Author’s Note: This comic features scenes discussing or showing self-harm and/or suicidal thoughts.
In a recent interview I conducted with Robert Kirkman and David Finch for Skinbreaker, Kirkman said that one of the best parts of working on the book was that he didn’t have to stick to the hectic schedule of monthly comics; he could take his time and deliver the best work. I bring this up because while Drawing Blood #8 took a while to get to stands, the end result is more than worth the wait.
Drawing Blood last left off with Shane “Books” Bookman once again teetering on the precipice. His attempt to go to Hollywood and right the ship on the Radically Rearranged Ronin Ragdolls movie didn’t work. His attempts to reconnect with his family back home didn’t work. Faced with his self-perceived failures, Books drinks himself into a stupor…and is confronted with the ghosts of past, present, and future.
Despite the allusions to A Christmas Carol (which Brooks sardonically points out throughout the book), Drawing Blood #8 mostly flashes back to the past. It’s here that David Avallone hits the reader with a sucker punch, showing how Books’ relationships broke down one by one…and revealing that it might not have been all his fault. From the very first page, it’s clear this comic was gonna be a tragedy, but Avallone only reinforces it, leading to the moment where Books considers suicide. It’s a moment that’s treated with the right amount of gravity, and the right amount of buildup considering where the story’s gone.
Before that, Books’ hallucinations come back to try to talk him out of his fugue state. This time, it’s not just the Ragdolls; the superhero known as the Night Avenger joins the fray, as does the demonic Overdog (referenced here as a “Dollar Store Darkseid”.) It’s a chance for Ben Bishop and Troy Little to shake up their art style – the Ragdolls still possess their anime-style designs, but the Night Watcher feels like he stepped out of a Golden Age comic, muscles and all, while Overdog does possess Kirby-esque flourishes.
It’s the flashback sequences, though, that hit the hardest. Bishop and Kevin Eastman have done a great job with the flashbacks in Drawing Blood, making sure they feel as real as possible, but now it takes on a new dimension. Page after page shows Books turning away from his friends, his ex-wife and even his brother when things go wrong, and Eastman and Bishop make sure to paint the sorrow that’s going on behind his eyes. Even back then, he was spiraling, but the last few pages show that he does have an unexpected guardian angel of sorts.
Drawing Blood #8 returns with a somber story, as its protagonist hits rock bottom and faces the literal ghosts of his past. I’m glad this book is back, and I’m glad it’s handling these moments with the sincerity and the gravity they deserve. The creative team should definitely take the time it needs for this final stretch of issues.
