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Undying Love #4 – Review

Undying Love is the most creative new spin on vampire lore. It has surprisingly good action coupled with powerful creativity and the relationship between the two protagonists is starting to feel more natural and real. The art has some nice touches, but many more mediocre moments. Mei and John are attacked by a horde of shape-shifting vampires in the guise of ravens (like from The Birds but a thousand times deadlier). With the use of charms the two manage to evade them for a while but still need help from a strong, familiar face. The way John defends himself in this issue, with charms rather than guns, is much more interesting than the first three issues where he would just rashly use a gun. The actions in those issues did not feel like true vampire action and was not coordinated well. It all seemed like an attempt to beef up John into the stereotypical macho-man. This issue shows writers Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman know how to sculpt John into a character that is more than the macho-man, a technique fully realized in this issue. His use of charms in an attempt to avoid a fight and show more Chinese lore establishes how familiar John has made himself with the techniques, and that he has skill in his mind as well as his body. Don't expect gunplay, but actual thought. Image: Undying Love #4 by Tomm Coker and Daniel FreedmanThe lore woven into the plot makes the story even more fascinating than the characters, who have still started to become less of a problem. Their romance, which previously felt stilted and fake, has started to feel more natural. Unfortunately Mei seems more like the sad damsel in distress than ever before when she is wounded and needs rescuing. Again. But the threat definitely felt real in this issue since John needed saving too. You'd think the macho-man needing saving would diminish his character, but John severely grew in this issue and, for me, developed into a much more enjoyable character. The re-introduction of Shen, a character seen quickly in the first issue, and her family of foxes, was a nice change of pace. What felt out of place was the introduction of one of the shape-shifters, Saker, who apparently knew Mei. His inclusion felt unnecessary since Mei is bound to be a familiar face to any of the shape-shifters since they are working for her maker. The art from Tomm Coker and colors by Daniel Freedman is also disappointing. There are no beautiful landscapes, which are necessary for the dark setting of the opening of the comic, and there is never much detail, with the exception of there sometimes being too many lines and shadows on the characters' cheekbones. Also, Mei never reaches the level of beauty she had in the last issue but does look pretty good with her fangs out... not that she really uses them that well, but that's what you get with this eye appealer. The ravens were always pretty cool in design and their shadows reflected on the walls were a great touch that made the scenes creepier in a great and subtle way, but the art never really surpasses what the previous issues have been able to bring, which still had their own problems. The art still has a distinctive and stand-out style but needs some technical work. This series continues to make me question how far a man will go for a woman. While the relationship between John and Mei still feels a little shaky, it is endearing by the last page to see them being romantic with each other despite the sometimes off-putting dialogue between them. The artwork could have been a lot better, but the great new tweaks to traditional vampire lore more than made up for it and made this issue a very entertaining read with a very different feel to it than the first three issues had. It is by far the best issue yet and the best vampire series out there. For more reviews on the Undying Love series, check out the reviews below: Undying Love #1 Undying Love #2 Undying Love #3 And for other reviews on titles specifically for blood-sucking lovers, look below: Shinku #2 Dracula: The Company of Monsters #11
Rating
9.3

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About / Bio
An all-around nerdette, I’m a comic book connoisseur, horror aficionado, video game addict, anime enthusiast and an aspiring novelist/comic book writer. I am the head of the comic book department and the editor-in-chief of Entertainment Fuse. I also write and edit articles for Comic Frontline. I am also an intern at Action Lab Entertainment, a comic book publisher at which I edit comic book scripts, help work on images in solicitations and help with other comic book related project. My own personal website is comicmaven.com.

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