Comic Review 139 // Durham Red: The Scarlet Cantos

What do you do when you run out of Strontium Dogs? Well here is the answer: Durham Red. For those who don't remember Red was a popular cameo character in the later issues. She has the mutant abilities of a Vampire and none of their weaknesses (apart from carving blood). Now lucky for me she got her spin-off series written by Dan Abnett and I just so happen to have the bundle!

Let us dive in.

Title: Durham Red: The Scarlet Cantos

Written by Dan Abnett and illustrated by Mark Harrison.

Durham Red is a mutant unlike any other. Radioactive fallout from atomic wars gave Durham a unique gift - vampirism. She must drink blood to survive, but her vampirism is metabolic, not supernatural. As a result, she is fearless in the face of crosses, not afraid of sunlight or running water, and just loves the taste of garlic.

Set way into the future of Strontium Dog, we are transported into a dark, grim future that you can't help but draw a 40k parallel with. Within this dark setting we a strange truce between Humans and mutants, but in this new society, the mutants are still deemed lower than the mutants. This has led to a terrorist group of mutants forming, creating an element of fear and distrust. This group called the Tenebrae also worships the Scarlet Cantos aka Durham Red. They see her as a figurehead to their cause, as she feasted on the blood of humans. It is believed she will return to mutant-kind, unite them, and lead them against their enemies.

Well, as it turns out Durham had put herself in stasis for 100 years to have a good sleep. The only problem is no one woke her up! She laid asleep for 1200 years instead. Waking from a long sleep is one thing, but to discover 1000's have died in your name must be a hard thing to swallow. Soon she is caught in the thick of the action and has to decide not only her destiny but that of all mutant kind.

The story was well written unsurprisingly as it Dan Abnett. The setting as mention is grim, dark with a lot of 40k vibes to it, genetically enhanced soldiers who fear the unclean. With hatred of the non-human species high on the agenda. The artwork is stunningly beautiful and Durham Red looks kickass in the comic panels. After reading this I am excited to delve further into the stories and I feel we will be completing this series rather quickly. 

Going to show a few more panels as the artwork is truly great. As always thanks for stopping by and reading. Use any of these links to help support the blog and thank you.

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Durham Red: The Scarlet Cantos - but shop around as this is not cheap.