Bloodborne Vol 1: The Death of Sleep Deluxe Edition Review

 

Writer: Aleš Kot

Artist: Piotr Kowalski

Colorists: Brad Simpson & Kevin Enhart

Letterer: Aditya Bidikar

Publisher: Titan Comics

Hardcover Price: $24.99

Kindle: $18.99

Release Date: September 2, 2025

 

Their name is unimportant. Perhaps they never had one. Either that, or the fog of battle has stripped it from them. Now, all the Hunter has is the hunt. While they yearn for rest, Yharnam needs them. So, as they slay the beasts in the burning city, they head toward the cathedral. Can the Hunter help those trapped inside? And can they find a way to escape the endless hunt? Let's grab a weapon, leap into Bloodborne Vol 1: The Death of Sleep Deluxe Edition, and see!

 

Story

When they arrive to rescue those trapped inside the cathedral, the occupants usher the Hunter inside. Despite all the beasts they have slain, a man leads them through the ancient building. He claims that the laity of the Healing Church are the true beasts. The priests have trapped this world in an endless cycle where people become infected and transform into beasts. Instead of fleeing, the man shows the Hunter a child. His pale skin and milk-like blood recall a prophecy. The man proffers the Hunter the boy as a potential means of escaping the never-ending hunt.

 

As we follow their journey, Aleš Kot shares the Hunter's thoughts with us in Bloodborne Vol 1: The Death of Sleep Deluxe Edition. The Hunter muses about their world and the nature of existence. They wonder how the world defines and limits them. The Healing Church has sacrificed its future and threatened everyone’s Humanity to preserve the present. Someone chose them to be a Hunter to cull the beasts. Despite their childhood memories, perhaps someone created them: neither man nor woman, but all Hunter. And a Hunter must hunt.

 

As the Hunter takes the pale blood child across the world, they wonder if a richer life awaits them. Protecting the child from danger is a new experience, but also an honor that the Hunter embraces. Along the way, the Hunter seeks counsel from others on how to escape the endless cycle of violence that traps them all. As in life, escaping the tyranny of long-held beliefs and patterns of behavior seems an impossible dream in Bloodborne Vol 1: The Death of Sleep Deluxe Edition.

 

Art

The Hunter carries a rifle and a collapsible serrated axe as they stride through the monster-filled streets. A bandana obscures their features, while a hat evokes the supercilium of a predatory bird. They extend the axe into a toothy scythe, cleaving bodies and severing heads with their right hand, while firing the rifle with their left. As a dog sinks its fangs into their vambraces, zombies, werewolves, and mummies leap from the flames. Yet the Hunter plows undaunted through the melee, approaching a carved wooden door in the towering expanse of brick.

 

Brad Simpson and Kevin Enhart lavish a nuanced palette on Bloodborne Vol 1: The Death of Sleep Deluxe Edition. Their colors brighten this dark world, in which a square centimeter rarely escapes Piotr Kowalski’s detailed penciling. Within Yharnam Cathedral, the fires outside fill the Gothic windows with a peach glow, while statues guard those within from alcoves lining the blue stone walls. The Hunter walks past an excavation pit, where brown coffins rest among boards and bricks in the dirt. Like the wooden floor and coffins, the pale child wears brown clothes and strips of cloth. Like the mottled skin on his bare head, gray sandals cover his pale feet.

 

Aditya Bidikar places the Hunter’s thoughts in yellow scraps of parchment with black lowercase words. Black uppercase words inhabit white balloons as the Hunter seeks aid and relief from life’s unending cycle. Sound effects heighten battles that, while fulfilling the Hunter’s purpose, can never bring them peace. Extras include the script for the first issue, illustrated with pencil sketches and inked art. The volume also boasts insights into creating the cover art and interviews with the writer and artist. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Perhaps once, the Hunter enjoyed hunting. But that was long ago. To recapture the meaning of their existence, the Hunter protects a pale child. While guiding it in the ways of the world, all the Hunter knows is that opinions can be the greatest danger of them all in Bloodborne Vol 1: The Death of Sleep Deluxe Edition.

 

Raing 9.2/10

 

For more info and order information, see my announcement for Bloodborne Vol 1: The Deathof Sleep Deluxe Edition.