Bloodfire is a character I doubt many people has ever heard of. But hopefully his new publisher Blood Moon Comics can make a change in that regard. Especially since a new title For God & Country it touches on outbreaks and the changes that come with it on December 2023.
Who Is Bloodfire?
Bloodfire is a comic character from the 90s; a lot of those are getting reintros lately.
So… yeah. Brian Reace is a product of his time, a speculator boom hopeful trying to cash in on the trends. Like these:
- “blood” in his name
- uses guns
- characters always gritting their teeth, a benign variation of Youngblood’s Disease
- origin involves HIV
Judging from the number of issues, he was the most successful character of his publisher Lightning. (Not Lightning Comics that was another publisher.) Gotta give this guy more credit than Rob Liefeld’s (sorry Andrew Rev’s) Chapel. In fact Bloodfire’s got more restraint and looks less EXTREME than other comics of its time. But that can only go so far.
What’s Blood Moon?
Bloodfire’s new publisher Blood Moon Comics meanwhile is a newer player getting a reputation. Its premiere horror title Cover The Dead With Lime has won a few awards in small places. But it is successful enough to have partnerships with different parties including SnowyWorks and Panico Press. Never heard of them? Marketing can be a problem in this industry, gotta pool your resources together.
Bloodfire: For God & Country
With the original creator’s consent, Blood Moon’s founder Keith Rommel gets to tell a new story. But the copy I received for this review is a bit… rough. I don’t just mean the lettering that looks like some characters are whispering in the wrong place. It’s the problem that comes with reestablishing a character’s history, exposition. Which isn’t a big problem, even nostalgic favorites like Dynamite’s Gargoyles comics have to deal with it. Getting new readers in can be a bit of a struggle, especially to respect to what came before.
Although the pacing and the nonlinear presentation can be a problem. With how Bloodfire tells… someone about his life, it can look a little jarring. Seeing him being one of the people in the Osama bin Landen raid, that’s fine. It presents Brian as a marine for new readers. But it’s the transitions that can take people out of things. In one transition the panel crumbles away. Is that supposed to mean that was Bloodfire’s last mission as a marine? Because the next page just says: “The Past”. But when? If this was before the bin Laden mission and he was already discharged, the dramatic effect fades.
A few pages down even says “The Far Past”. But when? Then it transitions into how Bloodfire is getting new powers from his Covid vaccines. I get what Rommel’s trying to say with how a guy tries to recollect it all. But to anybody else, it just looks like the guy’s yammering on.
New Blood For The Art’s Fire
The artwork in Bloodfire is some pretty good work. I guess we should talk about the original artwork; pretty typical of the era. All of the characters look practically the same, not the most expressive faces, the texture looks amateurish, and the coloring looks dull. But at least the action looks pretty well coordinated. Gianluca Testaverde irons out the flaws from the 90s comic with clean looking designs and natural looking texture. Not that Maury Tanaka’s colors don’t do that or emphasize the actions taking place.
That being said, the art doesn’t always evoke much excitement or other emotions. The fight between Bloodfire and a giant are good even the incident where Brian got his enhancements from. It makes him look like a guy in the crossfire taking out wicked enemies. Not to mention the toll it takes on him over time with blank spaces around him. But otherwise the moments that happen between these just exist. For example there are no elaborate ways of showing Brian’s confusion when he’s talking to US generals. He doesn’t even look that uncomfortable part of the time, Brian’s just sitting there.
More Bloodfire Please
Bloodfire: For God & Country works fine as an introduction to the title character with good artwork. There’s plenty of potential to explore with a new direction especially near the issue’s end. But the exposition coupled with an unclear plot and direction hold it back by a bit. So final score is 7/10.
Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.