Lady Mechanika‘s sixth volume (chronologically the seventh), Sangre, disappoints and delights.
As always, the storyline is fantastic. The supernatural theme from Volume 5 (review here) is continued, but with a whole other manner of creature on the opposing side. You don’t need to have read the previous volume to understand the events of Sangre, although I recommend reading the chronologically first story of the series, La Dama de La Muerte (review here).
This edition switches between prologue events taking place 500 years before the story of Sangre, drawn by Joe Benitez and Martin Montiel, and the main storyline, drawn by Brian Ching.
Ching is by no means a bad artist. Its just that he’s not in the same league as Benitez and Montiel. And it shows. You see some of the story’s antagonists in the prologue, and they are much cooler; Lady Mechanika is so much more stunning. Their art is just better.
It’s disappointing, after six volumes of a beloved comic starring a much beloved character, to see the world and its inhabitants portrayed in a different manner that isn’t as pleasing as the original. But that is my only gripe.
The story is splendid. It masterfully picks up on its own past, introducing new characters and monsters, creature and man alike. It proves again that Lady Mechanika as a series isn’t reliant on Mechanika City to work, as this takes place in Spain, which does nothing to take away from the general atmosphere of the setting.
We also get a little more information about Lady Mechanika, who is still trying to find out who or what made her the way she is.
I love how yet again there are new clues, and it makes me eager for some answers, or more clues. I also hope we’ll see some of the characters that were so vital to the storyline of Sangre return in a later edition. May there be more of this series, preferably fully drawn by Benitez and one of his comrades!
