Bloodhound #6 Review

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Reviewer: John Babos
Story Title: Run The Gears (from the interior) or Lockdown! (from the cover)

Written by: Dan Jolley
Pencilled by: Leonard Kirk
Inked by: Robin Riggs
Colored by: Moose Baumann
Lettered by: Rob Leigh
Edited by: Ivan Cohen
Publisher: DC

DC’s Solicitation

Bloodhound returns to prison in an arresting 2-part story! There’s a new warden in town with a mad-on for Clev, and a psychic who doesn’t like the ‘hound either. But is this metahuman baddie an inmate…or a cop? And how will a caged Clevenger solve this mystery?

The Review

Story

Dan Jolley weaves another engaging yarn about Travis Clevenger, DC’s “Bloodhound” (the series’ title only, not his nom de guerre), and life behind bars in the DC Universe (DCU).

The events of the last few issues have left Clev recuperating behind bars. That’s a strength of this book: all actions have real consequences. Clev’s broken forearm is in a cast and healing while his skin is regenerating after some severe burns. This is the price for doing what’s right. Its the “real” cost of heroism.

Its this kind of glimpse of reality in a very unreal DCU that helps Bloodhound differentiate itself from other books on the shelves. Its been years, really, since many of the non-powered DC heroes have been seriously hurt. However, those were very “event” driven like the breaking of Batman’s back. No day-to-day month-to-month aches and pains from traversing the DCU.

Also, with CSI and Law & Order spawning countless spin-offs on the small screen, the crime and punishment nature of the book also strikes a (potentially) commercial cord.

Beyond the travails of Clev dealing with the tension associated with being returned to general population (gen-pop) with inmates that remember his time as a cop and others that crossed his path in the joint after he was disgraced, we also get a chance to delve into his FBI partner’s character with a bit more zeal. She’s also sporting some scars and experiencing pain from the action of issues past.

Kelly Bell is a strong female lead that challenges the new Warden’s decision to return Clev to gen-pop. The Warden’s response? He had an attitude that reeked: Don’t tell me how to run my prison. If you don’t like it, take it up with the Department of Corrections. In other wards, go get lost in my boss’ bureaucracy and let me run my prison.

Its these type of relatable tensions that allow readers to buy-into the authenticity of the people and places in Bloodhound.

There’s also a cliffhanger ending that has me perplexed and intrigued about next month’s offering. Its not the oh-I-sorta-get-it type of cliffhanger that I enjoy from writer Geoff Johns (that appeals more to veteran DCU fans), but Jolley’s pulls on the emotional heart strings and should have many tuning in next month.

This is also a slower story then we’ve been used to, but that’s not necessarily a criticism. It sets up next month and has you following the bouncing ball. Bloodhound #6 just pulls you into the story.

Art

Gorgeous Dave Johnson cover.

Fantastic interior pencils by Leonard Kirk. This Canuck is clearly doing his best work to date. Even better than his JSA run that I so liked. We feel the pain of Clev and Kelly as they deal with the physical and emotional scars of the last few issues.

Also, Kirk’s faces are so expressive.

Smugness.

Surprise.

Pain.

Fear.

Lunacy

Curiosity.

These and so many other emotions are evoked from Kirk’s portrayal of the characters in Jolley’s yarn that in many spots the book could have used less word balloons.

Leonard Kirk delivers in a big way!

The colors of Moose Baumann also deserve special recognition. His muted yet bright colors give the book a very different visual feel than others on the shelves. Its just one other aspect that makes Bloodhound a dynamic gem on shelves.

The letters of Rob Leigh and inks of Robin Riggs round out a solid-as-it-comes artistic team that delivers a visual treat to readers.

All those accolades aside, there are some excessive moments of depicted violence in the book. This is another reason DC needs a common rating system similar to their Marvelous competition.

So…

Pick up Bloodhound #6. NOW.

John is a long-time pop culture fan, comics historian, and blogger. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief at Comics Nexus. Prior to being EIC he has produced several column series including DEMYTHIFY, NEAR MINT MEMORIES and the ONE FAN'S TRIALS at the Nexus plus a stint at Bleeding Cool producing the COMICS REALISM column. As BabosScribe, John is active on his twitter account, his facebook page, his instagram feed and welcomes any and all feedback. Bring it on!