This week we look at Blood Syndicate #7, entitled “Enter the Fox”. This issue crams a lot into its 22 pages. John Wing, leader of the Demon Fox Tong, has sacrificed his wife to “give birth” to the Demon Fox. The Demon Fox seems to be a demon with a Genie/Ifrit like caveat; he must do the bidding of the person who calls him forth. John Wing wants the total destruction of the Blood Syndicate so that he may save face with the other members of the Tong. The Fox agrees, and plans go into motion.
Meanwhile the Syndicate spends more time at their Factory home, as they begin to heal the wounds that their first leader’s (Tech-9) death caused. The gang does some bonding, and learns a lot more about each other’s personal lives. Brickhouse remembers her real name (Marta) while having another one of her seizures. “Seizures” is a bit tame of a description, as when she starts to convulse, her room ends up looking like a demilitarized zone. Later in the issue, Wise Son’s younger brother & Sister show up at the factory, wondering why their big Bro hasn’t shown up at home recently. The site of a little girl pulling a red wagon laying a verbal smackdown on Brickhouse and Dogg is worth the price of the book alone. Just look at this panel and I dare you not to smile!
The book ends with the Demon Fox, disguised in human form as a hot Asian female, rushing to the factory begging for help. Wise Son asks who is after her, when “she” stabs him in the forehead with a mystical object that appears to suck the life from him. The Fox stands revealed to the Syndicate ready to rumble, as their leader’s shriveled up body falls to the ground, seemingly lifeless. Needless to say this issue is “To Be Continued”
Ivan Velez & ChrisCross have formed a formidable team on this book, as their co-operative efforts changed this series for the better. Based on the first few issues, which were chock full of fisticuffs; I was ready to write this book off as just another action book. This makes for a “fun” book to read, but not anything to write home about. Since issue 5, this opinion has changed for me. Velez seems to have realized that you can have all the slam-bang death defying action you want, but without characters that you care about it’s just page filling (ala some early 90’s Image books). Velez has fleshed out his creations, giving them personalities beyond the rage they feel about the “Big Bang”. Now the readers can feel a connection to the Syndicate that goes beyond merely liking when they bust some heads.
Velez also has started to work with one of my favorite devices in comic book storytelling- the subplot. Quite a few get advanced in this issue, as future members of the gang are shown again (the water lady who seems to be stalking Wise Son, and the teenage Asian girl who will become Kwai), while a former member by the name of Templo and the controversy that surrounded him are brought up by Fade and Third Rail. Velez lays some good foundations for future storylines; this along with the strong characterization will keep me coming back for more.
ChrisCross has really cemented the look of this book. I am a big fan of his current stuff, and since this was his first published work (that I know of) it’s fun to look back at. This issue shows another leap forward in quality, as his storytelling abilities start to show some improvement. He shows his greatest strength in his facial expressions, as you can just feel the warmth and humor shining through the pages when the Syndicate and Wise’s siblings interact.
I remember this book being my second favorite Milestone book back in the day, Static being the best, and this issue reminded me why. With the showdown with the Demon Fox coming up, I am psyched to get to the next book. That will wait for another Monday though, as next week we look at another Milestone classic. Join me then!
