Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: Midnight Opera vol. 1 by Hanzo Steinbach ::
by William the Bloody
For centuries werewolf-like undead creatures have lived in Europe, wanting nothing more than that, to live. They have been relentlessly hunted down and routinely exterminated by religious persons, but religion's grip on the continent finally loosed in the recent couple hundred years. Now they strive to live among us a part of society and apart from it. Some like our main character Ein DeLaLune, yearn to be accepted and loved but others, like his estranged brother Leroux, believe their kind cannot truly love and it is their duty to strike down at the humans now before they once again dominate and exterminate the werewolves.
The Good: Well, the title was the main grabber for me and the werewolves made it irresistible! I'm a sucker for the old school horror monsters, I am. Also, the tale of a monster trying to love a regular girl is classic and one I can't get enough of. It's got all of the elements, horror, gothic romance, dark magic, werewolves, characters who are hundreds of years old, religious fanatics, references to historic people as potential characters (re: Elizabeth Bathory), European land mark settings, etc.
The Bad: Despite everything this manga COULD have been, it wasn't. Any of it. The art isn't that great and neither is the story, dialogue, or any of the characters. Honestly, I found it really hard to follow, like there was some serious back story stuff I wasn't allowed in on. And unfortunately, the bad art made it even less intelligible.
Ultimately, I was drooling over the idea of this comic in the book shop, but was terribly disappointed when I sat down and read it. The storytelling was dreadfully choppy and the characters are all so weak that I really don't care who lives or dies or which side wins. Actually, I hope they all die. Dazzling art can save a poor story, and an excellent story can save poor art, but too bad for this book that it has nothing to rescue it, except the potential it MAY live up to in future volumes.
D+
