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After
four less than stellar installments, The Blood of Carthage
saga finally concludes, and it's about time too as far as I'm
concerned.
Plot-wise,
this final part is pretty much as you'd expect. After the abortive
attempt to defeat Ky-Laag last time around, the Scooby Gang
are forced into an uneasy alliance with what's left of the Blood
of Carthage.
This
being a Chris Golden story, former Slayer Lucy Hanover has to
make a contractual appearance, even though the plot could probably
have coped with her absence (and I know I could have).
Things
are livened up slightly by a couple of flashback sequences.
The first helps fill in some of the history of the Blood of
Carthage itself, as we find out just why they imprisoned Ky-Laag,
and the second features a young Willow and Xander. It's not
exactly vital to the plot (and this issue has been expanded
to provide an "epic" conclusion to the saga), but
at least Chynna Cluggston-Major's artwork is pretty cute.
The
final showdown features the same spell as last time, but at
least this time they manage to pull it off properly, even if
Vraka leaves his threat to Buffy unfulfilled.
Overall
The Blood of Carthage hasn't really held my attention.
It was at least one issue too long, and I'm getting fed up of
Golden and Holder's use of Lucy Hanover to resolve things. BACK
TO THE TOP
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THE
BLOOD OF CARTHAGE, PART V
Writer: CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN
Pencils: CLIFF RICHARDS
Inks:
JOE PIMENTEL
Cover: JEFF MATSUDA
Flashbacks: PAUL LEE
and BRIAN HORTON
and CHYNNA CLUGGSTON-MAJOR
RATING: 5/10
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