The Thing That Should Not Be - Metallica

Baltimore, Volume 1:
The Plague Ships

Authors: Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden
Illustrator: Ben Stenbeck
Pages: 130
ARC Acquired From: Dark Horse Books via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
During World War I, a plague struck Europe, effectively ending the war and life as it was previous known. This plague turned ordinary people into man-eating monsters. Regular humans are struggling to survive in this terrifying changed landscape. One man, one-legged Lord Baltimore travels the world killing these demons and searching for one in particular, the scarred one, who he owes an especially painful death.

Review:
The story of Lord Baltimore follows a similar line as that of many antiheroes. He must always be alone and cannot enjoy even a moment's peace. He is haunted and driven by the need for revenge. Without that, he would likely have given up, what with having only one leg and all. Speaking of the one leg, am I the only one who really does not think the device he rigged up would work? This guy needs to step into the Fullmetal Alchemist world and get Winry to make him up a nice leg.

The vampire horde/plague is definitely attempting to capitalize off of the vampire craze, which, I suppose, is understandable. In some ways, he has returned to some parts of the mythology that have been largely abandoned, such as vampires turning into bats, although in this case they totally resembled something more like a werebat than an actual bat. The weirdest thing, though, was the explanation for how the plague began, which seems really improbably to me. Apparently, a vampire bleeding will convert anyone who's dead/dying on the same field to vampirism.

The part that interested me the most, the historical setting for all of this stuff, really did not come into play too much, other than to serve as a breeding ground for said plague. Hopefully, later volumes make use of the time period more. Honestly though, I do now expect that I shall be continuing with this series. It wasn't for me, but I know some people will dig it. For folks who love some serious, grisly action in their comics and antiheroes, definitely give this a go.

"Out from ruins once possessed
Fallen city, living death

Fearless Wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Timeless sleep
Has been upset
He awakens
Hunter of the Shadows is rising

Immortal
In madness you dwell

Not dead which eternal lie
Stranger eons Death may die
Drain you of your sanity
Face The Thing That Should Not Be"