nicely written and illustrated vampire story. It's a self-contained (no, Ledger does not cameo) story with a pleasingly different take on the vampire mythology. The characters are different than your standard heroes, with flaws and failings that make them realistic yet still likable. The ending was particularly poignant and surprising.

[Bogdan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mnope!!!!

Usually I enjoy Jonathan Maberry stories but this comic book was kinda lame...

Maybe the ideea wasn`t so bad, but the way the story goes it`s preeeettyyy badddd...

The artwork was also kind of.... Meeehhh!

No!!..NO!...

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.9. I liked this. A very different type of vampire story.

[David Sanz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesante, me gustaría saber cómo sigue.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review on HorrorTalk.com: http://www.horrortalk.com/comic-revie...

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

12/6/14 Review tk.

12/23/14 http://www.iwantmytwodollars.com/2014...

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this graphic novel a lot. Excellent story and illustrations.