This graphic novel has many layers, all rooted in horror, fantasy and death.
Brooklyn Blood. Writer: Paul Levitz Artist: Tim Hamilton Cover Artist: Tim Hamilton
What if PTSD would leave you sensible to paranormal events? After Afghanistan, detective Billy O’Connor tries to return work as usual, even when he knows he should be taking his medicine.
When a case of serial and ritualistic killings commence, he will begin to have even more realistic and terrible hallucinations. With nothing else to go on, he and his partner will have to follow his visions, wherever they may take them.
I am not a fan of detective fiction, that is, your usual sick killer and its all-too-human concerns. However, I’m a sucker for monsters, and this comic has a Ghostbusters vibe I couldn’t quite shake off. I had to read it to the last, to seize and see the inhabitant of Hells gate.
It also reminded me of a short story by Stephen King: “The things they left behind” that tackles 9/11. Ghosts of horrific deaths linger, both in the territory and the minds of the inhabitants of that territory. What Billy O’Connor has is not only an acute sensibility, he also carries a weight: all those deaths have left a mark on the city, they are there in mid-suspension, and we still need to talk about them; we still need to acknowledge them.
The monsters we extract from fantasy are, perhaps, our own subconscious nagging at us, forcing us to see what we don’t wish to see anymore. And this graphic novel tackles it perfectly.
This TPB gathers the entire 16 chapters from the original series, and gives you a sense of the twisted end, with some glorious final pages. (Yes, I loved the monster).
Brooklyn Blood is on sale since July 18th, 2018.
Publisher: Dark Horse
Publication Date: July 18, 2018
FC, 136 pages; TPB; 6 5/8” x 10 3/16”
Price: $17.99
Age range: 16
ISBN-10: 1-50670-630-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-50670-630-6
Genre: Science-Fiction, Horror, Crime
Featured image by Tim Hamilton, all images belong to Dark Horse Comics
