Filed under: Exquisite Reviews | Tags: Alasdair Stuart, Dynamite, Elizabeth Bathory, Ferenc, Fritz Casa, Ivan Nunes, Jay Anacleto, Kirsty Swan, Mark Roberts, Marshall Dillon, Troy Brownfield
Written by Troy Brownfield
Illustrated by Fritz Casas
Coloured by Mark Roberts (Pages 1-9) and Kirsty Swan (Pages 10-22)
Lettered by Marshall Dillon
Main Cover by Jay Anacleto and Ivan Nunes
Published by Dynamite
£2.85
There are certain expectations when you write about the Countess Bathory. This book takes great delight in ignoring all of them and the end result is immensely good fun. Brownfield’s script plays far more like an unusually grounded novel than the schlockathon the presentation promises. Elizabeth is a healer, called to heal the King’s daughter. She’s clever, witty, principled and clearly part of a greater plan. She clearly has both doubts about that and about how she fits in at court and that level of uncertainty is what makes it fascinating. Both Elizabeth and Ferenc, the knight she’s brought in by, are so much more than their stereotypes. She’s an extremely intelligent, political, compassionate figure whilst he’s a dutiful soldier who’s not entirely certain that duty is being pointed in the right direction. Brownfield’s script is subtle and nuanced, teasing this out without ever having, or needing, to be explicit. The ending too is wonderfully ambiguous and remarkably complete, marking this out as almost a pilot episode. If you’re intrigued, there’ll be more. If you aren’t, you still get closure. Everybody wins. Especially, it seems, Elizabeth…
Casas’ art is a huge part of why the book works, and shares Brownfield’s grounded approach. The opening murder, and final fight, are where he really cuts loose though and they’re crammed full of action and gore, both of which have real weight and impact to them. Roberts’ colour work on the opening half really makes the opening scene something special (And horrible too) whilst Swan’s closing work both mirrors it and gives the book’s external scenes a welcome, brighter feel. Rounded out by excellent lettering from Dillon this is a book that’ll confound your expectations in the best way. The reign of the Blood Queen is off to a very good start.
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