REVIEW: Barbaric Born In Blood #2

Barbaric: Born In Blood #2 delivers a visual spectacle with its bold colors and dynamic action, but the story struggles to keep pace with the fantastic artwork. From a variety of great looking covers to expertly crafted fight sequences, this issue showcases some great moments but falls short in terms of narrative clarity and character development.

Now as stated these covers definitely stand out as beautiful textless imagery. Each cover tries to comment on a different aspect of the games. The origianl cover by Nathan Gooden and Duke scored an early result with its strong contrast due to the use of white space effectively because red and blue accents are again painted on it. The designer also has a version of the cover where three colors dominate: red, black and white, set against a minimalistic background. These particular versions are overly designed which might not appeal to some people. An art-oriented cover exclusive to Zoop doesn’t translate the dynamic feel well but fuses different styles. The last page of the credits uses a straightforward black and white drawing on which information is only placed in the appropriate places. From the all of the illustrations they all fit perfectly with each other and there was unity and flow of designs throughout the whole book.

Once you get inside the pages of the book, the art explodes in most respects. It is Nathan Gooden’s dynamic line work that conveys both passion and feeling, especially during the riveting battle sequences. The blood is excessive, the angles striking, and the facial shots deliver the impact. Similarly, the flashbacks and the scenes including backgrounds are remarkable incorporating finessed light and shadows along with a soft focus to portray time differences. The illustrations are taken to a higher level thanks to Fabiana Marques’ colors. The sad tones use shades of bright orange and the meditative cool blue for rest and contrast. These prepared actions give the comic a more filmic quality. Jim Campbell’s lettering is complimentary to the design, straightforward and simple, but possesses some Icelandic flair in the vampire’s speech bubbles. Sound effects are lightly used but aristocratically timed so as to highlight specific areas in the art work rather than take away from it.

The narrative penned by Michael Moreci is interesting as he introduces the unique concept of battles between vampires and werewolves, but it is poorly executed in terms of writing style. On the other hand, the pacing is consistent, with the timing of scene transitions being appropriate in order to enhance the suspense. Nevertheless, the plot as such, comes across as rather overcomplicated; there is too much information in seemingly one plot line and it’s difficult to pin down all the different characters. The plot focuses very well on the emotional arcs of the story and includes crests, although the dialogues are rather dull and the punches oftentimes fail their target – such as the case when an axe is supposed to deliver humor but gets it all wrong. Action sequences are the major strength of the issue, but the story’s construction leaves much to be desired. Werewolf transformation is absolutely phenomenal, combining horror and dream-like elements. Attention to detail is evident in panel development, both temporally, by breaking up the action into pieces, and in the relationship, by constructing the fights as one of the main features of the action.

Barbaric: Born In Blood #2 is a visual treat that excels in atmosphere, color, and action. While the writing and character designs could use refinement, the comic’s strong artistic direction and engaging pacing make it worth checking out, especially for fans of dark fantasy and dynamic battle sequences. It’s not perfect, but it’s packed with potential—a solid 4/5.

Writing: 3 Stars
Art: 5 Stars
Colors: 5 Stars

Overall: 4 Stars

Script by: Michael Moreci

Illustrated by: Nathan Gooden

Coloring by: Fabiana Marques

Lettering by: Jim Campbell

Cover Artists: Gooden & Duke

Variant Covers: Howell & Diaz, Kenny Danino, Gooden & Marques

Published by: Vault Comics

Reviewed by Antonio “Mabs”