BLOOD SYNDICATE #2 Review

Blood Syndicate: Season One #2 is published by DC Comics, written by Geoffery Thorne and illustrated by CrissCross.

Issue #2 is available now, either directly from DC Comics online or from your local comic book store, digital copies will be available to download from the usual content providers.

Synopsis

The leader of one of Paris Island’s most powerful gangs needs to add some soldiers to his army…and has his sights set on Wise Son! The heroes might’ve “cleaned up” the streets, but in the shadows there’s utter chaos as rival gangs battle for control. Wise could have a seat at the table, but he’s been out of the game for so long…does he want back in? He came back from Afghanistan a changed man…

Review

In this issue we see the continuation of the story arc following Wise Son as he tries to adjust to civilian life, that in itself would be a struggle for any normal situation but the streets aren’t what they used to be and gang warfare has gone super powered.

Being enlisted changed Wise Son in more ways than one the visions he claims to have seen whilst on tour have changed his outlook but maybe this has changed him as a person too. Wise is trying to go straight, try to live a cleaner life but the streets are hard to let go of and are dragging him into this new phase of warfare, there is something dangerous on the horizon with power most have never seen before.

This arc is more than a superhero book it’s more of a mix of fantasy and reality, a gritty storyline mixed with super powers sounds like a story that shouldn’t work but Geoffery Thorne has made sure that it does. The story of a one time thug back to change his life has been told many times before but never to this level, this is a gritty story with edge of the seat excitement.

The illustrations of the book are what I would call quintessentially DC, when you think of DC you would normally think of dark illustration with hard hitting detail and CrissCross has brought the high standard of illustrations that we would expect. The illustrations seam to make the story hit harder adding a deeper emotion to the written words and giving a more two dimensional story.

Verdict

If you enjoy your super heroes with a realistic, hard edge then Blood Syndicate is the series for you. In the vein of The Boys or the work of Spike Lee, this gritty urban aesthetic is a winning formula.

⭐⭐⭐⭐