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Bloodborne
Bloodborne, Vol. 4: The Veil, Torn Asunder
Delve into the mysteries of Yharham in the continuing comic series spinning out of Fromsoftware/Hidetaka Miyazaki's critically-acclaimed Bloodborne videogame!
Yharnam has descended into madness...
Yarem came to the city a long time ago, a man with a past spent in shackles. He found a new purpose in travel and discovery... but what he will find in Yharnam will test the limits of not just his desire, but also his sanity.
As Yharnam falls apart, Yarem realizes his own perception of time and space is becoming radically altered. The walls of reality buckle and fold. He sees the Moon fill with blood.
Yarem decides to descend deeper into the madness, and boldly discover the new horizons of reality. The price for such sights may be his life... or at the very least his sanity.
Collects Bloodborne #13-16
Yharnam has descended into madness...
Yarem came to the city a long time ago, a man with a past spent in shackles. He found a new purpose in travel and discovery... but what he will find in Yharnam will test the limits of not just his desire, but also his sanity.
As Yharnam falls apart, Yarem realizes his own perception of time and space is becoming radically altered. The walls of reality buckle and fold. He sees the Moon fill with blood.
Yarem decides to descend deeper into the madness, and boldly discover the new horizons of reality. The price for such sights may be his life... or at the very least his sanity.
Collects Bloodborne #13-16
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 21, 2020
About the author
Aleš Kot
268 books178 followersAleš Kot is a post-Chernobyl, pre-revolution, Czech-born, California-based writer/producer who started in graphic novels and now makes films, television, and an occasional novella.
A. believe in art and community.
A. doesn't believe in borders nor cops.
A. believes in love, which they know is a very Libra answer. And what about it?
A. believe in art and community.
A. doesn't believe in borders nor cops.
A. believes in love, which they know is a very Libra answer. And what about it?
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
October 8, 2022
ARC provided by the publisher—Titan Comics—in exchange for an honest review.
Volume 4: The Veil, Torn Asunder of Bloodborne graphic novel adaptation is a fine example of making and adapting a story to be confusing just for the sake of making a story as confusing as possible with no reward. It's a story about a descent into madness. Nothing else matters. Not even a tiny shed of effort to make the story memorable. Here's the thing, everyone can come up with nonsense and say there's a reason behind the nonsense. There's an answer. Everyone can do that. A great storyteller can write a maze of lore, stories, and characters, and at the exit stage of the maze when everything clicks together, the reward offered should be satisfying and reachable. This didn't happen in volume 3, and it certainly didn't happen here. Bloodborne graphic novel adaptation is seriously disappointing. If you read this adaptation without playing the game first, let me assure you, the graphic novel adaptation doesn't even touch 1% of the greatness of Bloodborne video game. Volumes 1 and 2 were good, but volumes 3 and 4 were an absolute mess. I want to, however, praise the illustrations. It is the only thing consistently superb from the beginning to the end of the graphic novel adaptation. So well done on that.
You can find the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Andrew W, Amanda, Annabeth, Casey, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Elias, Ellen, Ellis, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jesse, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Kristina, Lana, Leigh, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Michael, Mike, Miracle, Nanette, Neeraja, Nicholas, Reno, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shawn, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
Volume 4: The Veil, Torn Asunder of Bloodborne graphic novel adaptation is a fine example of making and adapting a story to be confusing just for the sake of making a story as confusing as possible with no reward. It's a story about a descent into madness. Nothing else matters. Not even a tiny shed of effort to make the story memorable. Here's the thing, everyone can come up with nonsense and say there's a reason behind the nonsense. There's an answer. Everyone can do that. A great storyteller can write a maze of lore, stories, and characters, and at the exit stage of the maze when everything clicks together, the reward offered should be satisfying and reachable. This didn't happen in volume 3, and it certainly didn't happen here. Bloodborne graphic novel adaptation is seriously disappointing. If you read this adaptation without playing the game first, let me assure you, the graphic novel adaptation doesn't even touch 1% of the greatness of Bloodborne video game. Volumes 1 and 2 were good, but volumes 3 and 4 were an absolute mess. I want to, however, praise the illustrations. It is the only thing consistently superb from the beginning to the end of the graphic novel adaptation. So well done on that.
You can find the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Andrew W, Amanda, Annabeth, Casey, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Elias, Ellen, Ellis, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jesse, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Kristina, Lana, Leigh, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Michael, Mike, Miracle, Nanette, Neeraja, Nicholas, Reno, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shawn, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
March 10, 2024
Kinda indifferent about this one. I’ve got to wait for the rest of the books through my library, but I hope they get better from here.
June 13, 2020
Storyline was essentially a confusing dream-like fantasy/horror take on John Carpenter's In the mouth of Madness.
I've never played the Bloodborne videogame so not sure at all about what the f@€% happened here, but I'm really digging into these series and this volume was an intense creepy and disturbing nightmare.
Loved it.
March 3, 2022
Too vague. This isn't poetry, it's a graphic novel. Where is the actual story?!
September 10, 2020
What just happened? Well, the answer is: a deep path and decay into madness. A dream inside a dream inside a dream. A distortion of reality and truth.
This volume tells a curious (and confusing, but that is the point) story, where you have no idea what is happening. You just know not everything is what it looks, that is something behind it. And well, that mysterious way of portray reality is one of Bloodborne's charm. A dream. A nightmare. A reality. Who knows in what of those we live?
