BELLE ANNUAL #25, from Zenescope Entertainment on February 2nd, 2022, drops Belle into an unexpected family reunion when the god Artemis calls everyone with ancient bloodlines to a special Hunt.
The Details
- Written By: Dave Franchini
- Art By: Igor Vitorino, Julius Abrera, Eman Casallos
- Colors By: Adriano Augusto, Juan Manuel Rodriguez, Maxflan Araujo
- Letters By: Taylor Esposito
- Cover Art By: Igor Vitorino (cover A)
- Cover Price: $7.99
- Release Date: February 2, 2022
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Was It Good?
BELLE ANNUAL #25 is a big issue that attempts to fill in tons of backstory on the titular character, her family tree, Rose, and CHIP. The story comes together to give you plenty of action along with the information and set the stage for Belle to move forward with a settled sense of purpose.
That said, a lot is going on here that tries to tie together all the loose threads from the Belle one-shots over the past year but doesn’t quite get it all done gracefully. In other words, it’s a mixed bag that informs a lot about the character and ties up hanging threads, but the issue tries to do a little too much and doesn’t fully satisfy or go as big as it could.
We’ll cover specifics in the next section if you don’t mind spoilers, but stick to this section for the broad strokes.
Readers are (re)introduced to Belle’s family members who’ve been absent for a while. We don’t get much detail about their recent whereabouts, and you have to pick through the dialog for crumbs about where they’ve been and why they’ve returned to Belle’s life. We also get the ancient history of Belle’s bloodline that explains how and why she’s blessed (or cursed) with the responsibility of a monster hunter. This is all good information and it helps to set the stakes of the conflict in this issue and build on the emotional drama.
Net, Belle finds herself caught up in an ancient ritual involving the god of the hunt, Artemis. No spoilers about how she got involved or what’s at stake, but again, there is a connection to her family and other people she’s encountered over the last year. The ritual is clear enough, but the participants besides Belle weren’t selected clearly, and for one character, the selection appeared to be a contradiction. The rules of the ritual could have been handled better and with clearer consistency.
Finally, the end of the ritual technically ties everything together but the resolution felt lackluster. Belle has to make a choice, but that final choice happens off-panel and lacked imagination. You could make the case that, by the end, Belle has reset her emotional status quo but if you’re given a wish for anything you want, you’d think she could have gotten more creative.
We’ve said it multiple times – multiple artists are a red flag. Thankfully, you notice when the art changes hands but it’s not jarring enough to throw you off the reading experience. Generally, the pencils and inks look great, regardless of who’s rendering them, and the coloring looks immaculate throughout.
In all, this was a solid annual with strong art and a lot of information to help feed your curiosity about Belle’s lineage. That said, the issue is a little overstuffed at times which prevented every plot thread from getting the space it needed to tie everything up with a bang.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with Rose infiltrating a military installation to steal map information for CHIP. She runs afoul of Belle’s father during the mission but manages to escape with the intel.
Later, Belle is hunting turtle monsters in the Philadelphia sewers when suddenly, Candle and Belle’s beastly brother, Alex, arrives to lend a hand. They explain they’ve arrived to warn Belle about a millennium-old ritual about to reoccur called the Hunt, hosted by the god of the hunt, Artemis. The only ones who can participate are members of hunter bloodlines, which include Belle.
Belle has had enough run-ins with ancient gods and decides to flee until the ritual s over. Unfortunately, Belle’s presumed-dead mother arrives to drag Belle and her friends to the secret island to participate in the hunt for the prize, a wish granted by Artemis for the victor. Unfortunately, Belle’s mother can’t initiate the hunt because her blood has been tainted by beast blood, and she needs Belle to begin the ritual. She takes Mel and the others hostage to force Belle to the island.
On the island hunt, multiple parties converge – Rose and CHIP, Belle’s father with his military teams, and Belle’s mother with Belle and her friends in tow. When Artemis is summoned, the hunt begins. We conclude the issue with a fight to the death where more than one character dies.
Final Thoughts
BELLE ANNUAL #25 tells you (almost) everything you ever wanted to know about Belle’s lineage, her friends, and her family during a deadly hunt hosted by the god Artemis. Readers get plenty of information and plenty of action but the creators may have bitten off more than they can chew by trying to tackle too much story all at once. The annual looks, great despite a cadre of artists working on the book, and the issue finishes with a serviceable ending.
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