Bloodlines #1 Review

Bloodlines #1 from DC Comics -

    Eddie and Graham are two high-school best friends, and thick as thieves. Graham is one of the coolest, most popular kids in town, and Eddie...Well, Eddie is just not what he used to be. Understandably, Eddie has been really down since he lost his ability to use his legs. He used to love to wake up, get going, hang out with his friends and shred on his skateboard; however, those days are long gone. Eddie is just trying to ride out his senior year, but he just may not get the chance. A weird alien entity has fallen in the mountains near his town, an alien entity that can possess organic life, and fill it with an insatiable bloodlust. Will Eddie, Graham and their town fall prey to the parasitic predator from outer space, or will Eddie find that he isn't what he used to be...because he's more?

    J.T. Krul pens this revival of the 1990s DC event series. In the original series, a parasitic race of aliens comes to our dimension to feed on the spinal fluid of humans. Those lucky few who don't die end up with amazing new powers, like the popular 90s anti-hero, Hitman. Krul serves up a what seems to be the beginning of one of those neat 80s sci-fi/horror mash-ups that I loved as a kid. Krul kicks off with a touch of action, then there is a VERY long exposition, and we end with action.  This isn't always a bad formula, but in this case, exposition was not interwoven with any spectacle at all, leaving me to wonder when if anything was going to actually happen. When things got moving in the last few pages of the book, it was over quickly, and with absolutely no explanation for what had transpired. It just left me feeling confused and sort of cheated - only one of the characters on the front of the comic appeared as they are on the cover - I was not happy about that. It should be mentioned that V. Ken Marion's artwork with Andrew Dalhouse's gorgeous colors on top made the book nice to look at.

   This book has potential if Krul can get the ball rolling in the next issue. Who doesn't love those crazy, cheesy alien invasion films of the 80s that were featured in Fangoria Magazine? I do. And if this comic is going there, it just might end up being a great ride; however, the fact remains that whatever potential the comic might have, this first issue just didn't pack enough of a punch, or make me care enough about any of the characters to continue buying it. Maybe I'll pick up the TPB when it comes out.

RATING: 6 out of 10.

PS -  If you're into comics speculation, picking up the first few issues might be worth it - I'm sure there'll be some new blood in the early issues of the series.