This volume tells a curious (and confusing, but that is the point) story, where you have no idea what is happening. You just know not everything is what it looks, that is something behind it. And well, that mysterious way of portray reality is one of Bloodborne's charm. A dream. A nightmare. A reality. Who knows in what of those we live?
May 19, 2022
well that was weird
February 21, 2021
(Zero spoiler review) See my previous Bloodborne reviews for additional context.
No, No No! This is not how you do it! This is not how you close out the series! This is not how you write a Bloodborne comic! You'll have to forgive my excessive punctuation, but I'm pretty annoyed right now. The series had somewhat captivated my up to this point. The near masterpiece of volume two surrounded on either side by competent yet flawed renditions. I stated at the end of my last review, that is the series closed out on a strong note, I would remember the series with great fondness. Instead, the opposite has happened. We have finished on what was undoubtedly the weakest volume in the series, and now I can't get the taste of shit out of my mouth. There is little to nothing rooting this in the Bloodborne universe, and that is an unforgiveable crime, if this is indeed to be the series swansong. I can only guess that dwindling sales and interest in this title forced the companies hand, and its stories like this that has brought it about. When your world is as dense and captivating as Bloodborne's is, I weep angry tears at the creative decisions taken, and the dozens of possibly characters and lore to explore being left on the table. This book see's Kot at his most pretentious, his most self indulgent. Where was the editor to reign in this idle fancy. What a shame that this book exists, despite the art and colours doing their best to salvage something of worth. I must admit, The first two books contained Kiowolski's best work (and the best writing, strangely enough) Maybe he was done with this series, or maybe like me, he was disappointed with the aimless narrative, and didn't feel like giving that extra 5%. Either way, its still an exceedingly pretty book to look at. So, The Healing Thirst remains a lone, stellar highlight amidst a restless mass of near misses and mediocrity. What a shame indeed. 2.5/5
OmniBen.
No, No No! This is not how you do it! This is not how you close out the series! This is not how you write a Bloodborne comic! You'll have to forgive my excessive punctuation, but I'm pretty annoyed right now. The series had somewhat captivated my up to this point. The near masterpiece of volume two surrounded on either side by competent yet flawed renditions. I stated at the end of my last review, that is the series closed out on a strong note, I would remember the series with great fondness. Instead, the opposite has happened. We have finished on what was undoubtedly the weakest volume in the series, and now I can't get the taste of shit out of my mouth. There is little to nothing rooting this in the Bloodborne universe, and that is an unforgiveable crime, if this is indeed to be the series swansong. I can only guess that dwindling sales and interest in this title forced the companies hand, and its stories like this that has brought it about. When your world is as dense and captivating as Bloodborne's is, I weep angry tears at the creative decisions taken, and the dozens of possibly characters and lore to explore being left on the table. This book see's Kot at his most pretentious, his most self indulgent. Where was the editor to reign in this idle fancy. What a shame that this book exists, despite the art and colours doing their best to salvage something of worth. I must admit, The first two books contained Kiowolski's best work (and the best writing, strangely enough) Maybe he was done with this series, or maybe like me, he was disappointed with the aimless narrative, and didn't feel like giving that extra 5%. Either way, its still an exceedingly pretty book to look at. So, The Healing Thirst remains a lone, stellar highlight amidst a restless mass of near misses and mediocrity. What a shame indeed. 2.5/5
OmniBen.
June 15, 2021
The story focuses on madness and seeking the truth. Nothing is what it is. The dream is not a dream but a dream in a dream etc. Everything is confusing to the point that I did not care what happen. No matter what conclusions I reach, they will still be untrue.
I was hoping for a significantly more interesting ending.
I was hoping for a significantly more interesting ending.
April 13, 2024
I only score it this high because Kowalski’s artwork is absolutely gorgeous on every page. The story was confusing and didn’t do much for me. If you just wanna chill in Yharnam for a little while, then thats a good book to check out. If you wanna learn more about the amazing world of Bloodborne, you won’t learn much reading this.
January 15, 2026
This confused me… it felt like it could honestly be any novel, completely unrelated to the Bloodborne universe.
January 12, 2021
Quarto e ultimo capitolo della serie ispirata a Bloodborne, ma sinceramente non so cosa pensarne. Dal punto di vista grafico è impeccabile, le tavole e i colori sono meravigliosi, ed è evidente l'impegno che c'è stato dietro un progetto simile. Ma dal punto di vista della trama con quest'ultimo volume le cose si complicano, e non poco.
L'intento era probabilmente quello di confondere e distorcere la realtà, facendo collassare i quattro capitoli all'interno di un grande incubo, spingendo il lettore nello stesso tormento del viaggiatore: dove finisce la realtà e inizia il sogno?
Vista, però, la complessità dell'opera originale personalmente avrei puntato a dare delle risposte certe piuttosto che insinuare ancora nuovi dubbi, come se non fossero già abbastanza...
In sostanza non spiega né aggiunge nulla alla lore, ma riesce nell'intento di intrattenere e incantare. Ne sento già la mancanza.
Prima o poi toccherà anche a quelli su Dark Souls ❤️
L'intento era probabilmente quello di confondere e distorcere la realtà, facendo collassare i quattro capitoli all'interno di un grande incubo, spingendo il lettore nello stesso tormento del viaggiatore: dove finisce la realtà e inizia il sogno?
