Written and drawn by Adam Cadwell
Published by Great Beast Comics
I first stumbled across Adam Cadwell’s series Blood Blokes in 2012 at Thought Bubble in Leeds; ever since I’ve been following the series intently. Cadwell writes and illustrates the book himself. As a founder of the British Comic Awards and Great Beast Comics, he is one of the more high-profile indie artist/writers in the UK.
Blood Blokes tells the story of Vince, a uni dropout in his early 20s living in Manchester. Things aren’t going well for him: he’s quit his soul-destroying job; his girlfriend Jane dumps him on New Year’s Eve; and he loses his jacket after storming out of the bar over said breakup. To make matters worse, he’s attacked by a bat, killed and then wakes up in a house full of vampires. Adapting to his new circumstances, Vince has help from his new housemates Douglas, a long-time (and slightly disturbed) punk vampire; Mike, who has a habit of bringing corpses home thinking they are going to turn; and Mike’s hyperactive girlfriend Ariana. Unfortunately, ‘life’ for vampires in the north is slightly more complicated than you might think, especially when you’re only round the corner from where you used to live…
Issues 1 and 2 serve as an introduction to the characters, setting the scene of a somewhat extensive vampire community in Manchester taking advantage of the near-permanent overcast blocking out direct sunlight. After all, as a wise man once said, if you can see the Pennines from Manchester, it’s going to rain; if you can’t, it’s raining already. Issue 3 starts taking us into the details of the Mancunian vampire scene and Vince’s attempts at adjusting to life after death. The story is compelling and frankly addictive while the black and white artwork perfectly suits the setting of winter in the north. Bring on issue 4.
Available via Great Beast Comics: http://www.greatbeastcomics.com/
4 out of 5 nerds
Dave Bowling
Dave was born at an early age to parents of both sexes. He has been a self-confessed geek for as long as he can remember, having been raised through the 80s on a steady diet of Doctor Who, Star Trek, Red Dwarf and (sigh) Knight Rider. Throw the usual assortment of Saturday morning cartoons into the mix and we have something quite exceptional: someone with an encyclopaedic knowledge of utter tosh; a love of giant robots and spaceships fighting; and the strange desire to leap tall buildings in a single bound while wearing his underpants over his trousers. The death ray is currently in the works and one day you shall all bow to him, his giant space station and fleet of funky orange space shuttles...
Nerd Comments