Buying a bar is a decent way to escape your past. That is until your past shows up for a drink. Your Major Spoilers review of When The Blood Has Dried #1 from Mad Cave Studios, awaits!

WHEN THE BLOOD HAS DRIED #1

Writer: Gary Moloney
Artist: Daniel Romero
Letterer: Becca Carey
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: April 10th, 2024

Previously in When The Blood Has Dried: Years ago, a stranger came to Carraig an Bhun, a little town on the edge of the Southern Territories. The locals eventually came to see this “blow-in,” Meabh of Cklonia, as one of their own. Now, Meabh has taken over as proprietor of The Lough Inn.

NO ONE’S BIGGER THAN THE GUILD

When The Blood Has Dried #1 starts 5 years in the past as Meabh stalks through a forest, until she wanders into an ambush. Things then jump into the present with Meabh helping her companion, Fergus, with his archery skills. Afterwards, the two head into town to make preparations for a celebration they’re having at the tavern Meabh owns. Later on, as the celebrations are in full swing, Meabh notices a confrontation brewing between a couple of gamblers. She intervenes and manages to avert any real bloodshed. But the man she saved returns the favor by revealing a bit of news that she wasn’t excited to hear.

A CLASSIC OPENING

When considering all the classic fantasy tale openings, it doesn’t get as classic as the one that When The Blood Dries #1 uses. From the juxtaposition between the main character’s dark past and their idyllic present, to the rough around the edges companion, to the inciting moment literally being “A stranger comes into town”, there isn’t much here that hasn’t been seen before. That’s not to say it’s done badly by any means. Even though the plot doesn’t come across as original, the characters are likable and the few moments of tension there are in this issue, feel appropriate for the scale, giving this comic more of a “slice of life” feel with a fantasy filter thrown on it. Basically, there’s charm here, which makes the reveal at the end, which suggests the tone set in this issue isn’t going to continue, distressing. There’s no shortage of fantasy adventure comic books and what is shown here doesn’t inspire confidence that this series will handle a change in tone well.

WHY IS SHE ALWAYS WINCING?

The art in When The Blood Dries #1 has a lovely hand-drawn and colored look to it, that lends itself well to the low-stakes fantasy story being told. But, for some reason, the main character always looks like she’s moments away from tears, even in the moments when it seems like she should be happy or jovial. What’s even stranger though, is that she’s the only character that looks like this, which suggests that this was intentional, but if that’s the case it’s not clear why. Other than this, everything else in this issue looks good, even impressive in some of the larger panels with a lot going on.

BOTTOM LINE: CHARMING, ALBEIT UNORIGINAL

When The Blood Dries #1 doesn’t do anything that anyone who has either listened to a live play D&D podcast or played themselves, hasn’t seen or heard before. But it manages to tackle this familiar terrain with a solid grip on its own charm which elevates it above a lot of other stories that have similar openings. This opening issue ends on a note though that leaves things up in the air about whether this charm is going to continue or if it’ll be discarded for more cliches and tropes. Visually this comic is solid and pleasing, with the exception of the main character’s face, which unfortunately is a big exception. 3 out of 5 stars.

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