Vista, però, la complessità dell'opera originale personalmente avrei puntato a dare delle risposte certe piuttosto che insinuare ancora nuovi dubbi, come se non fossero già abbastanza...
In sostanza non spiega né aggiunge nulla alla lore, ma riesce nell'intento di intrattenere e incantare. Ne sento già la mancanza.
Prima o poi toccherà anche a quelli su Dark Souls ❤️
December 7, 2020
The story tries to be Lovecraftian, touching upon the themes of sanity and madness which sounds compelling and most definitely appropriate for the franchise, however, it's told in such a bizarre way that it almost becomes incomprehensible. The writer used the stream of consciousness format that can be difficult to keep up with. And to top that, they intentionally removed punctuation to, I guess, make the character's issues more believable but the only thing it actually did, at least for me, was confuse me even more.
What those comics do extremely well is the art. The volume is full of stunning visuals that could tell a great story on their own.
What those comics do extremely well is the art. The volume is full of stunning visuals that could tell a great story on their own.
September 26, 2021
Amazing art.
Never know what to expect with soulsborne comics; kinda want them to explore more canon NPC plotlines instead of new characters interacting with the environment. But with the nature of soulsborne IP it's understandable they can't narrate on "official lore" (is there an official lore any way?) but only fan speculations.
Never know what to expect with soulsborne comics; kinda want them to explore more canon NPC plotlines instead of new characters interacting with the environment. But with the nature of soulsborne IP it's understandable they can't narrate on "official lore" (is there an official lore any way?) but only fan speculations.
April 10, 2023
Vague on purpose to create cosmic horror, and to leave the interpretation to the reader. The previous volumes were also very enjoyable, but the rapid descent into madness this story shows is something else. Have an open mind to enjoy these graphic novels, and only expect more questions rather than answers.
March 21, 2020
False reality
May 24, 2024
no plot just vibes and really great art…bloodborne pc port when 😐😐
May 18, 2026
Gnarly
December 30, 2019
While I haven't technically read this collected publication (it's the individual issues I have read), I just like how it's neater to just sum it up in this edition.
Anyway, onto it.
It remains to be one of the stronger arcs in this exploration of the Bloodborne universe, (although not the strongest) and the decent into madness and it's twisting and layered approach is interesting but I still think far from fully realised. There are some really fun concepts touched on within these issues but lacks that little bit extra to push it further.
I'm hoping these will continue as the writing has taken a while to find its footing, but growth can be seen and hopefully will continue to grow into itself. However in saying that, it is a little frustrating it has taken so long to do so, and still lacks that niche spark that makes Bloodborne so Bloodborne.
Anyway, onto it.
It remains to be one of the stronger arcs in this exploration of the Bloodborne universe, (although not the strongest) and the decent into madness and it's twisting and layered approach is interesting but I still think far from fully realised. There are some really fun concepts touched on within these issues but lacks that little bit extra to push it further.
I'm hoping these will continue as the writing has taken a while to find its footing, but growth can be seen and hopefully will continue to grow into itself. However in saying that, it is a little frustrating it has taken so long to do so, and still lacks that niche spark that makes Bloodborne so Bloodborne.
June 8, 2024
By far the weakest of this series so far, it follows one man's descent into madness and attempt to comprehend what's happening in Yharnam. It jumps around and is repetitive, but not in a good way - it's jarring, rather than mysterious. It revisits some of the areas and events from the previous comics, but they don't feel impactful. The art is lovely, and is the only part of this that brings any sort of atmosphere.
I feel like this would be easily skippable volume.
I feel like this would be easily skippable volume.
April 24, 2022
This volume took everything I love about Bloodborne and just . . . removed it.
January 12, 2023
Madness is a key element of the world of Bloodborne. The plain of inhuman knowledge is governed by ones capacity for Insight. Insight allows one to further explore and perceive elements of the world no normal eye could ever see. The ability to not only see the Inhuman world but to understand it requires so much Insight and even then the chains of insanity will wrap around even the strongest of minds. Baring all of this into consideration, what does the journey of madness in the world of Bloodborne look like? What does the process of witnessing the world of the Great Ones entail? Can one truly hope to understand it or are they forever lost to it's immense complexity? I wish Volume 4 even tried to give you any of those types of answers but sadly this latest entry from Titan Comics work on Bloodborne is easily it's worst.
Released February 4th 2020, the latest volume entry in the Bloodborne series called The Veil, Torn Asunder is an attempt to delve into the cognitive deterioration of ones psyche. As per usual the credits for the comic remain the same. Written by Aleš Kot, illustrated by Piotr Kowalski, colourised by Brad Simpson and Kevin Enhart and lettered by Aditya Bidikar.
What little narrative exists in this entry follows a traveller called Yarem. Who upon his many wanderings, finds himself presently within the city of Yharnam during the peak of it's beastly plague. As the city takes it's toll on Yarem, he soon realises his own perception of reality is crumbing as he approaches true madness. Rather than flee though, Yarem takes the opportunity to dive deeper into this deterioration in order to learn more about the reality of his existence and the boundaries of time and space that are being revealed to him. On this deep journey through his own internal processing Yarem will bear witness to all manner of horrifying visions related to the Great Ones grasp on everything in Yharnam and the traveller must work out the truth of his madness before he succumbs to it fully.
