Bitter Root vol. 1

The Sangeryes used to be the greatest family of monster hunters out there.  They were able to combat and cure the Jinoo, the name given to people whose souls were corrupted by hate, without breaking a sweat.  That was until a falling-out between family members sent the gunslinging Ford to the Deep South, turned the researcher Enoch into a pariah, and left Ma Etta, Blink, and Berg to hold down the fort in Harlem, with the latter training aspiring Jinoo hunter Cullen.  Now an even greater threat is on the rise which might force the family into reconciliation. A new kind of infection is spreading through the streets of Harlem and beyond. An infection which turns people into vicious demons and the remaining Sangeryes are unable to cure.  Even after it claims one of their own.

I’ve read first volumes where it feels like the creators decided to jump straight to the storyline where everything goes wrong for the main characters.  Co-writers David Walker and Chuck Brown, along with artist Sandford Greene apparently decided to one-up those series by starting with what feels like the final storyline for this series.  Everything about this first volume of “Bitter Root” feels like things are coming to a head as the stakes keep getting raised with each issue until the nature of the threat feels downright apocalyptic.  I can appreciate the writers’ ambition in that regard, and Green provides some very stylish art, but the end result feels like kind of a mess. It’s really hard to care about this large cast as the creators clearly prioritized slam-bang action over characterizations that don’t feel rote and familiar.  While I’m sure there will be a second volume to conclude the story at some point, what’s here leaves me feeling like it’d be for the best if that was it for the Sangeryes family.