Book Review: Bloodborne, Vol. 2 - The Healing Thirst

Continuing from the previous volume of work, Volume 2 of Titan Comics’ Bloodborne work tells a different tale within the city of Yharnam. Similar to the previous volume, this entry was written by Aleš Kot, illustrated by Piotr Kowalski, colourised by Brad Simpson and Kevin Enhart and lettered by Aditya Bidikar. Something well worth recognising here that I failed to mention in my last review was that these volumes hold some pretty interesting behind the scene elements at the back of the volume which gives a nice glimpse into the creative process behind these comics. It’s not typical you get a view behind the curtain like that so it’s well appreciated. 

Titled The Healing Thirst, the narrative of this comic volume follows two central characters within the heart of Yharnam as they seek to further understand the beastly plague which is infecting their city. The first character introduced is Doctor Alfredius; a long white-haired physician-scientist who spends his days studying the impacts of the Ashen-Blood on the beasts within his city. His intention of his studies is to hopefully find a scientific root to the beastly side-effects and confront the Healing Church with his findings. The other character introduced is member of the Healing Church called Priest Clement who has his own concerns about the secrets the Healing Church is hiding from the public. As the story unfolds, we see a personal development of both these characters as their stories interconnect with one another and they unite under the same aspiration to find what secrets are tied behind the Ashen-Blood. 

I was really intrigued by the storyline behind this entry. I think this one does a much better job in utilising this world as a smart foundation for the original story it’s trying to tell. The way they layer the storyline through these separate characters feels smartly set out in a way that can help you further explore different aspects to it. Doctor Alfredius takes a more direct approach to investigating this plague and he has a much more personal stake in the impact the Healing Church and its hunters are causing by hiding the truth from them. This connects to Priest Clement’s storyline well because he's deep in the order and you can understand his own doubts with the inner-mechanisms of this order and his desire to direct them on a better path. It’s a slow build story without much action or horror in it but I appreciate that the entry commits to telling its different kind of story with the utmost confidence. 

The illustrative component of this entry works just as well as it did previously too. With more of a focus on people and politics this time around, the city of Yharnam gets more of a showcase as well as the factions that inhabit it. Detailing is a key aspect in every panel and it’s clear the artists wanted to get as much out of these central characters when it came to posture and expression. None of that ever comes as the expense of the key elements which make this a Bloodborne adaptation. It’s not just the narrative component which captures the world really well, the artistic reflection of Yharnam in a time before the game is really interesting to see. 

The Healing Thirst is a very compelling entry into the Bloodborne comic series. It captures the potential of showcasing the world in a different light way better then its previous entry did. It’s commitment to telling a more slow-paced tale without the inclusion of much action may throw a few people off but what you get instead is a far more nuanced tale which does it’s very best to explore aspects of the lore of Bloodborne in a clever way. Fingers crossed the remaining two entries keep these positive elements.