That brief description is far more context than the comic itself even tries to divulge, All of my issues with Volume 1 and 3's abstract storytelling come back in this volume and are dialled up to some obnoxious levels. I get it! Bloodborne works as a video game because its supposed to be abstract, the player was always meant to piece together their own interpretations of what was happening. It doesn't mean this has to be the case in the comic book though, in fact it actively detriments the engagement when you go so hard on vague implications. The reader is relying on the panels to keep them engaged with some semblance of a plot. What we get in this volume is so devoid of any kind of structure or exposition that a lot of that detail I explained just now had to come from a synopsis from Amazon foe goodness sake! For all my issues with Volume 1 and 3 even they had some small semblance of a structure to give a minuscule amount of narrative to follow, it wasn't satisfying but it was a damn sight more than what this volume had.
Even the visuals of this volume aren't enough to keep me engaged this time around. Yarem doesn't have any compelling design behind him so it makes it hard to appreciate following him throughout all of it. There's brief aspects of interesting visuals but they are all underwhelming in comparison to the prior volumes. The comic does a poor attempt into diving into madness too, especially when you just had a far better example with Eileen the Crow in Volume 3. We're four volumes in now and the visuals are starting to lose their ability to be the comics best elements. The only saving grace for this entry is there are at least some larger panels which feel distinctly realised and creepy in their own ways.
The Veil, Torn Asunder is truly the weakest volume out of all the currently released Bloodborne comics. I really wish these writers would wise-up and realise the abstract storytelling is not the way to go here. Bloodborne has a wealth of lore to utilise and explore but you can't do that while choosing to be vague about all of it. Volume 2 showed you could do a brilliant balance of exploring the lore of this world while being a smart and well-layered story. Exploring madness would always be a vague concept I admit but this feels like such a lazy attempt to tie it all together to the video game in a way that just feels disingenuous.
Released February 4th 2020, the latest volume entry in the Bloodborne series called The Veil, Torn Asunder is an attempt to delve into the cognitive deterioration of ones psyche. As per usual the credits for the comic remain the same. Written by Aleš Kot, illustrated by Piotr Kowalski, colourised by Brad Simpson and Kevin Enhart and lettered by Aditya Bidikar.
What little narrative exists in this entry follows a traveller called Yarem. Who upon his many wanderings, finds himself presently within the city of Yharnam during the peak of it's beastly plague. As the city takes it's toll on Yarem, he soon realises his own perception of reality is crumbing as he approaches true madness. Rather than flee though, Yarem takes the opportunity to dive deeper into this deterioration in order to learn more about the reality of his existence and the boundaries of time and space that are being revealed to him. On this deep journey through his own internal processing Yarem will bear witness to all manner of horrifying visions related to the Great Ones grasp on everything in Yharnam and the traveller must work out the truth of his madness before he succumbs to it fully.
That brief description is far more context than the comic itself even tries to divulge, All of my issues with Volume 1 and 3's abstract storytelling come back in this volume and are dialled up to some obnoxious levels. I get it! Bloodborne works as a video game because its supposed to be abstract, the player was always meant to piece together their own interpretations of what was happening. It doesn't mean this has to be the case in the comic book though, in fact it actively detriments the engagement when you go so hard on vague implications. The reader is relying on the panels to keep them engaged with some semblance of a plot. What we get in this volume is so devoid of any kind of structure or exposition that a lot of that detail I explained just now had to come from a synopsis from Amazon foe goodness sake! For all my issues with Volume 1 and 3 even they had some small semblance of a structure to give a minuscule amount of narrative to follow, it wasn't satisfying but it was a damn sight more than what this volume had.
Even the visuals of this volume aren't enough to keep me engaged this time around. Yarem doesn't have any compelling design behind him so it makes it hard to appreciate following him throughout all of it. There's brief aspects of interesting visuals but they are all underwhelming in comparison to the prior volumes. The comic does a poor attempt into diving into madness too, especially when you just had a far better example with Eileen the Crow in Volume 3. We're four volumes in now and the visuals are starting to lose their ability to be the comics best elements. The only saving grace for this entry is there are at least some larger panels which feel distinctly realised and creepy in their own ways.
The Veil, Torn Asunder is truly the weakest volume out of all the currently released Bloodborne comics. I really wish these writers would wise-up and realise the abstract storytelling is not the way to go here. Bloodborne has a wealth of lore to utilise and explore but you can't do that while choosing to be vague about all of it. Volume 2 showed you could do a brilliant balance of exploring the lore of this world while being a smart and well-layered story. Exploring madness would always be a vague concept I admit but this feels like such a lazy attempt to tie it all together to the video game in a way that just feels disingenuous.
June 16, 2022
Ending of the hunt, \ madness obtained from paleblood, \ insights from gods' dreams.
#HAIKUPRAJNA - Bloodborne Comic Book Summary and Review
https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022...
...
At the time of writing, there are four “Bloodborne” volumes written by Ales Kot, with more written by Cullen Bunn coming in 2022. These limited series are for fans of Bloodborne’s lore and premise. What I found the most interesting was how insight into From Software’s worldbuilding provides a better experience for the reader while those ignorant of this lore might be irritated by the writing style, which I enjoyed because the opposite (madness-causing insight versus the ignorance of an unending dream) is a thematic component of the story in the video game. “Paleblood” serves as Bloodborne’s macguffin, or the idea of a goal.
“There must be more than the hunt.”
