Fourthman Reviews: Loaded Bible 1 & 2

Fourthman (aka Lee Newman) writes reviews for UltimateComics.com, which are syndicated here at SchwappOnline.com with the permission of all parties.

Loaded Bible: Jesus Vs. Vampires
Published by Image
Written by Tim Seeley
Art by Nate Bellegrade and Mark Englert

So this book was hidden away in a box of books that were pulled for me when I got a bit too ambitious in my pulls. This is when I had a real world job and couldn't always find time to read ten comics a day. It has beckoned at me many times, but with Starlord choosing the third volume of Book One for this week's review group book, I thought it was about time for me to give it a read.

Sorry, Tim Seeley, I have truly slept on a master... Hack/Slash is now one of my favorite horror books and this here Loaded Bible is an unsung masterpiece. Set in a future that stems from a very familiar America, the world has been ravaged by Vampires. The Church has taken up the fight against these creatures of the night and at the head of their army is the Messiah returned. This Christ is as different from the New Testament Christ as that Jesus’ father is different from the Old Testament God. In a world were his flock is being eaten, Christ must be a little stronger with his message. This is all the fun of Battle Pope without the laugh a minute script or the overly heretical thematics. In fact, in many ways the way Seeley handles the Christ figure is a testament to a true understanding of the Faith. He is careful in this first issue not to have the Son of God speak out against more boiler plate issues of the Church, but there is the implication that Jesus is not quite in line with the way the Bishops of the Vatican would want things. Interesting touches like having Jesus attracted to a Vampire and his relationship with Bishop Parrish show an understanding of the divine made human. What could be an outrageous heretical story is actually a thought provoking meditation on the nature of the idol. This is a smart and intelligent read with an ending that begs for continued adventures.

The art is superb. It is not photo realistic. In fact there are touches of Mignola here and there. It is consistent strong and conveys the story in a coherent matter. The character designs take in familiar faces and archetypal characters and employ them in the style seamlessly. Action sequences are huge and fun, while not at all confusing.

"Ultimate Comics, we have more comics then your shop has!"

Loaded Bible 2: Blood of Christ
Published by Image
Written by Tim Seeley
Pencils by Mike Norton

The first issue of Loaded Bible was a breath of fresh air. It was intelligent and controversial. It was religious and Political in the same breath. It showed a great understanding of faith and that is one of the reasons that it was such a compelling read.

The second volume spends more time meditating on the idea of Vampires and the contradictions of the Church then on action or politics. Both of those are there, but much of the issue is Lilith spouting off why it is important not to kill the Humans and Christ dealing with the revelation that he is a clone. There are moments of absolute brilliance. When Christ decides that the only way he can truly understand the vampires is to become one and subjugates himself to the bite of an infant sucker he has saved. The healing that takes place was a little confusing for me. It is not as black and white as other things in the first two issues. In fact, it is fairly ambiguous and leads to questions that I hope are resolved in the third act. Like what didn’t we see in the trailer that night and what became of the baby?

There are also lots of exciting scenes. We find out who the traitor to the church is and why he fed information to the Vampires. We also get to see Bishop Parrish take the reins of the Vatican. A compassionate and faithful man now leads the Church, will it continue down its destructive path? There is also the great moment when the army of clones is unleashed on the Vampire invaders. We also get our first real glimpse inside the human resistance to the church. This is as idea heavy as the first issue, even if it is not a singularly satisfying. It seems to need the next chapter, much as Empire Strikes Back needed the finale of Return of the Jedi. It’s not a bad thing, just anticipatory.

Mike Norton takes over the penciling duties on this issue. It gives the comic a more traditional look, but it loses some of its character. Even still there are inspired panels, the bite of a vampire baby, the release of the clone army, or Christ’s inoculation of vampire blood.

Like Star Wars, you know this story is going to carry on. I hope that sales are enough to justify many more books in the Loaded Bible lore. This is an exciting and fresh take on vampires. It is epic in scope and demands to be carried on.