Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Hazel Crenshaw is a shrewd, feisty young woman running her family farm, ensuring she and her sister lead comfortable lives and that their workers get paid adequately. It’s 1927, the peak of Prohibition (the U.S. Congress had banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol in 1920), and Hazel runs a sly side hustle storing liquor for local thugs. While it’s supposed to be a quiet, covert, peaceful transactional operation, she finds herself caught in a bloody war between vampires and the local liquor mafia.
Created by Rob Hart, Alex Segura, and Joe Eisma, the five-part comic book series “Blood Oath” combines gothic vampire fiction with crime western elements to deliver an easy, entertaining read. The artwork is filmy and mildly retro, and even though it doesn’t create a dark, gothic atmosphere for a story about bloodthirsty vampires going on a killing rampage, it’s still quite engaging.
The primary conflict of the story centers around a truce between vampires and humans over the liquor trade during Prohibition. However, someone decides to violate the ‘blood oath’ agreed upon by both sides, leading to a messy trail of death. The antagonist kidnaps Hazel’s sister for unknown reasons, so she is hellbent on destroying those who burnt down her farm and took away her sister. An interesting subplot involves a vampire-hunter nun who is also on a mission to kill the same people Hazel wants dead.
Despite the obviously exaggerated elements (Hazel surviving a bloodbath where dozens of men are killed in a flash, not once, but twice), I enjoyed reading this horror-themed comic that has women leading the story and fighting the bad guys. “Blood Oath” isn’t the kind of comic book I will remember for a long time, unlike Shuzo Oshimi’s “Happiness,” a gory, twisted vampire manga series that was intense, edgy, and filled to the brim with twists. However, “Blood Oath” is a quick, entertaining read, especially if you’re looking to kill some time during filler moments—like while waiting for a flight/train or standing in line to pay your shopping bill.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
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