Blood And Thunder #1 Review

 

Writer: Benito Cereno

Artist: E J Su

Colorist: Msassyk

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: E J Su & Msassyk; David Lopez; Andie Tong & Rex Lokus; Bernard Chang; J Scott Campbell & Tanya Lehoux; Erik Elizarrez

Editor: Nachie Marsham

Logo Design: Andres Juarez

Publication Design: Jillian Crab

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: May 7, 2025

 

The Interplanetary Peacekeeping and Penitentiary Force protects everyone regardless of status, income, or species. The IPPF keeps you safe from anyone who means you harm or dispenses lies. But who protects you when the IPPF falters in their duties? Let’s grab our AI guns, leap into Blood And Thunder #1, and see!

 

Story

Bounty hunters tackle the IPPF's more elusive troublemakers in the satellite city of Metro 1. Blood Bledsoe washed out of the Academy. She honors her father's memory by apprehending wanted perpetrators as a bounty hunter.

 

In Blood And Thunder #1, we see Blood tracking down Herp. She doesn't know what Herp did. Most likely, he was involved in trading illegal goods. Still, a job's a job, so she's bringing him in. The person who helps her hunt down Herp The Perp is Thunder. But her partner also hamstrings her efforts. Thunder generally follows Blood’s suggestions. Still, that doesn’t mean Thunder will let her end Herp’s life.

 

Blood And Thunder #1 follows the hunt for a fugitive in a densely populated, multicultural city. Benito Cereno's story also puts Blood's past under the microscope. Although she wanted to join IPPF, she didn't follow in her father's footsteps. Blood keeps everyone at an arm's distance. People on the streets know better than to get in her way when she's chasing down a perp. Not even her father's best friend calls her Akeldama. Only her partner calls her by her name. To everyone else, she is Blood Bledsoe, a licensed bounty hunter. And she likely knows more about you than you do about the person next to you.

 

Art

Metro 1 bulges from a chunk of rock orbiting its nearest planet or star, transforming the disk-shaped asteroid into an enormous diamond. Within, vehicles roll along roads or fly above them. While Humans stroll along the pristine streets of Tier 1, less-well-dressed people and other species occupy the sidewalks and streets of the lower levels. Some areas lack sidewalks and paving. Residents shelter in tents and store their valuables in stolen shopping carts. But clean streets and sidewalks, neon lights, and smiling, multi-faced prostitutes await visitors to the red-light district on the Floor.

 

Even with Msassyk’s rich colors adorning E J Su's detailed art, Blood Bledsoe stands out. Despite her high forehead, Blood's abundant hair hovers like a storm that rages inside her in Blood And Thunder #1. It's easy to see why people step aside when the blue-and-purple-suited bounty hunter tears down the street. Herp's green skin makes him stand out when the reptilian with upside-down features flees Blood's wrath. But then, who wants to get cuffed and tossed onto the back of her hoverbike?

 

Rus Wooton fires uppercase words into white dialogue balloons. The words grow bold for intonation, rarely shrink, and change to symbols for alien chatter. Thunder speaks mauve words into rounded ivory boxes surrounded by smaller mauve, green, blue, and purple rounded rectangles. The Fulminator 2.0 speaks lavender words into white balloons surrounded by purple circles. Sound effects help us hear Blood kick obstacles out of her path, different types of firepower from Thunder's four muzzles, and the dining habits of a prisoner some of the most seasoned IPPF officers fear to feed. Thanks to Image Comics and Skybound for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

The only person Blood Bledsoe trusts is Thunder. The bounty hunter refuses to trade her AI gun for a newer model. But then, Thunder may be the only thing preventing Blood from spending the rest of her life in a maximum-security prison cell. That would be a shame, as the IPPF needs her assistance in protecting the streets of Metro 1 in Blood And Thunder #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.