Born of Blood # 1-6

Title: Born of Blood # 1
Publisher: Merc Publishing
Written by: Dolan Waddick
Art By: Carlos Beccaria
Colors By: Sebastian Gonzalez
Letters By: Joel Rodriguez
Cover Art By: Tim Vigil
Price: $ 4.99 US
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Website: mercpublishing.com/
Comments: From the begining you know blood and pain are going to be involved here.
  King Cleomenes is gifted with a daughter yet we see his disappointment. Yes he wanted a strong son. Instead he got a beautiful daughter Giaris. On her eighteen birthday she learns what it means to be a Spartan. Giaris's training is intense. She must fight and learns well. It is not easy and the lessons she learns keep improving her ability. 
  A proof reader was needed on this issue. Both grammer and spelling needed to be checked. 
  The art illustrates the characters wonderfully. The men have muscles on display and the woman are beautiful. The art though does not show them as just sexual objects here they are equals. The fighting is show realisticly it is not draw out to show off poses it is done to show people dying and people killing. 
  The King leaves Sparta along with most of its warrors. So Giaris and Mor her trainer step up. The Argives are invading and it is something else to watch Giaris in action this Queen to be of Sparta is a killer and she can fight, the flow of Sparta's enemies blood does not bother her.
  Is Giaris ready to be Queen of Sparta? After seeing her in action defending her empire there is no question. The King returns and him and now Princess Diaris stand together. 
  This is the begining of Princess Giaris's journey! The excitement has just begun. 


Title: Born of Blood # 2
Publisher: Merc Publishing
Written by: Dolan Waddick
Art By: Carlos Beccaria
Colors By: Sebastian Gonzalez
Letters By: Joel Rodriguez
Cover Art By: Ash Madi
Price: $ 4.99 US
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Website: mercpublishing.com/
Comments: Giaris, Mor and the King are ruthless warriors on the battlefield. These three are shown as killers in battle and blood does flow. 
  Full sexual situations are clearly shown. Topless nudity and nude butts. Yes this is all part of Giaris's lessons to become a better Spartan and eventually Queen. 
  The King is kidnapped and Giaris his daughter is in a rage. She is shown acting without remorse and she acts fast. 
  The Klepthes attacked Giaris's people so Giaris and other women Spartans attack back. They have a strategy one that involved lots of blood spilling. 
  Sparta moves on after the attacks and we meet Leonidas its greatest warrior. 
  We see here this Spartan royal court has drama in it that may cause some serious repercussions. Not all Spartans are as loyal as you might think. 
  Giaris is the central character as she should be. She is portayed as a strong woman ready to take the crown. She is also shown as a loving daughter who would do anything to protect her family. 
  The fights are brutal when they engage in combat. There is also lots of stealthly fighting were women use more than swords and knives to get in close for the kill. 
  Giaris is a woman ready to be Queen and lead her people. Her work has just begun. 


Title: Born of Blood # 3
Publisher: Merc Publishing
Written by: Dolan Waddick
Art By: Carlos Beccaria
Colors By: Sebastian Gonzalez
Letters By: Joel Rodriguez
Cover Art By: John Royle
Price: $ 4.99 US
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Website: mercpublishing.com/
Comments: Leonidas and Gairis stand together for Sparta yet both want the other dead. Yet they do work together and they are taken together by the Klepthes. Syalla leads her people and wants revenge on Diaris and all of Sparta. 
  Giaris is shown reaching up with just her fingers and pulling a man's eye right out. It is a gory scene. How she does this is a mystery. Is she that strong? Syalla is just forgotten about. Did she leave or what? Why did Giaris and Leonidas forget about her their main foe here? 
  Leonides and Giaris are drawn all bloodied. They have a high tolerance for pain. 
  As the two escape capture they find themselves no longer in Sparta. 
  The story here is not as hard edged as previous issues. The characters do not do a lot in this issue. The fighting is brief. The art needed to show off the people better. Yes they are there but make them bolder, make them more in your face. 
  Giaris comes across as a watered down warrior here. She should do what needs being done. Giaris was shown as tough before and should be again. 
  More action was needed, more showing off the characters and a more interesting story were all needed here. 
  Giaris is a woman you could come to love reading this series. 


