Eddy Barrows takes over the pencils. Kirk’s absence is definitely Bloodhound’s loss. About the only thing Barrows does right is show Clev as a giant. Otherwise, he’s mediocre. Except maybe his panel composition; it’s weak.
He does manage to do the small town stuff pretty well though. He doesn’t ruin that aspect, let’s say.
The mystery continues–though Jolley pretty much gives it away by the end, which makes no sense (it’s separate from the main narrative). There’s a little more development between Clevenger and Bell, but a lot more with the angry townsfolk.
There’s also the guest appearance from Batman villain Zeiss, who’s rather annoying. Jolley has a lot to tie together next issue and the Zeiss knot seems like it’ll be the hardest. The guest appearance screams corporate synergy.
Still, Bloodhound has enough going for it to survive the art and the guest star. Jolley’s handling it.
CREDITS
Demons; writer, Dan Jolley; penciller, Eddy Barrows; inker, Robin Riggs; colorist, Moose Baumann; letterer, Rob Leigh; editor, Ivan Cohen; publisher, DC Comics.
Jolley skips ahead a little, giving Clevenger practically a superhero outfit–a special Kevlar shirt, I think–and a little more freedom. Jolley uses Clev’s ex-girlfriend to reveal the information. It’s a nice little device, since it develops Clev a little.
Kirk tries out a different style for this issue’s extended flashback. I get it’s supposed to be folksy–the flashback takes place on a farm–but it lacks personality. It’s one of those awful farm stories; it’s effective too. Jolley makes the reader remember it and calls it back later.
Putting Clevenger back in prison proves a good choice for Jolley. He plots it to put Clev out of his comfort zone, which creates some drama on its own, then Jolley amps it up with a good soft cliffhanger.
Jolley writes Firestorm better in this comic than he does in his own title. Maybe because the Bloodhound stuff just runs off. It’s actually a rather successful crossover issue between two books without any reason to crossover.
What’s wrong with this art? Liam Sharp pencils, Andy Lanning inks, and the result is a mess. Figures change sizes, faces don’t maintain any continuity. It’s an ugly comic.
It’s the conclusion to the first arc–and an astoundingly bloody one–but also the origin issue. Jolley’s able to work in some background information on Clev, which probably provides the issue with most of its dialogue.
For lack of a better phrase, one could call this issue the “eureka” issue. Clev and his partner–Agent Bell–do their investigating and realize what they need to realize. Jolley’s able to make it even more dramatic since Clev is a muscle bound grotesque and just having him talk to people makes for a scene.
I like a lot of this issue. Jolley opens it well, the middle part is good, most of the ending is good. He goes out on a joke, which doesn’t work, but there’s some great stuff just before the finish.
Bloodhound takes a while to get bloody. It has to get bloody–most of the issue takes place during a prison riot with the lead characters trying to survive to the exit. When the issue starts, however, it generally feels like a regular DC comic.