“Blood for blood, the house of Dellamora will rise again” she whispers in the dead mans ear while holding his still beating heart.
Yeah it’s a bit gory, but a lot of fun.
Venezia is an original comic created by Wolf Beaumont and illustrated by Brian McCranie. Set in 16th century Venice, Italy, Venezia tells the story of the young Dellamora girl. Our introduction to the girl is made as her family is murdered before her eyes. We then rediscover the child years after the incident, she is all grown up and looking to avenge her parents death. As a vigilante she stalks her prey under the cover of darkness with only iron claws set on her fingers, blades on her feet, and death in her heart.
To some extent there’s sort of a ”Dark Knight” thing going on here. The avenging murdered parents aspect, and of course the vigilante justice, although Batman would never outright kill as many people as this character does.
Venezia was funded by and large, through KickStarter, which always fascinates me. I love seeing artists take advantage of KickStarter as a tool to accomplish some artistic passion, and I think it goes without saying that both Wolf Beaumont and Brian McCranie are passionate about this book.
Placing the tale in the 16th century really seems to add a lot of flavor to the series. It requires outside of the box thinking on the part of Beaumont. What would a masked vigilante be like in that era? How would she get her information? How do you train to become a superhero in a day and age without such concepts, and don’t be mistaken, she is a superhero.
While this first book is only an ashcan copy, meaning its pretty short, coming in at a paltry 16 pages. The premise is solid and the artwork is impressive. I’d like to see the characters more flushed out as the series progresses. A vigilante hero can only take you so far, and a multitude of failed comics and television shows owing to a similar premise can attest to that fact. A character who is motivated entirely by revenge can quickly become one dimensional, and one dimensional is boring.
From what I can see, Venezia is an intriguing comic with a whole lot of potential. The artwork has a dark brooding quality, and I liked the book. Whether or not this is going to be a great series depends on a lot of factors, but I think the next two issues are going to be critical. Will Venezia be like The Shadow, drawing us in each month to learn what evil lurks in the hearts of men, or will this turn into another Americop? What was that? You have no idea who Americop is? Exactly.
Purchase a copy or just read the full preview: Venezia #1
