When I first noticed that this had a different writer I was initially worried. Their past luck of getting good writers to work on an issue other than Troy Wall has been less than exemplary. I’ve come to terms with different artists every issue, but seriously… I was pretty happy with Wall’s direction. WELL! I am very please to announce that Kevin Melrose did a superb job on this issue! He picked up where “Red Blood Run” left off and told a solid interim story!
If you remember from “Red Blood Run” they were looking for a book called “The Book of the Fifth Sun”. They needed this book to possibly imprison some ancient Gods that had returned and were causing Rayne and her group some considerable strife. Brimstone is a shadow of its former self thanks to these deities and Rayne and Michaelis don’t have much support while they search. What it comes down to is they need the book before they can move on to Tokyo. They manage to come across a building in the Czech Republic that is owned by a shadow company of Brimstone, however, they’ve been looking all over the world with no luck. “Automaton” is a great one shot issue that has Rayne fighting her way through all kinds of traps and secret places. I like the magical elements Melrose added to the comic and just adds a lot more to the otherworldly atmosphere I think Bloodrayne is supposed to have. This issue definitely sets us up for “Tokyo Rogue” which I am very eagerly awaiting. I’m glad Melrose wrote a story that bridges the direction Wall is going in rather than writing a random issue in between like we’ve seen with other one-shots. Bloodrayne may have started off on shaky ground, but now it really has a solid foothold and the writing is just getting stronger! I love the grand scope we’re heading into these days.
Andre Coelho stepped up to do the art in this issue. I must confess I’m starting to get kind of used to the constantly changing art. It’s less of a shock to me these days and I have to say Coelho did a pretty good job. It’s quite a difference to go from the sketch styled art of Guevera to Coelho’s smoother style. “Automaton” didn’t really demand a large dose of dark atmosphere like “Red Blood Run” did and Coelho’s smoother art is perfect for the action packed adventure Melrose takes us on.
I’m really interested in reading Bloodrayne a lot more these days now that we have some solid direction with her character. I want to learn more about her and her adventures. Even if they commission other writers to write off-shoot comics I like the idea of having one central person keeping track of the overall story line. It says in this issue that Melrose consulted with Wall and I really do hope that Wall is willing to take on this role; he’s very good at it.
Overall Rating: 4.0/5