Blood Feud series review
ART:
The art in Blood Feud is quite good. It has a stylized aesthetic to it and it works extremely well for the sort of redneck horror that the series wears on its sleeve. The vampire designs are pretty nice looking, nothing brand spanking new but cool all the same. The covers are all great, with some neat homages to film posters which I'd mentioned in the preface. The action in Blood Feud is by no means something of priority, this isn't The Spider or Darbi (the latter which I'll be reviewing very soon), and that being said it's serviceable given those caveats.
WRITING:
Plot & Characters:
The plot in Blood Feud is fairly straightforward and not very complex, but it's all a matter of the execution. It reads sort of like Bunn's previous series The Sixth Gun, and I mean that in a good way because I really liked that series. If you've also read The Sixth Gun, you'll feel right at home while reading Blood Feud, as the two series have this very palpable and intriguing narration and word choice, which I for one really enjoy. The characters are not very complex or developed, although can you really expect that out of 5 issues? Whereas other stories can be character-focused, which is all well and good, this is more focused on the setting, the horror, and the depravity. All of which it does exceedingly well.
World-building, atmosphere, dialogue/monologue, & pacing:
The world-building is very well done, you feel as though you're kind of in this world, and it does a great job of getting you invested in the series. The dialogue and, again, the monologue are very strong, with some little bites of banter which make it feel more genuine. The banter itself is somewhat simplistic, but again, it adds to the overall atmosphere which is what this series is going most for considering how it's used. It's a series about getting drenched in its tone and atmosphere, and the rest is about adding to that and accentuating it. As always, I appreciate that each character speaks with their own jargon and vocabulary, it's something I've always liked when writers implement it. As far as the pacing goes, it's smooth, I never felt like it was moving too quickly or too slowly.
CONCLUSION:
Overall, Blood Feud is a horror series well worth checking out, especially if you fancy the premise or just like Cullen Bunn as a writer as I do. For an hour-long type of read, it's something that's satisfying and admirable a venture, especially if you're into the style of story Blood Feud goes for. I recommend it if this catches your interests, you'll probably find yourself liking it. Hats off to Bunn, Moss, and everyone else at Oni Press for once again putting out a quality release.
SUMMARY:
Blood Feud is a short, interesting horror read which carries itself more off the back of its palpable atmosphere and setting. Everything else is to augment the two, with a competent story, nice art, great dialogue, a cool aesthetic, fairly likable but not developed characters, smooth pacing, competent action, great covers, and good character designs. It won't set the world on fire, but you can't go wrong with a little bit of Blood Feud.