Deathblow: Sinners and Saints [Paperback]

Despite a somewhat rough start, Deathblow ended up becoming one of the better early Image Comics titles, thanks in large part to the issues collected in this volume.

Deathblow: Sinners & Saints collects issues 1-12 of the ongoing Deathblow series, which focused on Michael Cray, aka Deathblow, a black ops warrior with a bloody past, a guilty conscience, and a disease that leaves him with very little time left to live. This series was obviously born of superstar artist Jim Lee's joint fascination with Richard Marcinko novels and Frank Miller's groundbreaking Sin City work. The first couple of issues, which were drawn by Lee, featured an abundance of military jargon and artwork that was extremely similar to the black and white style found in Sin City. They basically established Cray as a warrior without peer in a military unit known for doing the government's dirty work.

How that turned into a series about the Antichrist and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is anybody's guess.

The story took a radical turn in issue 3, in which the Black Angel (who for some reason looks a lot like Trent Reznor) was released from Purgatory, where he was imprisoned by the holy Order of the Cross. Seriously, the story became  black ops and  supernatural horror. Weird, but writer Brandon Choi makes it work. Cray is forced to reconcile the events in his past and lead the fight against the Black Angel and his Horsemen. In a nice turn of events, Cray's former Team 7 mates reunite to lend a hand. The Team 7 back story is really what ties the Wildstorm Universe together, so seeing them together again, particularly in such a spectacular fashion, is a real treat.

The artwork from issue 3 forward was provided by former Grendel artist Tim Sale. He would later become a major name in the industry with his work on Batman: the Long Halloween and several other projects with writer Jeph Loeb, but this was where he made his mainstream debut. He obviously started out with the same Miller worship that Lee brought to the series, but established his own unique style soon enough.

Overall, this was a good series and makes a nice trade paperback. Looking back a decade later it's easy to see the flaws in a lot of these Image books, but I think Deathblow holds up pretty well. My only complaint about this volume is that it did not include the Deathblow preview story that ran in the Darker Image one-shot. Not only did it feature Jim Lee artwork, but it was also the character's first appearance, and should have been included here.

Deathblow was one of the best of the early Wildstorm creations. The character has a depth and intensity seldom found in Image comics. This volume collects the first twelve issues of Deathblow, in which a regretful killer must try to save his soul while dealing with armageddon. Though the story stretches on a bit long, it's worth it. The first two parts feature incredible Sin City-inspired art by Jim Lee. The rest is by Tim Sale, now known for his work on Batman: The Long Halloween. This collection is well worth the investment.

I admit having found this hard to come-by but was pleased to eventually recieve it because Sinners and Saints is a dark comic in unique style both artistic and story based. the stark black and white images with limited use of colour provides a nice alternative to the over-coloured world other titles may portray.The story is interesting and seedy and reminds me of frank millers Sin City books it is an overall good title and worth the investment though perhaps not if you live in the UK

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