The Pull List – Bloodborne #8 Comic Review

While there is no news of a Bloodborne sequel – even if FromSoftware recently said they’re working on two unannounced titles – it turns out that a comic book series has been  is set in Yarnham and has been going for a few months. While jumping in at issue 8 isn’t the ideal way to enjoy anything, but you’ve got to start somewhere, right?

The issue throws us into the midst of a hunt, the bloody ballet that was the prime reason for the main Bloodborne story. During this time the streets are filled with humans who have succumbed to the beastly blood, warping and twisting them into something unnatural, and incredibly dangerous. Their limbs extend, strange tufts of fur erupt from their skin, and they take it upon themselves to scour the streets, attacking any who don’t belong.

You see, the Healing Church in Yarnham discovered that using blood could cure nearly anything, which turned the city into a utopia, albeit briefly. When the side effects of using the blood were discovered the church tried to cover their tracks, hunting down and eliminating those that had become less than human. This was all fine until they themselves started to succumb to the changes. In fact, the clerics of the church became some of the most monstrous; a cruel irony.

This is the world in which the comic is set, but not the story it is telling. Instead, this is the story of two normal residents of this cursed city, not hunters, just people trying to survive this horrible time. One of them has a woman he wants to protect, who he wants to heal. She is incredibly sick, but can no doubt be healed by the blood that runs through the city, both in its citizens and its streets. The other seems to work for the church itself – a useful position in this hellscape.

The artwork in the comic is good, though somewhat muted. The gothic feeling of the architecture is maintained in the visual style and the colours are dulled. Nothing of any real vibrancy exists in this world, so nor does it in the comic. The horror is evident throughout each frame, with entire pages dedicated to simply setting the unsettling tone. Beasts are strung up on crucifixes. Bodies fill the river in various states of decay. This is a world that is barely holding itself together, and the artwork shows this perfectly.

The writing is good as well, and despite joining this story part-way through, I felt as though I knew what was going on. Of course, this could stem from my knowledge of the game and its lore, but given that this is a separate story, I am chalking it up to good writing. It’s engaging and interesting, drawing me in so I want to know what is going to happen, I want to go back and learn what has led the story up to this point. I feel like that is the best compliment any story can be given really. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am off to see if I can get my hands on the rest of these.

New for 2019 we’re looking beyond video games themselves and at the stories and world that are continued and expanded upon through other mediums, namely in books, comic books and film. ‘The Pull List’ will be focussing on comics, with reviews arriving on Wednesdays, the traditional release date of new issues.