Blood Blockade Battlefront vol. 10

Leonardo Watch is about to face his biggest challenge yet as a member of Libra.  It starts off with his sister breaking the news that not only is she getting married, she’s coming to visit him in Hellsalem’s Lot with her fiancee in tow.  The good news is that said fiancee, Toby McLachlan, looks to be a stand-up guy who has Michella’s best interests at heart. The bad news is that his body is currently acting as a host for an extra-dimensional entity who calls himself Dr. Gamimoz.  In addition to having the same “Eyes of the Gods” that Leo has, the doctor is also obsessed with finding out their secrets and sees Libra’s most ordinary member as the perfect vehicle with which to do so. He’s also not above murdering a few individuals or threatening Michella’s life to force Leo’s cooperation.  Even worse is the fact that Leo is the only one who can actually see Dr. Gamimoz as he’s invisible to the general populace and the other members of Libra. So now it’s all up to Leo to find a way to stop this psycho by himself.

Vol. 10 is honestly the best finale I could’ve hoped for from this series.  So much of “Blood Blockade Battlefront” has felt like an excuse for mangaka Yasuhiro Nightow to draw whatever he’s interested in without regards for how it hangs together as a story.  Sometimes it’s fun, other times it’s confusing and/or boring. This storyline, titled “Hallucinatory Journey Through Magical Eyes,” has a great deal of the style that has defined the series but actually manages to fully engage the reader on an emotional level as well.  Nightow really sells Leo’s isolation and fear in this situation but never lets the character give up hope at the same time. As a result of this mix the story maintains its high level of drama throughout its run without it ever becoming an oppressive grind. Yeah, the finale is wholly predictable but the resolution feels entirely earned — and Klaus’ handling of the situation was wholly badass.  Even if Dark Horse doesn’t wind up bringing us the sequel series “Blood Blockade Battlefront: Back 2 Back” this is still a great note for the series to go out on. If I’m being completely honest, it’s the rare kind of finale that leaves you feeling better about the series as a whole.