Title: Born of Blood # 4
Publisher: Merc Publishing
Written by: Dolan Waddick
Art By: Carlos Beccaria
Colors By: Sebastian Gonzalez
Letters By: Joel Rodriguez
Cover Art By: Sajad Shah
Price: $ 4.99 US
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Website: mercpublishing.com/
Comments: As Giaris saves Leonidas's life yet again it is obvious to readers of this series how much she loves Sparta. Leonidas the King of Sparta is lucky to have her on his side. She does not like him yet she is loyal to Sparta. 
  Giaris and her enemy Syalla get into a fight. Both these women are drawn as beautiful and both are hard hitting as they brawl in a savage battle. This fight is not one of grace or beauty it is about survival. This is not a battle between just two women it is one between two warriors willing to do whatever it takes to win. Things do get very bloody here. The art brings all of this across in all its savage beauty. 
  The story takes a different turn here as Giaris is given a helmet with special properties. 
  For a Princess Giaris is one of the most savage blood thirsty ones you are likely to find yet it is all out of loyalty to Sparta. 
  It does take time but we see Giaris and Leonidas grow closer. The art has T&A nudity so this is a mature title along with the violence in it. 
  While the King and Princess were away drama has been going on is the Spartan court. A new queen and King sit on the throne. Giaris and Leonidas's return will shake things up. Giaris and Leonidas are not pleased with what has transpired while they were away. 
  This story is an epic tale of blood, loyalty and what it means to be a Spartan. 


Title: Born of Blood # 5
Publisher: Merc Publishing
Written by: Dolan Waddick
Art By: Carlos Beccaria
Colors By: Sebastian Gonzalez
Letters By: Joel Rodriguez
Cover Art By: Jeff Edwards
Price: $ 4.99 US
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Website: mercpublishing.com/
Comments: Giaris and Leonidas are home and plan to take back the castle and throne from Queen Regent Aurelia. 
  Giaris is befriended by a family of Spartans and it is emotional watching as a child a young girl has faith in her. 
  Queen Regent Aurelia shows how she feels about her son. He is a worthless sack of you know what, a pitiful excuse of a man. 
  Giaris and Leonidas must fight their way through Spartan soldiers and without killing their fellow Spartans. There is some blood shed just not a lot. Queen Regent Aurelia is fighting back using her gifts and her control. She wants to be Queen and will let no one take that away from her. 
  Giaris and Leonidas do work so well together. There is not a lot of fighting here just enough to make this issue exciting. The two of them do inspire loyalty to each other and to Sparta. 
  The art is so gorgeously done and the poses are not poses just people drawn as they would be in realistic real life stances. Yes the males are musculre and the women beautiful but they are still within real life appearances. 
  Giaris is one of the strongest, toughest woman of Sparta. She is a true Spartan Warrior Princess. 


Title: Born of Blood # 6
Publisher: Merc Publishing
Written by: Dolan Waddick
Art By: Aurelio Mazzara
Colors By: Sebastian Gonzalez
Letters By: Cristian Docolomansky
Cover Art By: Franck Uzan
Variant Covers by: Ale Garza, Guile Sharp, Jyn Leonard
Price: $ 4.99 US
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Website: mercpublishing.com/
Comments: Giaris and Leonidas are thrown into the Chasm of Curs. Aurelia now rules Sparta is some ways she is a fitting ruler. She is strong and heartless. 
  The art is beautiful to behold. Aurelia is portayed as a beautiful strong woman with a touch of evil. 
  As Giaris and Leonidas are forced to battle the fight is realistic in the poses used. It is not pretty. There are some expressive facial expressions. Plus a nice butt shot of Giaris. Aurelia posses some powerful dark magic. 
  Aurelia sets about releasing Kronos a God upon the Earth. Giaris and Aurelia fight and this is no girlie fight these two rip into each other hitting hard.
  The setting is perfect for this comic and its characters. It is one that you do not see much of which makes it stand out.  
  The story moves along smoothly flowing from one page to the next. The romance between warriors works well. All the hard fought battles which are beautifully illustrated are great to see. The story of a King and Queen of Sparta is epic. These two are each others equals in all ways. Any that stand against them should feel fear.

Richard Vasseur