BLOODBORNE: THE LADY OF THE LANTERNS #3, from Titan Comics on November 23rd, 2022, unveils the continuing woes of Yharnam as Vivian and Lucien’s father returns home with food, only to find his children are gone.
The Details
- Written by: Cullen Bunn
- Art by: Piotr Kowalski
- Colors by: Brad Simpson
- Letters by: AndWorld Design
- Cover art by: Harvey Tolibao (cover A)
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: November 23, 2022
Is It Good?
BLOODBORNE: THE LADY OF THE LANTERNS #3 is the point in the arc where the seemingly disconnected threads start coming together… sort of. In the first issue, we met two children, Vivian and Lucien, who encountered a Hunter when their hovel was attacked by one of the Beasts stirred up by the Lady’s siren song. In the second issue, the story completely shifts to a church and its chief priest besieged by the Lady’s forces. Now, the story shifts to the return of Vivian and Lucien’s father, Lamont. While each issue is interesting in isolation, the down point of this arc is Cullen Bunn’s lack of focus.
Consistent with the previous issues, issue #3 completely shifts to a different point of view by following Lamont, Vivian and Lucien’s father, as he returns home with food to find his children are gone. In fairness, Bunn lays out an emotionally powerful issue, detailing a father’s grief and self-pity when he assumes he failed to protect his children from harm. Lamont is a tragic character in every sense, so you feel for his plight, and you’re invested in his motivations when he encounters a hunter who needs help against one of the Lady’s brutes.
Contrary to the previous issues, issue #3 starts to tie the loose threads together as we get appearances from past Hunters into the early stages of a team with the express purpose of taking the fight back to the Lady. As quickly as the assemblage happens, it’s satisfying because somebody’s doing something about the Lady rather than just reacting, and the ending gives the arc a long-absent feeling of cohesion.
Kowalski’s art style infuses Bunn’s script with a rustic, dreary charm that suits the material to a tee. The darkened, drab buildings and villagers proliferate an atmosphere of depression and hopelessness, only punctuated by the occasional fire from burning houses or burning bodies. Dark and dreary may not sound like an exciting description for comic art, but it’s a perfect complement to Bunn’s story.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our BLOODBORNE: THE LADY OF THE LANTERNS #3 review to find out what happened at the Yharnam church.
We begin with a lonely man walking a lonely street at night in Yharnam. He enters a small hovel to find the inhabitants gone and the furniture in disarray. The man is Lamont, Lucien and Vivian’s father, and he suspects his starving children are dead.
Lamont wanders back out into the night where he hears the Lady’s sweet song calling. Before he can reach the song’s source, a Hunter stops him to snap Lamont out of his hypnotic haze. When Lamont bears his soul over his lost children and what he endured to find their food, the Hunter begs Lamont not to lose hope.
Suddenly, the two men happen upon a group of the Lady’s possessed men burning down a small house with the family inside. We conclude the issue with an act of courage, a wistful departure, and a gathering.
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Final Thoughts
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BLOODBORNE: THE LADY OF THE LANTERNS #3 finally starts pulling the pieces together when Vivian and Lucien’s father returns, only to be met with heartbreak. The Lady’s latest brute is a terrifying monster, and the heart-wrenching deaths are haunting.
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