BORN OF BLOOD #5, from Merc Publishing on February 28th, 2023, takes the fight back to the gates of Sparta when Giaris, Leonidas, and their allies try to infiltrate the city and confront Aurelia’s treachery.
The Details
- Written by: Dolan Waddick
- Art by: Aurelio Mazzara
- Colors by: Aurelio Mazzara
- Letters by: Aurelio Mazzara
- Cover art by: Jeffrey Edwards (cover A)
- Comic Rating: Mature
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: February 28, 2023
Is It Good?
BORN OF BLOOD #5 is another stellar entry in a series that just keeps on giving. Dolan Waddick delivers possibly the strongest story yet about hardened Spartans coming to take back their home, restore the throne, and generally kick all kinds of ass in the process.
When last we left Giaris and Leonidas, they barely survived to escape from capture and torture when they learned Aurelia was the mastermind behind the coup for the Spartan throne. Now, a small band of soldiers, led by Giaris and Leonidas, work to sneak back into the city and take Aurelai by surprise for a bloody reckoning.
Dolan Waddick’s script is tight, fast-paced, and action-packed, with plenty of cat-and-mouse shenanigans as Giaris outwits and outfights Aurelia’s guards. The dialog is efficiently sparse, the scene transitions are mostly good (more on that in a minute), and the issue ends on a practically perfect cliffhanger.
The minor down point is the sheer volume of flashbacks recalling Giaris’s lessons learned in youth. Most of the flashbacks go back to the same event in time, but the flashback is broken into several smaller pieces, so the issue waffles back and forth between then and now frequently. It’s not enough to get you motion sick, but the constant flip-flopping adds an awkward stutter to the flow of the story.
Aurelio Mazzara is new to the series, and his style may be the best artist fit yet for the title. Mazzara’s lines are super clean, the panel compositions are diverse enough to add visual interest to the pages, and the coloring is phenomenal. You will notice a lack of backgrounds in several panels, but Mazzara fills the panels so well with figures in motion that the lack of backgrounds doesn’t take away from the overall look of the issue. Really nice work from Mazzara.
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]
Check out our BORN OF BLOOD #4 review to find out how Giaris and Leonidas escaped their captors.
We begin with Giaris and Leonidas stealthily sneaking up on the Spartan gates, pausing only long enough to formulate a plan. The goal is simple – get to the palace, don’t kill anyone, and put Aurelia down.
The small band of soldiers sneak in and split up in different directions to keep from being noticed. When Giaris and Leonidas encounter a few guards, they fight and inflict only enough damage to maim or knockout.
Throughout the issue, Giaris remembers an unsettling game of Hide-and-Seek she played as a child, a game that ended in a painful memory involving her father. We conclude the issue with more maiming, a family’s respect, and the tables turned.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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BORN OF BLOOD #5 is another strong entry in the series with possibly the best art in the arc so far. Waddick’s issue is filled with action, character development (for Giaris), and a rock-solid cliffhanger.
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