The Bloody Dozen #1 is published by Image Comics, written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque.
Issue #1 is available 13th December 2023 either directly from Image Comics online or from your local comic book store, digital copies will be available to download from the usual content providers.
Synopsis
SPACE VAMPIRES! In this new installment of THE SHROUDED COLLEGE, CHARLES SOULE & WILL SLINEY’s supernatural horror-adventure saga, three down-and-out astronauts are tasked with the ultimate heist—breaking a group of deadly vampires out of a space prison orbiting the Sun. Apollo 13 meets Blade in this killer thriller!
Review
In this introductory issue we are put back into the world of The Shrouded College as there is a top secret mission that is completely top secret, straightforward break out from a space prison, what could possibly go wrong?
The Shrouded College need to get to this band of vampires that are locked up in space but there are only certain people that can be trusted to carry out such a task, scouring the Earth to find the individuals that they need to bring together utilizing each of their unique skill set that will bring the team together as a well oiled engine. At the first meeting it comes across that convincing the individuals may well be the hardest fight of them all, bringing together separate personalities and managing each ego and pulling them together as a unit. Space Engineer Greta, the well weathered ex fighter George and ex addict Glory meet togther to thrash out a plan to carry out this daring heist but it certainly won’t be easy in any stretch of the imagination. An interesting introduction to these characters that give the feeling that what seems to be straight forward and simple turns into being the most difficult.
I’ve not read any of Charles Soule previous work but if this series is going to be anything to go by he’s definitely a writer I will be keeping an eye out for. Although this is an introduction issue, I normally find these to have a bit of a slow pace but this book stops that trend with an intense read that had me sitting up and taking notice. Throughout the book I just had the feeling that something is building and the series looks like it will be an explosive one, having seen countless action films before where you think that the one last job story always turns out to go completely wrong I can’t wait to see where Charles will take this.
Much like the introduction to the writer going into this I was unaware of Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque as an artist but I felt his style fitted well with the comic. The panels gave off a vibrancy that made reading the book a pleasure giving the reader a full fat reading experience showing all the characters at their best or even worst depending which way you wanted to see it.
Verdict
A solid introduction for this brand new series. The Bloody Dozen has all the hallmarks of what could be a blockbuster series in 2024. Issue #1 leaves you with the feeling that something is about to go horribly wrong for these characters, but you just don’t know what it is yet…
⭐⭐⭐⭐
