There is a truth in visual tangents. One of the most cinematic aspects of Undone by Blood has been the little visual asides that offer these great character insights, but give way to an even more powerful mood. This issue of the series is a visual feast in mood, with Sami Kivela’s artistic depictions rendering the protagonist, Ethel. She has now found herself traversing the town of Sweetwater, hoping to further inquire about its goings on following a death in the town. Parallel to this is the story of Sol Eaton, whose narrative has found him at a near crux of his adventure at the start of a climactic moment in his narrative.
Writers Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson have simply layered this series with some wonderful cinematic visuals that really persuade how we as readers can experience a story. The momentum they have gained within the series manages to stay uninterrupted, even when there is half a page dedicated to a character just drinking water and looking over yonder. Sure, it’s an unnecessary visual for the story, but it does so much to aide with the character progression and further adds in some of Kivela’s ecstatic image design.
While this issue reels back the insane panel designs, Kivela revolves around his gamut of images with great steadiness in pace. All of the images hold this great mindfulness of the character and narrative that make readers linger at each panel. It really offers some beautiful dichotomy between his visuals for Ethel and Sol. This makes the reading transition easy, but also synchronistic.
Colorist Jason Wordie manages to invite some great texture to the visuals. It reads as though it’s from the ’70s or from a Western film. It gives a vibrance to the entire atmosphere of this world in Sweetheart. This texture is given further credence through Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering which provides each character with their own voice.
As always, Undone by Blood manages to live up to its solid reputation. This has been a continual ramping up of the narrative, and it’s continued to carry a through-line of excellence.
