Bloodline #1 Review
If you like a good classic hero whose story is similar to the foreshadowing of Peter Parker’s former years in high school, then Bloodline might be the indie comic for you. Lino Placencio is a Texas-based writer and creator who works with human services as a specialist. Lino’s career choice and culture, including the size of his family, have a part to play when turning the pages of Bloodline.
Coming in at 24 pages with two covers, the story is very fast-paced yet extremely engaging from start to finish. The constant development of events never lets you go, and getting to the end only leads to the disappointment that there isn’t another page to turn. The story of Bloodline speaks about the properties of the four types of blood. This knowledge is essential to understanding the main character, Kassandra.
Kassandra’s parents can’t seem to find a decent middle ground to co-exist in, plaguing Kassandra with stress as the conflict forces her Abuela to move out. Kassandra finds comfort in a pendant that her Abuela gave her before leaving.
Kassandra gets some context from Abuela about how she was able to rip a sink out of the wall by accident at school. Kassandra discovers that she is a descendant of a special bloodline where daggers and objects react with their blood to allow their wearer’s special abilities. Curious to put hers to the test, she decided to find a good mugging and test it out, and she wasn’t disappointed.
After nearly being outed by the local news, Kassandra arrives home to the confrontation of her life—her parents.
The limits of Kassandra’s powers have yet to be defined by Lino, who is surely working to unravel that mystery for his future readers. It’s a unique spin on the hero genre, rooted in proud culture and family genes. Through the ages of comics, tons of heroes and villains have been tied to fascinating objects of power, such as Dr. Fate, Niko, Blue Beetle, and even Thor or Gorr the God Butcher.
The comic is only in its first issue, and although the presentation is of good quality, the lack of surrounding sound effects makes it hard to discern where exactly the story is taking place. Despite the lack of world-building, the story itself is solid, especially for an independently published and produced comic.
If you would like to support Kassandra and Bloodline, then check them out at the CWS bookstore online. Don’t forget to support your local comic store or visit your favorite artists and creators at cons. As always, stay geeky, share the network, and don’t forget to catch me on the latest episode of Comics’N’Poptarts.
Michael J. Florio
Michael is a versatile creative professional, excelling as a comic writer, editor, and screenwriter. He holds notable credits at Advent Comics, Grok Comics, Champion Comics, Alter Ego Arts, and Super Serious Comics, Mazzi Productions not including his own projects like Wild Oni and Iron Jaguar.
Aside from being an internationally published editor, Michael has been the editor-in-chief at Inked Studios, where he’s assisted on over 40 crowdfunding campaigns, contributing to projects like Exiled (Wesley Snipes), Redempt1on (Austin St. John), and Bleeding Pulp (Justin Gray). Holding degrees from the University of Full Sail, Michael resides in Biloxi, Mississippi, where he hosts the Comics’N’Poptarts podcast and actively engages with the Mississippi Gulf Coast Writers Guild Chapter, sharing comic expertise.
Beyond his creative pursuits, he enjoys family time, storytelling, film analysis, comic reading, and honing voice acting for future prospects.
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