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Published by: Dark Horse Comics
Released on: Mar. 5, 2014
Writer: Alex De Campi
Artist: Federica Manfredi
Cover: Dan Panosian
The second half of Alex De Campi's tale “Bride of Blood†closes her rape/murder revenge story with a hybrid of schlock and medieval sword mutilation. Branwyn was betrayed on her wedding day by her husband-to-be, resulting in the slaughter of her family as well as her own violation and mutilation at the hands of reavers. This included having her tongue cut out. After surviving the attack, she was brought to a convent to recover, only to trick everyone by swapping the body of her dead brother with her own live self, taking his armor and sword.
The story continues with her douche bag ex-fiancé Lord Callyreath out hunting wild boar in the snow with some nobles from the south. They find an injured boar, but are shocked by what their dogs are REALLY eating and it isn't pork. The group decides hunting is over and they split up and one portion of the party meets Branwyn head on. Emphasis on head. It doesn't end well, as you can no doubt imagine. Not for the men anyway.
She sends a message to Lord Callyreath via carrier fowl, and he, along with the noble he was leading back to the road to the south, meet Branwyn at the river. After battle, he doesn't have much to say. Nor does he have much to say at the convent that he wakes up in as he recovers. He may want to say something, but remains silent. It's probably best that way.
The conclusion to De Campi's latest Grindhouse 2-parter ends with a bit of a twist, and a satisfying one at that. This being the third story, it's nice to see the broad spectrum Ms. De Campi is covering with her fantastic title. As usual, her writing style and the subjects she covers in this series is something that should please the fellow genre dorks. The revenge of the bride is carried out through most of the issue as all the set up was in last month's installment, so if you missed that one go get it before you read this one; otherwise you might not get the ending as fully asa you should. Plus if you haven't picked up this series, what's wrong with you? Go get all of them, then come back and read the newest one.
Federica Manfredi's artwork is no less appealing than in the last issue: interesting panel construction, high detail while avoiding a cluttered mess, and she's not reluctant to push the violence to a high level. The coloring in this issue stands out and the use of the contrast of the white background against a vivid foreground gives the pages an interesting depth. The blood red against the snow white makes for a striking image, and the gray overtone of the second half of the book paints a very bleak mood.
And if the book wasn't good enough on its own, there're a few movie poster pinups in the back for what could be some future installments in the series, if it continues past the eight issues it is scheduled to yield. Let's hope that eight issue thing is a crock of ca-ca, because this title deserves to continue.