Each story follows a different character living in the world of Yarhman, brought to life by the art team’s amazing work across the whole series; “The Death of Sleep” was about a Paleblood child with a hunter who knew Durja and the Powder Kegs; “The Healing Thirst” displayed a member of the Healing Church being science bros with a love-mad scientist; “A Song of Crows” told the story of Eileen the crow; and “The Veil, Torn Asunder” dealt with a soldier suffering from war PTSD, showing that the madness of insight was a universal affliction in the world of Yarhman.
“When they say healing… they mean burning… us alive.”
An important aspect of the disease inflicting the city is how the beasts were all once human, where characters grow to realize they may be “undeserving of the hunt”. The unafflicted believed that people were transforming into beasts, but the protagonists’ individual descents into madness reveal to them (and us readers) that the insight was turning them into godlike beings, which enforces one of my favorite literary themes of death being a good--an idea that drove mad the living Yarhmanites who clung to the desirables of life. Perhaps the best part of these Bloodborne side stories is how this information is revealed to almost everyone in Yarhman, but they are all unable to convey this to each other until after they transform into monsters. For these characters, going mad was equivalent to obtaining insight about the hunt and the Paleblood, as one began to see monstrous gods fighting one another throughout Yarhman. In true fashion, the more insight one acquired, the more monsters one saw.
“... but nobody taught me how to grieve without killing myself...”
The four comic book stories set within Bloodborne’s world are all about the personal struggles of individuals living in Yarhman, their own issues and trauma, and how they manage to cope until the end of the hunters’ dream.
Thank you for reading,
Allen W. McLean
...
Need more Bite-sized Insights to relieve your stress and suffering?
These poems will be collected in a future edition of the HaikuPrajna Collection. Stay tuned to @electricarmchair and @haikuprajna for book previews, mindful meditation haiku \ scifaiku poetry from my metaphysical and magical realism stories (like the sci-fi superhero novel "Escape Perennial City", available on Kindle Unlimited) and more Alchemic Wisdom via the emailing list and social media over here:
https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/fo... - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
#HAIKUPRAJNA - Bloodborne Comic Book Summary and Review
https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022...
...
At the time of writing, there are four “Bloodborne” volumes written by Ales Kot, with more written by Cullen Bunn coming in 2022. These limited series are for fans of Bloodborne’s lore and premise. What I found the most interesting was how insight into From Software’s worldbuilding provides a better experience for the reader while those ignorant of this lore might be irritated by the writing style, which I enjoyed because the opposite (madness-causing insight versus the ignorance of an unending dream) is a thematic component of the story in the video game. “Paleblood” serves as Bloodborne’s macguffin, or the idea of a goal.
“There must be more than the hunt.”
Each story follows a different character living in the world of Yarhman, brought to life by the art team’s amazing work across the whole series; “The Death of Sleep” was about a Paleblood child with a hunter who knew Durja and the Powder Kegs; “The Healing Thirst” displayed a member of the Healing Church being science bros with a love-mad scientist; “A Song of Crows” told the story of Eileen the crow; and “The Veil, Torn Asunder” dealt with a soldier suffering from war PTSD, showing that the madness of insight was a universal affliction in the world of Yarhman.
“When they say healing… they mean burning… us alive.”
An important aspect of the disease inflicting the city is how the beasts were all once human, where characters grow to realize they may be “undeserving of the hunt”. The unafflicted believed that people were transforming into beasts, but the protagonists’ individual descents into madness reveal to them (and us readers) that the insight was turning them into godlike beings, which enforces one of my favorite literary themes of death being a good--an idea that drove mad the living Yarhmanites who clung to the desirables of life. Perhaps the best part of these Bloodborne side stories is how this information is revealed to almost everyone in Yarhman, but they are all unable to convey this to each other until after they transform into monsters. For these characters, going mad was equivalent to obtaining insight about the hunt and the Paleblood, as one began to see monstrous gods fighting one another throughout Yarhman. In true fashion, the more insight one acquired, the more monsters one saw.
“... but nobody taught me how to grieve without killing myself...”
The four comic book stories set within Bloodborne’s world are all about the personal struggles of individuals living in Yarhman, their own issues and trauma, and how they manage to cope until the end of the hunters’ dream.
Thank you for reading,
Allen W. McLean
...
Need more Bite-sized Insights to relieve your stress and suffering?
These poems will be collected in a future edition of the HaikuPrajna Collection. Stay tuned to @electricarmchair and @haikuprajna for book previews, mindful meditation haiku \ scifaiku poetry from my metaphysical and magical realism stories (like the sci-fi superhero novel "Escape Perennial City", available on Kindle Unlimited) and more Alchemic Wisdom via the emailing list and social media over here:
https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/fo... - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
August 6, 2025
Oh man, just like The Healing Thirst, this is exactly the sort of thing I wanted from these Bloodborne graphic novels!
First things first, the art is amazing, as usual—there are some incredibly striking panels here. In terms of story, this one portrays a man’s descent into the madness of Yharnam. This was also done in the previous story, A Song of Crows—however, while that one was a bit too cryptic for me to really enjoy it, this one treads the line between being weird and vague while still being engaging and somewhat comprehensible much better in my opinion. This one has a nonlinear storyline but is still pretty understandable, while also leaning heavily into things like hallucinations and madness. I also loved the writing here, which is entirely in a sort of first-person stream of consciousness rather than dialogue. Like the art, there are some extremely striking lines of narration here. The text combined with the art really gets across the story in an interesting way and makes for a strong sense of bleak, hopeless atmosphere. In terms of atmosphere, I think this may be the closest the graphic novels up to this point have come to the game—while others focused more on backstory from the game, or portraying similar events to the game, this one captures the exact atmosphere of Bloodborne in such a perfect way. I also loved how this ties into previous graphic novels, particularly The Death of Sleep and A Song of Crows, revisiting specific scenes from those in really interesting ways.
