Advance Review – Grindhouse: Doors Open At Midnight #6 (of 8) (Dark Horse)

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Alex de Campi
Artist: Federica Manfredi
Release Date: 5th March 2014

Grindhouse #5 felt a little odd as it didn’t follow in the sci-fi footsteps of the first two arcs of the series.  However, ‘Bride of Blood’ actually feels a little more ‘grindhouse’ in theme, as this issue wraps up it’s ‘one woman war for vengeance’ storyline.

For the most part, it’s all very predictable, but it’s oh so entertaining at the same time as the heroine picks off the bad guys one by one. Then, just when you think you know how this issue will finish, writer Alex De Campi drops a cliffhanger that doesn’t leave you annoyed at all. It just feels like you’ve watched a short film, and a decent one at that.

It’s a bit of a shame that De Campi has opted for 2-issue arcs, as the stories and characters could benefit from more back-story, but the book certainly doesn’t suffer from the lack of it. Grindhouse is about a writer having some fun and paying homage to something they love, and the series continues to do exactly that, and do so without wearing thin. It also keeps things fresh with the artist switch-ups on every arc, and while I personally haven’t loved Federica Manfredi’s art on these last two issues, it’s still plenty strong enough, and she definitely gets to have some fun in some of the gorier scenes in this issue.

If you’re not picking up this title yet, you probably won’t, but you’d be missing out. This type of comic rarely catches my interest, but this one most definitely has. It won’t change the world, but ‘Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight’ should certainly be on your buy list.

Rating: 4/5.

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The writer of this piece was:

Alan Shields aka (Al)
You can also find Al on Facebook