Blood Stained Teeth #1 – Christian Ward, Patric Reynolds, Heather Moore, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
The latest comics offering from Image Comics, Blood Stained Teeth #1, sees artist-turned-writer Christian Ward assemble a stellar team of creators to bring us the story of Atticus Sloane, general ne’er-do-well, raconteur and vampire. A biting satire on capitalism and greed, these are dark days for Sloane, as his extended past begins to catch up with him.
Sink your teeth in…
In a year that hasn’t produced the most critically-acclaimed entries into the vampire-oeuvre, Blood Stained Teeth takes a bold new direction, moving away from the classic origin stories or tales of redemption. Sloane is, to put it bluntly, an arse. He is conceited, selfish and amoral. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t seem to have many friends, which is unfortunate as I get the feeling he is going to need all the friends he can find over the next few issues of this new series.
When you crave money as well as blood, things can get a little messy, and Christian Ward (Tommy Gun Wizards, Invisible Kingdom) writes messy very well. While the time-shifts in the narrative did leave me a little confused on my first read, that is likely due to my being dazzled by the art and missing a narrative box as anything else. Ward expertly weaves a backstory not only for Sloane, but vampires in general, that doesn’t bog down the story with exposition and still gives us key character moments.
Ward gives us a selection of extra characters with hints at backstory that may well become relevant later on, and drops a cameo in the form of a well-known name in the vampire world, but I’m keeping this spoiler free. You’ll just have to pick the book up to see who I’m talking about – but trust me when I said his entrance brought a smile.
Take a bite…
Patric Reynolds (Hellboy & the BPRD, Joe Golem) has a semi-realistic art style that fits the gritty, dirty narrative of the book. Heather Moore (Lost Soldiers, James Bond AoS) complements this perfectly, harking back to the tricolour comics of yesteryear. The linework is as sharp as the satire, with a classic tale given a modern approach, to both fashion and feeding.
With lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Panel X Panel, Rogues) helping draw the reader through, and the story flows despite a number of time shifts and changes in narration. Otsmane-Elhaou’s approach to cuss words is particularly visually appealing, with Sloane’s cursing being vehement and opaque.
Count me in..
Blood Stained Teeth #1 stakes a claim as the best new book on the shelves this week, with a gripping story of a terrible person, who has done terrible things and is going to have to do even worse. Jump in on the ground floor of this one, if you like tales of deception, revenge and bloodshed.
Follow the creators on Twitter for more comics goodness:
Christian Ward – Writer
Patric Reynolds – Artist
Heather Moore – Colourist
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou – Letterer
Heather Antos – Editor
Image Comics – Publisher