From a brief look at other reviews, it does seem like this one is more mixed for people, which I can understand—it is very weird and cryptic. But for me, and what I’m looking for in these graphic novels, it is exactly what I wanted as a huge fan of the game.
Rating: 10/10
First things first, the art is amazing, as usual—there are some incredibly striking panels here. In terms of story, this one portrays a man’s descent into the madness of Yharnam. This was also done in the previous story, A Song of Crows—however, while that one was a bit too cryptic for me to really enjoy it, this one treads the line between being weird and vague while still being engaging and somewhat comprehensible much better in my opinion. This one has a nonlinear storyline but is still pretty understandable, while also leaning heavily into things like hallucinations and madness. I also loved the writing here, which is entirely in a sort of first-person stream of consciousness rather than dialogue. Like the art, there are some extremely striking lines of narration here. The text combined with the art really gets across the story in an interesting way and makes for a strong sense of bleak, hopeless atmosphere. In terms of atmosphere, I think this may be the closest the graphic novels up to this point have come to the game—while others focused more on backstory from the game, or portraying similar events to the game, this one captures the exact atmosphere of Bloodborne in such a perfect way. I also loved how this ties into previous graphic novels, particularly The Death of Sleep and A Song of Crows, revisiting specific scenes from those in really interesting ways.
From a brief look at other reviews, it does seem like this one is more mixed for people, which I can understand—it is very weird and cryptic. But for me, and what I’m looking for in these graphic novels, it is exactly what I wanted as a huge fan of the game.
Rating: 10/10
November 29, 2021
⭐️⭐️⭐️½
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A graphic novel mais recente de "Bloodborne" foi, por si só, uma loucura, com pontos positivos e negativos durante toda a história.
A trama se inicia com um viajante desconhecido que decide desertar do exército e, ao invés de continuar sendo um militar, escolhe ir até Yharnam, buscando conhecimentos proibidos que se escondem neste terrível distrito. Mas o que ele descobrirá está além da compreensão de qualquer ser humano...
Mesmo que toda a história de "Bloodborne" esteja enraizada nos mitos criados por H. P. Lovecraft e seu horror cósmico, acredito que esta seja a graphic novel que melhor representa a proposta lovecraftiana, principalmente porque acompanharemos um protagonista entrando em uma espiral de loucura que faz com nós, leitores, nos perguntemos sobre o que é real e o que é apenas um delírio.
Apesar de amar o horror cósmico e a idéia do autor brincar com a dicotomia do que é sensato e do que é insanidade, eu achei esta trama extremamente confusa. Entendo que foi a intenção de Kot, mas gostaria de ver algo mais assustador e, talvez, menos lúdico, já que o volume anterior já utiliza muitas metáforas e analogias. Ainda assim, gostei do conceito apresentado e da maneira como o pesadelo que é Yharnam foi mostrado, como algo praticamente onipresente e onisciente.
A arte de Kowalski é o ponto alto desta graphic novel: misturando fundos mais borrados com traços firmes destacando os personagens, eu amo a forma como o artista consegue imprimir, em suas ilustrações, toda a atmosfera bizarra e sinistra que é tão característica de "Bloodborne".
Finalizei esta leitura refletindo sobre os muitos questionamentos que o autor buscou despertar no leitor (inclusive, sinto que ele tenta fazer o leitor refletir bastante em todos os volumes - alguns funcionando mais do que outros); porém, o que mais me chamou a atenção foi o trabalho sensacional do artista: com certeza, Piotr Kowalski entrou na minha lista de ilustradores favoritos, e quero continuar acompanhando suas ilustrações lindas, com cores pontuais e cenários deslumbrantes.
Mais resenhas no instagram literário @livre_em_livros e no canal do Youtube "Livre em Livros"!
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A graphic novel mais recente de "Bloodborne" foi, por si só, uma loucura, com pontos positivos e negativos durante toda a história.
A trama se inicia com um viajante desconhecido que decide desertar do exército e, ao invés de continuar sendo um militar, escolhe ir até Yharnam, buscando conhecimentos proibidos que se escondem neste terrível distrito. Mas o que ele descobrirá está além da compreensão de qualquer ser humano...
Mesmo que toda a história de "Bloodborne" esteja enraizada nos mitos criados por H. P. Lovecraft e seu horror cósmico, acredito que esta seja a graphic novel que melhor representa a proposta lovecraftiana, principalmente porque acompanharemos um protagonista entrando em uma espiral de loucura que faz com nós, leitores, nos perguntemos sobre o que é real e o que é apenas um delírio.
Apesar de amar o horror cósmico e a idéia do autor brincar com a dicotomia do que é sensato e do que é insanidade, eu achei esta trama extremamente confusa. Entendo que foi a intenção de Kot, mas gostaria de ver algo mais assustador e, talvez, menos lúdico, já que o volume anterior já utiliza muitas metáforas e analogias. Ainda assim, gostei do conceito apresentado e da maneira como o pesadelo que é Yharnam foi mostrado, como algo praticamente onipresente e onisciente.
