Hinterkind vol. 2: Written in Blood

I’m going to start things off on a down note:  Based on sales of the single issues, it would appear that the forthcoming third volume of this title is going to be its last one.  That’s a shame because writer Ian Edginton and artist Francisco Trifogli’s story about how creatures of fantasy and myth came to reclaim the world from humans in the wake of a cataclysmic event is an entertaining read.  The creators have done an excellent job with building this new world and filling it with interesting, strange, and even quirky touches.  Quaker trolls and centaurs equipped with fully-automatic weapons are just some of the sights you’ll see as a new force comes into play with this volume.  That would be the vampires, who are portrayed here as a refined and highly-competent military organization with the most advanced (compared to everyone else) military technology on the planet.  It’s their efforts that complicate Prosper’s efforts to find her missing uncle Asa, and changeling friend Angus in this world she had no idea existed prior to a week ago.

“Written In Blood” covers a lot of ground and juggles several different points of view from the many different parties at play in this story.  While the story begins with Prosper and her roguish companion/captive Jon Hobb together, they’re eventually split off with the girl saving a Sidhe with a surprising lineage, and Hobb becoming a captive of the vampires before a last-minute conflict reunites him with some old friends and Asa.  Alongside this, you’ve got the introduction of Graf Orlock, the vampire leading their military operations, and treachery within the Sidhe royal family.  It sounds like a lot to take in, but Edginton has it unfold with a welcome degree of clarity and the constant shifting of alliances and parties helps keep the narrative interesting.  Trifogli continues to give the book its own distinct look and makes the disparate elements of the world look like they belong together.  Having a group of vampire commandos stage an air night raid on a troll farm sounds ridiculous beyond belief when I say it like that, but the artist makes it work.  There’s no denying that I’d like to see more of stuff like this.  The thing is that unless 9,999 other people go out and buy a copy of this volume then we’re not going to see any more of it past vol. 3.