Wild and underappreciated

Blood Reign is one of the buried gems in the mid 90s self-publishing boom. But unlike many of the titles fallen to the wayside, writer/artist Tim Tyler's enthusiam shows through.

Blood Reign is a blend of sex, violence, sci-fi and horror taking bits and pieces of the more notorious contemporary titles of the day and making something that didn't come across carbon-copied but unique.

What makes Blood Reign stand out from hindsight of the era is how unpredictable it is with some of the more graphic portions of storytelling. Though sex and violence is very much a part of the Blood Reign world, Tyler doesn't come across as needing to shoehorn blood and guts or any act of intimacy each and every issue.

Tyler's visuals are a mish-mash of manga and Tim Vigil's Faust. Though anatomy may be shakey at times, Tyler proves to be quite an excellent inker with most pages doused with detail.

The only drawback to the series is Blood Reign never completed with (allegedly) one issue left. What is available is worth picking up.