A arte de Kowalski é o ponto alto desta graphic novel: misturando fundos mais borrados com traços firmes destacando os personagens, eu amo a forma como o artista consegue imprimir, em suas ilustrações, toda a atmosfera bizarra e sinistra que é tão característica de "Bloodborne".
Finalizei esta leitura refletindo sobre os muitos questionamentos que o autor buscou despertar no leitor (inclusive, sinto que ele tenta fazer o leitor refletir bastante em todos os volumes - alguns funcionando mais do que outros); porém, o que mais me chamou a atenção foi o trabalho sensacional do artista: com certeza, Piotr Kowalski entrou na minha lista de ilustradores favoritos, e quero continuar acompanhando suas ilustrações lindas, com cores pontuais e cenários deslumbrantes.
Mais resenhas no instagram literário @livre_em_livros e no canal do Youtube "Livre em Livros"!
June 30, 2024
My final Bloodborne comic. I'm sad that this journey is at an end :'(
Pretty fun, with amazing visuals.
This is comic showed, what I felt was the most new concepts, and added some imagery to the bloodborne lore that I felt was very interesting.
Firstly two very minor gripes:
First: The cover shows a Hunter leaping into battle. That is wildly misleading for this comic which has pretty much nothing to do with hunters for the most part.
And given the great visuals within the comic, they could easily have picked a better image for the cover.
Second: The comma (,) is not used in pretty much anyplace it should, in the writing and then all of a sudden the comma comes in for the last few pages. Baffling! Really jumped out at me and made me confused! Why would they only introduce the comma at the end? Weird but not gamebreaking in any way, I suppose.
Anyway, this was cool. A story about a man grappling with visions and seeing eldritch horrors. Classic Bloodborne! Sort of vague but intriguing.
I like Aleš Kot's Writing for Bloodborne. I would definitely understand people not liking it, but I feel it captures the vague and intriguing dialogue of Bloodborne pretty well.
I'm glad that I read these comics! They are definitely unneccesary for anyone uninitiated with Bloodborne, or even for people who have played Bloodborne and loved it. Nothing in these comics is manditory world building, but to me they were a joy!
Pretty fun, with amazing visuals.
This is comic showed, what I felt was the most new concepts, and added some imagery to the bloodborne lore that I felt was very interesting.
Firstly two very minor gripes:
First: The cover shows a Hunter leaping into battle. That is wildly misleading for this comic which has pretty much nothing to do with hunters for the most part.
And given the great visuals within the comic, they could easily have picked a better image for the cover.
Second: The comma (,) is not used in pretty much anyplace it should, in the writing and then all of a sudden the comma comes in for the last few pages. Baffling! Really jumped out at me and made me confused! Why would they only introduce the comma at the end? Weird but not gamebreaking in any way, I suppose.
Anyway, this was cool. A story about a man grappling with visions and seeing eldritch horrors. Classic Bloodborne! Sort of vague but intriguing.
I like Aleš Kot's Writing for Bloodborne. I would definitely understand people not liking it, but I feel it captures the vague and intriguing dialogue of Bloodborne pretty well.
I'm glad that I read these comics! They are definitely unneccesary for anyone uninitiated with Bloodborne, or even for people who have played Bloodborne and loved it. Nothing in these comics is manditory world building, but to me they were a joy!
September 29, 2023
Once again, we have abstract storytelling that ultimately serves no purpose. I don't get it. Bloodborne has such fascinating, in-depth lore and a wealth of complex characters and history that these graphic novels could delve into, but they don't? They choose to be as needlessly confusing as possible while adding nothing to the world or story of the game. Yes, the descent into madness depicted here is at least in keeping with some of the game's themes and visually is shown very well because the art, as always, is phenomenal (I especially got a kick out of seeing my boy Paarl in this one). But who is this new character? Why should I care about him? What exactly is his connection to any of this? And why the fuck is none of it ever revealed?
Bloodborne isn't a game that holds your hand. It gives you just enough information to get you going and encourages you to discover the rest for yourself. But, while the game is shrouded in mystery, it doesn't maliciously hide things from you. The answers you seek are there; you just have to find them and put the pieces together. I feel like that concept has been lost on these last couple of graphic novels.
Please let the next one be better.
Bloodborne isn't a game that holds your hand. It gives you just enough information to get you going and encourages you to discover the rest for yourself. But, while the game is shrouded in mystery, it doesn't maliciously hide things from you. The answers you seek are there; you just have to find them and put the pieces together. I feel like that concept has been lost on these last couple of graphic novels.
Please let the next one be better.
September 26, 2021
The City Of Yharnam is full of eccentrics and madmen. What's one more?
The final arc of Bloodborne's comic tie-in follows one nameless man as he descends into madness. Flashbacks to his past and mind-bending intersections with the previous volumes' protagonists as his world falls apart around him bring him closer and closer to the edge, until finally his grip on sanity is lost entirely. It's disjointed and maddening, but unlike the previous volume, I feel like it's meant to be like that instead of just doing it by mistake.
Piotr Kowalski has been the hero of these comics right from the beginning, and these final four issues are just as good as before. He manages to make the mundane terrifying and the terrifying mundane without even trying, and it's exactly how backwards and screwed up Yharnam should be.
This volume won't be for everyone - it's less straight forward than the first, but more conclusive than the third, and it's definitely not an 'ending' to the series by any stretch (since this has been 4 mostly disconnected arcs up until now), but it'll suck you in right from the get-go.
