Review: Jennifer Blood: Born Again #1
A housewife and mother turned urban angel of death out to punish the guilty. Her first targets were the members of her own Mafioso family, but then she realized she had a taste for killing…and a voracious appetite. That, in a nutshell, is the story of Jennifer Blood—a character that seems influenced as much by Marvel Comics’ Punisher as it is by 1980s gunsploitation flicks.
To explain: If the Punisher was Marvel’s answer to actor Charles Bronson’s Death Wish series of movies, then Jennifer Blood seems inspired by such eighties B-movies as director Abel Ferrara’s cult classic Ms. 45, the Bullets, Bombs, and Babes series by writer/director Andy Sidaris, and the infamous “student by day, hooker by night” Angel series. Don’t believe me? The check out this quick synopsis of Jennifer Blood: Born Again #1, now on sale from Dynamite Entertainment:
Months after going into hiding after the death of her husband, Jennifer has reached urban legend status—a boogieman (woman?) mobsters use to frighten one another. Unseen, but whose presence is always felt, she’s the Candyman of the underworld…only with handguns instead of a meat hook for a hand. But when a series of mob executions in Los Angeles is credited to Jennifer Blood, and Jennifer knows she didn’t do it…well, she can’t have some imposter sullying her reputation, can she? And wait until she finds out the faux-Blood is a dominatrix…
Sounds like the plot of an eighties crime drama, doesn’t it? And who better to script such an adventure than Steven Grant, the writer who not only put Frank Castle through some of his toughest mob-war paces, but whose Boom! Studios graphic novel 2 Guns was the basis for the 2013 action film starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg? Sure, this first issue is mostly setup mixed with a few shoot-outs, but fans of Grant’s writing know that just means the payoff will be all the more action-packed.
On the art side, Kewber Baal (Jennifer Blood, Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies), hits that eighties vibe with action-packed gun battles, crazed-looking bad girls, sleazy cultists, and dramatic camera angles that keep the story moving along at a good clip. Together, he and Grant make a great team.
Bottom line? Come for the intrigue, stay for the carnage sure to come as Jennifer Blood battles to restore her good (and by “good” I mean bad) name.
Jennifer Blood: Born Again #1 (of 5)
Written by Steven Grant
Art by Kewber Baal
Cover art by Stephen Segovia
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
32 pages • full-color
$3.99 U.S.
On sale now
About the Author
Steven Roman Steven A. Roman is the author of the Saga of Pandora Zwieback novel series and the graphic novels Lorelei: Sects and the City and Sunn, and the bestselling author of the novels X-Men: The Chaos Engine Trilogy and Final Destination: Dead Man’s Hand. Follow his adventures in publishing at StarWarp Concepts.
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