DC Comics reviews 5/10/22 – I Am Batman #9, Blood Syndicate #1

Blood Syndicate Season One #1

None of the Milestone Season One titles have been too quickly paced so it’s not surprising that Blood Syndicate takes a slow burn with this debut issue. Of the original four Milestone books, Blood Syndicate felt like the most unique as its heroes were essentially a superpowered gang.

Main characters died, dealt with drug addiction and was groundbreaking in making a main character gay long before that became a trend for viral articles, clicks and retweets.

It’s nice to see the spirit of the original Blood Syndicate in this reimagining. Writer Geoffrey Thorne slowly introduces the main characters. Rolando and Hannibal have returned from fighting in the Sadaqah war zone. Rolando gets reacquainted with their Paris Island neighborhood via his longtime friend Carlos.

Carlos explains the new status quo in Paris Island with the emergence of Icon and Rocket and the new gang warfare as superpowered Bang Babies fight for control. Holocaust has established himself as a major player carving out blocks for his budding empire. And it doesn’t take long for Rolando to get caught right in the fray.

Thorne gives strong personality to the cast allowing their personalities to be spotlighted before cranking up the action. Longtime Milestone artist Crisscross returns to handle the artwork providing a welcome bridge from the past to the present. Chriscross is one of those artists that captures so much emotion in his characters, which is essential in a book filled with so many big personalities.

While it wasn’t overly flashy and mostly set up for future installments, this was a strong debut for the next era of Blood Syndicate.

Rating: 8 out of 10