The final arc of Bloodborne's comic tie-in follows one nameless man as he descends into madness. Flashbacks to his past and mind-bending intersections with the previous volumes' protagonists as his world falls apart around him bring him closer and closer to the edge, until finally his grip on sanity is lost entirely. It's disjointed and maddening, but unlike the previous volume, I feel like it's meant to be like that instead of just doing it by mistake.
Piotr Kowalski has been the hero of these comics right from the beginning, and these final four issues are just as good as before. He manages to make the mundane terrifying and the terrifying mundane without even trying, and it's exactly how backwards and screwed up Yharnam should be.
This volume won't be for everyone - it's less straight forward than the first, but more conclusive than the third, and it's definitely not an 'ending' to the series by any stretch (since this has been 4 mostly disconnected arcs up until now), but it'll suck you in right from the get-go.
February 3, 2022
3 1/2 to 4 stars.
So apparently this series is split into fairly standard and easy to follow volumes and 'what the hell is going on?' trippy volumes. This volume comes under the latter heading and, for me at least, it really worked.
The Veil Torn Asunder essentially tells the story of a man losing his mind. A number of possible realities are shown to us ranging from fairly normal to utterly abnormal. The fun of the way it is told is that none are presented as being real and none a dream or nightmare. The reader is left to decipher what is happening and which is which and, truthfully, it doesn't really matter. Once again it is a fantastic exploration of the Bloodborme universe from yet another perspective.
Some reviewers claim that this has very little to do with Bloodborne. I completely disagree. Not only are their classic shout outs to the game (and even the previous comics) throughout including characters and monsters showing up but it also forces the reader to ask a question that I have been asking for a while on my play through; What is the dream? What is the nightmare? And what is reality?
And so, to me, this addition screams classic Bloodborne.
So apparently this series is split into fairly standard and easy to follow volumes and 'what the hell is going on?' trippy volumes. This volume comes under the latter heading and, for me at least, it really worked.
The Veil Torn Asunder essentially tells the story of a man losing his mind. A number of possible realities are shown to us ranging from fairly normal to utterly abnormal. The fun of the way it is told is that none are presented as being real and none a dream or nightmare. The reader is left to decipher what is happening and which is which and, truthfully, it doesn't really matter. Once again it is a fantastic exploration of the Bloodborme universe from yet another perspective.
Some reviewers claim that this has very little to do with Bloodborne. I completely disagree. Not only are their classic shout outs to the game (and even the previous comics) throughout including characters and monsters showing up but it also forces the reader to ask a question that I have been asking for a while on my play through; What is the dream? What is the nightmare? And what is reality?
And so, to me, this addition screams classic Bloodborne.
March 8, 2025
Коли я прочитав четвертий том коміксу по Bloodborne під назвою "Запона, роздерта на клоччя" то кілька днів ніяк не міг зібратися з думками і знайти натхнення, щоб розповісти про нього.
Справа в тому, що він трохи дивний в плані сюжету, бо його тут ніби й немає. Мені весь комікс просто показували як головний герой сходить з розуму і це було хоч й стильно показано, але фінал відчувається незавершеним чи обірваним. Тож я нічого не зрозумів, як і не зрозумів, що мені хотіли показати цією історією. А стосовно того, чи події всіх коміксів поєднані, то головний герой четвертого тому бачить в одному моменті героя першого тому і на цьому все.
А візуально, тут все ще дуже класно та стильно намальовано. І коли помічаєш цікаві деталі в деяких сценах, коли кров на головному герої присутня чи відсутня, а потім усвідомлюєш це, то відчуття від цього класні. Тож загалом, від візуальної складової коміксу я отримав задоволення, а сюжет трохи важко сприймати, може треба ще раз перечитати чи пограти самостійно в гру, щоб краще все зрозуміти. Та це був цікавий досвід занурення у поступове божевілля.
Справа в тому, що він трохи дивний в плані сюжету, бо його тут ніби й немає. Мені весь комікс просто показували як головний герой сходить з розуму і це було хоч й стильно показано, але фінал відчувається незавершеним чи обірваним. Тож я нічого не зрозумів, як і не зрозумів, що мені хотіли показати цією історією. А стосовно того, чи події всіх коміксів поєднані, то головний герой четвертого тому бачить в одному моменті героя першого тому і на цьому все.
А візуально, тут все ще дуже класно та стильно намальовано. І коли помічаєш цікаві деталі в деяких сценах, коли кров на головному герої присутня чи відсутня, а потім усвідомлюєш це, то відчуття від цього класні. Тож загалом, від візуальної складової коміксу я отримав задоволення, а сюжет трохи важко сприймати, може треба ще раз перечитати чи пограти самостійно в гру, щоб краще все зрозуміти. Та це був цікавий досвід занурення у поступове божевілля.
July 11, 2021
Holy shit, I enjoyed the previous three volumes, but this one blew them out of the water. This took a sharp turn into metafiction that I did not see coming, and it worked absolutely perfectly with the Lovecraftian themes present within Bloodborne. I really don't want to say anything more for the sake of spoilers, but this was a really great cap on the Bloodborne comic as a whole. It actually references the other three stories, kind of tying everything in a bow, as well as making a statement on Bloodborne itself, and the sadism of entertainment more broadly. If you're a fan of Miyazaki's storytelling in Bloodborne, you will love this series, and you'll especially love this volume. And as always, a fair warning for those who AREN'T fans of the game, you aren't likely to get a single thing out of this except some very good art.
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