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While "Me Without You"
is only the natural progression in to this new
launching of the ten year old series, I'm still
wondering where Tim Seely and Image will go from
here. The last issue of "My First Maniac" ended with
a full page spread of Cassie lunging down on Vlad
from a first escape with the subtitle reading "The
Beginning..." and at the end of "Me Without You," we
see the shot from Cassie's perspective as she lunges
down on Vlad with a bat in the air with the subtitle
reading "The Beginning..." So... what's next? Will
we finally see the series go back to normal? Is "Me
Without You" only part one in a multiple mini-series
depicting Vlad's origin, or... will the characters
merge for Vlad's sake to find out what's going on in
his life? In "Me Without You" we finally learn the
back story behind Vlad and where he comes from.
And it's not the
origin I expected, to be honest. Tim Seely is going
apparently for a whole secret underground
brotherhood demonic worshipping plot that undermines
the simplicity and low-key tone established in the
original arcs of the series, and there doesn't seem
to be much goal for this beyond adding some grandeur
to Vlad's character. So let's say he finds out what
his father is, confronts him, kills him, and gains
some closure. Then what? We know that he just
becomes a drifter like Cassie and the two go out on
the road as partners finding pure evil and snuffing
it out of existence. So there's not a whole lot
writer Seely can do with this mini-series since we
all know the rest of the story. Vlad is one of the
most compelling elements of the this concept since
he is such a naive but world experienced character
who is both aware and oblivious to the environment
around him. |
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He's
not smart enough to comprehend good and evil, he
just knows that when a bad guy tries to kill
him, he has to kill him right back. Vlad is of
course the mutated off-spring of a mob family,
all of whom are led by a demonic under lord who
bred offspring that bred their own offspring. Or
something like that. So Vlad is not only just a
deformed simpleton raised as an orphan by a
Russian butcher, but he is also apart of some
dynasty that either wants to kill him or raise
him in to pure evil. Like Hellboy? Then what?
That said "Me Without You" is much better story
wise to "My First Maniac" as it remains true to
original series element, and allows a more
grounded story behind Vlad who is a tragic being
forced in to a life that he never wanted in the
first place. His search for a friend and for
companionship will obviously lead him in to
lifelong partnership with Cassie Hack, and I
can't wait to see them interact once more and
see them hunt down some slashing monsters. I
just hope this series can go back to business,
and stop waffling in prequel territory where
it's not doing the story or longtime fans any
favors. |
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